Guest Speakers
Professor Sondra Hale
University
of California – Los Angeles, USA
|
Dr. Osman Elkheir
NewTech
Consulting Group
|
Professor Mohamed Elamin Eltom
Garden
City College for Science and Technology
|
Dr. Musa Elkhalifa
Omdurman
Ahlia University
|
Professor Ahmad Al Safi
Sudan
Medical Heritage Foundation
|
Professor John Tharakan
Howard
University, USA
|
Date: 8 – 9th February 2014
Venue: DAL Excellence Centre
Introduction:
The relationship between knowledge
and innovation is often described as inseparable and cyclical because
innovation involves learning something new or producing knowledge. The
pursuit and production of knowledge can be traced to the first ideas about the
universe, from work tools, and languages of ancient humans, and histories of
civilizations, to contemporary ideas of the “Knowledge Society” and “National
Innovation Systems.” Knowledge
production, which is seen as essential for social progress of all kinds, for
the solution of societal problems, and is regarded as a measure of a nation’s
economic development, a university’s world ranking, or a company’s market
competitiveness, has been mostly dominated by the Western history of the
development of scientific knowledge that produced the disciplinary structure of
science. Critics of the accepted order of “knowing and doing things” argue that
the categories and structures that have exercised a generative power over the
production of knowledge about the world over the last three centuries have failed
to acknowledge the importance of (and sometimes subdue) indigenous or local
systems of knowledge. For instance, in industrialized nations innovation is
related to formal systems such as the university or research laboratory and lead
to innovation models like the “Triple Helix” which deny space for these
distinct knowledge systems within the “recognized” body of knowledge. In contrast, in developing nations innovation
mostly occurs within informal traditional systems of knowledge that evolve
through the contributions of grassroots innovators such as farmers, artisans,
nomads, local people, and ethnic groups, who are given, at most, “informant”
space within disciplinary science. In more recent times, we have seen a steady
growth of university-community partnerships, the rise of multidisciplinary and
interdisciplinary research, and models of knowledge production that are
application oriented. For instance, the “Quad Helix” recognises the “third
sector” (civil society) and their pursuit of “undone science” and “socially
responsible innovation,” as well as the value of constructing a knowledge
economy that embraces the local cultural and historical character. Engaging
multiple stakeholders and epistemologies in the inquiry, such as those from the
university, government, and business sectors is widely recognised as important
for a knowledge society. However, in
developing countries such as Sudan, what is still often overlooked, de facto, are
the voices of those outside these realms such as people working in
community-based organizations and NGOs, independent writers, artists, and
organic intellectuals who are critically important for a rooted knowledge
society, one that does not only acquire, but create knowledge.
From this standpoint, the
fundamental task of education is to acculturate youth into this “knowledge-creating”
society and to help them find a constructive and personally satisfying role in
that culture. Reforming education systems to address the knowledge society
challenge is of interest to national governments, and to regional (e.g. NEPAD)
and global (e.g. UNESCO) bodies. Taking Sudan as an example: Which social,
ethical and political factors are relevant to the reform debate? What is “education
for sustainability” with respect to the local context? Where changes would
facilitate graduates becoming employable and for the country to become
economically viable? Why are some companies successful at innovating in their
business processes and products, while others remain stagnant? What policies
and systems should be in place to support innovators we see every day?
Can we assume, in this context of
the “knowledge age” that curriculum-makers have all the answers? Shall we
resume teaching-as-usual? Or, mustn’t we confront the new challenge that some
see as initiating the youth into a culture devoted to life-long learning, to advancing
the frontiers of knowledge on all sides, and to engaging with problems around
them. Researchers from around the world have been exploring new learning
programs—often supported by new technologies—to increase student capabilities
of productive and collaborative knowledge work. These learning innovations involve
availing curriculum resources and technology and bringing new learning
activities such as incubators, problem-based learning, service learning, or
community engagement scholarships. Common
to many of these innovations is a deeper pursuit of economic development, and
even social justice, through cultural change.
This workshop aims to explore the
intersection of technology, pedagogy and culture and the implications for knowledge
production and the pursuit of innovation, with a focus on
the context of developing countries. It is precisely in times of social and
economic crises that local knowledge should be cultivated, learning
accelerated, and efforts devoted to innovation -
technological, educational and cultural.
We invite you to submit proposals
for either a ‘Mudakhala’ talk (5 min. presentation plus 5 min. discussions)
or an extended talk (15 min. presentation + 15 min. discussion). These talks
should address the workshop’s questions such as:
- Which knowledge production models and innovation systems are appropriate for the context of a developing country?
- What are the epistemologies, social values and power structures that are currently applied to learning and educational practice?
- How can dialogue between different knowledge sources influence the innovation process?
- Can new learning activities and technology cause changes towards innovative, constructivist teaching practice or classroom culture?
- Which pedagogical tools and teacher qualities can support the youth in seeing themselves and their work as part of the wider knowledge production effort?
- How can cultural attributes that are considered collective assist in our understanding of learning processes?
- What educational reforms, in the context of developing countries, can better our preparation for a changing economy?
- Are there policies and systems that are in place to support innovators in the different sectors?
- Can new innovation processes and cooperative inquiries foster economic and social development?
Information to Presenters:
- The deadline for submission of presentation abstracts is Thursday, 23rd January 2014; notification of acceptance will be sent to presenters by 30th January 2014.
- Proposals for extended talks should consist of an abstract that is no longer than 300 words. Abstracts for “Mudakhala” talks should be no longer than 150 words.
- The workshop language is mainly English. A translation service for presenters who wish to use Arabic is available upon request.
- Abstracts should be sent to sks.workshop@gmail.com.
- Registration:
- Registration is open from now until 2nd February 2014. Participants must register through this online form.
