Invitation to join online workshop: “Lifelong learning in the age of digital transformation”

TIM-TUHH invites all interested persons to an online workshop on Friday 15 Oct. 2021 (11:00 – 12:30 hours CEST) on the theme of “Lifelong learning in the age of digital transformation: Chances and challenges for institutions of higher education”. The workshop is a part of the Erasmus Days 2021. A direct registration link is here.

This online session which will be moderated by Dr. Rajnish Tiwari from Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) is concerned with the disruptive opportunities and challenges that digital transformation brings to higher education institutions. Based on insights generated in the VISION project, funded by the European Union, we will share our results and discuss with the invited speakers and participants the following issues:

  1. How can institutions of higher education turn disruptive challenges into promising opportunities?
  2. How can the requisite competencies for creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship (CIE) be imparted to those that need it the most efficiently and effectively?
  3. How can we use the approach of frugal innovation (“affordable green excellence”) to enable lifelong learning and mitigate the global societal challenges by ensuring social inclusion?

In addition to the presentation of project results by Dr. Rajnish Tiwari, the workshop will be enriched by sharing of insights and experiences by the following three invited speakers representing different contexts:

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Presentation of the VISION study results at Hochschule Fresenius

On June 24, 2021, Dr. Rajnish Tiwari was invited to present key results of the “VISION” project at an online research colloquium of the Fresenius University of Applied Sciences (“Hochschule Fresenius”, “HSF”), which was attended by scholars from the university’s Faculty OnlinePlus spread across not only Germany but also outside. The colloquium was organized and moderated by Prof. Dr. Gudrun Glowalla, Vice-Dean Research, of the Faculty OnlinePlus of HSF.

Faculty OnlinePlus of HSF specializes in offerings of distance education and has recently introduced an innovative study format called, the Mixed-Mode, which combines elements of online “anytime, anywhere” education with targeted in-presence classes for specific topics. The Mixed-Mode does not have a fixed-semester and students can flexibly choose any one of the several study and examination centers for a specific module. The Ministry of Sciences in the Federal State of Hesse has officially recognized this format.

With this, the Mixed-Mode format and the blended learning it enables, seem to have several connections with the core findings of the currently ongoing VISION project, of which TUHH is a consortial partner (full project name: “Envisioning the Future of teaching and coaching for creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship” (ERASMUS+ project, grant number: 612537-EPP-1-2019-1-SI-EPPKA2-KA).

Empirical investigations conducted for the VISION, e.g. in the form of literature reviews, expert interviews, and stakeholder workshops, suggest that the digital transformation possesses an immense potential to promote creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship (CIE), which crucial to meet the challenges of SDGs, especially in the global South, and ageing societies in the global North. Life-long learning in a user-friendly, resource-savvy and effective manner is critical to achieving these objectives. Reskilling and upskilling of the workforce can be achieved in a highly individualized manner with low costs, high quality (e.g. through use of artificial intelligence, virtual reality etc.). The anytime, anywhere formats can substantially redurce the (opportunity) costs for learners while enabling significant economies of scale for providers of such education. Detailed results of the project were later presented at the R&D Management Coneference 2021.

For more information on the VISION project, see the project website and/or contact Dr. Rajnish Tiwari at TUHH. It is planned to cooperate with HSF to enable mutual learnings. Dr. Tiwari has also accepted a professorial position at HSF, where he is also excpected to stengthen this innovative teaching format with his expertise gained through VISION.