The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE)'s move to hold its global summit biennially has helped the organisation focus more on small regional engagements as well as develop new research, an official said.
In an interview for Gulf Times, Dr Asmaa E Alfadala, director of research and content, WISE, said: “We can now focus more on smaller, regional, productive WISE@ engagements, as well as on developing new WISE research. The WISE@ gatherings in Tunis, Beijing, and Madrid - as well as other roundtable forums in Europe, and our participation in international gatherings are all important opportunities for WISE to raise awareness of education as crucial to developing empowered, secure and productive communities and societies.”
“The WISE@ gatherings are co-organised with local partners who have supported WISE, and feature expert speakers across a wide range of fields and sectors to shed light on key regional and global trends in education. The WISE Prize for Education Laureate, Sakena Yacoobi, took part in WISE@Tunis. The WISE@Beijing forum was part of an on-going collaboration with educational institutions there. The Mandarin editions of the three WISE books were launched during that gathering,” Dr Alfadala said.
According to the official, the WISE@Madrid forum, the first initiative of the series in Europe, was to examine challenges of education, notably high youth unemployment and the related issues. “Spain is experiencing these challenges. Santander is an ideal partner with WISE, given its long-established commitment to education, and the collaboration dates from 2013. Santander supports and assists the WISE Learners Voice and Accelerator programmes,” she said.
“The discussion focused on effective ideas and approaches education leaders can take to support positive change in school systems and practices in teaching, and ultimately in student outcomes. There were a variety of perspectives, of course, but the panellists generally agreed that education today presents entirely new landscapes. Research and information is expanding and is widely available,” she said.
Dr Alfadala felt that entrepreneurs are to be encouraged to join the conversations, as well as teachers who challenge the teacher-centred approach, and who can help students to learn about their own process and take responsibility for their learning.
“We need to leave behind our ‘boxes’ and categories and, instead, embrace life-long learning for all contexts. We need curricula that present learning situations relevant to students’ daily lives and interests; we need both face-to-face learning and on-line learning. There needs to be invigorated leadership based on excellence and ethics. When we design new innovative practices and approaches, they need to be evidence-based and feasible, including politically and financially. This is how we can bring innovative ideas into reality and sustain them productively,” she said.
The next edition of the global WISE summit will be held from November 14 to 16 in Doha. The summit gathers policymakers, educators, entrepreneurs, corporate and government leaders from around the world to explore current trends and share their visions for co-designing the future of education.