What qualities should the university of the 21st century have? What strategies should it deploy to address the challenges of post-digital education? Who are the digital students of the present era? To reflect on and answer these questions, the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) is organizing the first UOC Research Week, which will offer a series of free activities from 18 to 22 April to offer possible answers to professionals and interested people in general, which will be completed with a series of internal workshops.
A selection of the UOC's research
The UOC proposes a week full of activities with the goal of sharing with the community the latest developments and reflections, offering solutions to the future challenges addressed by the universities. UOC Research Week will kick off on 18 April with the presentation of a selection of 21 of the university's R&D projects at the Research Showcase, at the Castelldefels centre (Av. Carl Friederich Gauss, 5, Parc Mediterrani de la Tecnologia). The opening address will be given by Josep A. Planell, President of the UOC, and, before presenting the projects, Marta Aymerich, Vice President for Strategic Planning and Research, will explain the new organization of the university's research activity. This first day will close with three parallel workshops targeting the UOC's doctoral students to provide specialized guidance to help them in their theses.
The gender equality and Latin America
On 19 April, the events will move to the Palau Macaya (Passeig de Sant Joan, 108, Barcelona), with the round table What Can Future Education Do in Order to Overcome Gendered Academic and Occupational Interests?, at 10 am, with the participation of the researchers Marta Casanellas Rius, from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya; Ursula Kessels, from the Free University of Berlin; Chandra Muller, from the University of Texas at Austin; and Barbara A. Schneider, from Michigan State University. The table will be chaired by Milagros Sáinz, a researcher at the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3), one of the UOC's research centres.
At 12.30 pm -in the Palau Macaya- will take place the round table Virtual Learning Strategies from the University Experience, with Carlos Fosca, Administrative Vice President of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru; Luz Adriana Osorio, Director of the Centre for Innovation in Technology and Education and of the IT and Education Research and Development Laboratory of the University of Los Andes (Colombia); and Lluís Pastor, Director of the eLearn Center. The table will be chaired by Pastora Martínez, UOC Vice President for Globalization and Cooperation.
New roles on the Web
On the third day, 20 April, the focus will be on e-learning, with the presentation of four research projects from the eLearn Center, another of the UOC's research centres. With the title The Final Frontier in eLearning: Three Approaches to Define Tomorrow’s Education, the event will start at 9 am at the Palau Macaya and will be introduced by David White, Head of Technology-Enhanced Learning at the University of the Arts London, and the speakers will be: Gabi Witthaus, e-Learning consultant, Art of eLearning. Study Future of University Teaching: Update and a Roadmap for Advancement (FUTURA); Víctor Moyano, project coordinator, Fundació Creafutur. Project Future Scenarios for Digital Learners (FS4DL); and Francesc Santanach, coordinator of the Future Learning Environments project, UOC-MIT. eLearn Center.
David White himself will give the lecture Visitors and Residents: A Look Towards Digital Learners' Activity on the next day, 21 April, at 9:30 am at the CosmoCaixa museum (C/Isaac Newton, 26, Barcelona). White created the concepts digital residents and digital visitors to explain the features and roles of people on the Web and the use of digital technology, seeking to go beyond the former concept of digital natives.
The future of the future university
The last day of the UOC Research Week will start with the round table – Palau Macaya, 9:30 am – The Future of the University - The University of the Future to reflect on what qualities the university of the future must have, taking into account the global changes that are taking place in many fields. Taking part will be Martha Burkle, Knowledge and Learning Analytics Lead and Faculty Development consultant at the IT & Learning Commons, Yukon College; Alec Ian Gershberg, president of the Milan School's Urban Policy Analysis and Management Programme; María Antonia Huertas, Professor, Faculty of Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications, UOC; Chandra Muller, Alma Cowden Madden Centennial Professor in Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Austin's Department of Sociology; Michael Power, professor at the Laval University's Faculty of Education; and Barbara A. Schneider, holder of the John A. Hannah Chair and distinguished professor at Michigan State University's Faculty of Education and Department of Sociology. Marta Aymerich, Vice President for Strategic Planning and Research at the UOC, will chair the event. UOC Research Week will be closed by Josep A. Planell, President of the UOC.
Registration
You can register for the various activities – all of them are completely free – organized during UOC Research Week using the registration form on the event's website, where you can also indicate the activity – or activities – you wish to attend.
Participate on Twitter
UOC Research Week is already moving on the social media. We welcome your comments, tweets and questions and invite you to solve its challenges via Twitter with the hashtag #imagineUOC and mentioning the user @UOC_research. Lists of the most active users will be published regularly and badges will be awarded for participation. You'll find the instructions on the website.
The activities of UOC Research Week are sponsored by the Obra Social "la Caixa" through the Internationalization at Home programme.