{"id":156658,"date":"2023-03-29T19:45:55","date_gmt":"2023-03-29T19:45:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/?p=156658"},"modified":"2023-08-04T22:55:30","modified_gmt":"2023-08-04T22:55:30","slug":"educational-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/human-social\/educational-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"Transforming universities into hothouses for innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Research as a driver of educational innovation is a pending issue in Latin American education systems, according to experts at the Tec de Monterrey Educational Research and Innovation Congress (CIIE).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It is increasingly important to educate people for a changing world and prepare them to commit to social causes such as sustainability, rather than just offering education to train workers”, said Francesc Pedr\u00f3, director of the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a key speaker for the CIIE<\/a>, Pedr\u00f3 pointed out that the current scenario of technological evolution and educational change presents an opportunity to leverage universities as living spaces that generate knowledge and evolve their models towards the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Official data reveals that only 12.1% of the Mexican population was pursuing a professional career<\/a> in 2021. Due this fact the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) has warned about the need to discuss the future of higher education<\/strong> in light of the changes brought by the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed the UNESCO Third World Conference on Higher Education<\/a> addressed the importance of research as a key element in the future of higher education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, only around 15% of higher education institutions in Latin America have a budget devoted to research, and the majority of them only spend 5% of their budget in this area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Educational innovation <\/strong>to the test!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A major limitation to turning universities into “living laboratories” is the lack of resources, especially within the public sector, the UNESCO official said, interviewed by TecScience<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why it becomes important to create regulations to encourage this type of initiative and generate incentives for more universities and teachers to move in that direction. Always based on scientific research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAn excellent researcher can probably transmit the passion for what they do, but it does not necessarily mean that they can adequately accompany you as a teacher”, Pedr\u00f3 said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“That requires knowledge and skills that must be learned, and I think that is something that can succeed in Latin America,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research centers inside universities also require infrastructure, equipment and international cooperation networks, warned the UNESCO official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Research is not something you plan to do on a rainy Sunday while your are at home,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New models ahead <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The speakers at the CIIE explained that pandemic speeded up changes for education that were thought to come in the distant future, such as blockchain technologies, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence popped up into classrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides the need to unlearn and relearn, as more jobs are disappearing and new ones are emerging in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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