PASCAL's Learning Cities Networks, Rolling Workshop Series on Social Inclusion - Report from Glasgow - 18 September
As part of PASCAL's Learning Cities Networks Rolling Workshop Series on Social Inclusion, an event concerned with the Smart Campus and Inclusion was held at the University of Glasgow on 18th September 2015. A group of some 30 people from within the university and the wider city attended the event.
With a capital expenditure of £800m over 10 years, the Smart Campus project is the largest project in the University of Glasgow’s history and a major investment in national educational infrastructure.
In the context of this development at the University of Glasgow from 2015-2025, Professor Matthew Chalmers spoke about how new technologies might model and feed back into the development of that campus, and into the development of the campus community. He used some examples of recent work on ‘future cities’ to discuss some possibilities for research, some of which he is currently promulgating within the university’s smart campus project. Michael Burns spoke about the ‘University Effect’ – the potential social and economic impact of this development.
A panel offered their responses to the presentations from international and local perspectives. The panelists were: Dr Stefan Popenici, Senior Lecturer in the Learning and Teaching Centre at the University of Melbourne; Dr Norah Macrae, Director of Community Engagement at the University of Victoria in Canada; Professor Bob Davis, Director of the University of Glasgow’s East End Social Science Hub; and Rod Purcell is Director of Community Development in the University of Glasgow’s School of Education.
Attached you will find pdfs of the two presentations and there will follow comments from speakers.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| matthewchalmers.pdf | 26.71 MB |
| michaelburns.pdf | 16 MB |
- PASCAL Activities:
- PASCAL Themes:
- LCN Network:
Printer-friendly version- Login to post comments
- 201 reads
Click the image to visit site
Click the image to visit site
Comments
A smart and inclusive campus in the city
New technologies and Big Data open new possibilities for a 21st century campus, but they also come with some risks: there is the risk of customisation, in the same way Google or Amazon use cookies to provide information in line with your preferences. Nonconformism is not only rarely invited in the campus, but is often actively rejected. It is important to keep in mind the need to open new ‘spaces’ able to challenge ideas, to stimulate creativity and nonconformism that is suited to educate and renew the mind.
Also, algorithms are not as neutral as we often assume. The book published recently by Harvard University Press, The Black Box Society, reveals some concerning mechanisms that impact directly on learning and teaching design and on the future of our universities.
Lastly, Melbourne is a living example of various campuses integrated in the city. The University of Melbourne or RMIT are just an integral part of the city and the city functions with them. This is changing the dynamic of the university and campus life, and student experience.