Eindrapportering van dit Denkersprogramma
Transcription
Eindrapportering van dit Denkersprogramma
Eindrapportering Denkersprogramma F2KS Flanders’ Future as a Knowledge Society “Is Vlaanderen inderdaad op weg naar een nieuwsgierige, enthousiaste en innovatiegedreven kennismaatschappij?” Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van België voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten Paleis der Academiën – Hertogsstraat 1 – 1000 Brussel – België [email protected] – www.kvab.be 2 Eindrapportering Denkersprogramma Flanders’ Future as a Knowledge Society – F2KS Inhoud 1 Activiteitenverslag ...................................................................................................................... 4 1.1 Situering ................................................................................................................................ 4 1.2 Activiteiten ........................................................................................................................... 5 1.2.1 Denker ................................................................................................................................. 5 1.2.2 Stuurgroep .......................................................................................................................... 6 1.2.3 Stakeholders ....................................................................................................................... 6 1.2.4 Roadmap .......................................................................................................................... 10 2 Resultaten en impact ............................................................................................................... 12 2.1 Conferentie F2KS ............................................................................................................... 12 2.2 Slottoespraak en bevindingen JM Gago ....................................................................... 14 2.3 Nieuwe ideeën .................................................................................................................. 25 2.4 Communicatie en media ................................................................................................ 25 2.5 Opvolgacties ..................................................................................................................... 26 2.5.1 Rapport met aanbevelingen ......................................................................................... 26 2.5.2 Standpunt ......................................................................................................................... 27 2.6 Exit-gesprek ........................................................................................................................ 27 3 Dankwoord ................................................................................................................................ 28 4 Bijlagen ....................................................................................................................................... 29 3 4.1 Academieberichten nr. 58 ............................................................................................... 29 4.2 Conferentiebrochure F2KS – 28 november 2014 ........................................................... 29 1 Activiteitenverslag 1.1 Situering De Klasse van de Natuurwetenschappen (KNW) heeft begin 2013 tijdens drie opeenvolgende vergaderingen besprekingen gewijd aan het bepalen van een mogelijk thema voor haar Denkersprogramma dat in januari 2014 van start moest gaan. Een thema dat belangrijk en urgent moest zijn én dat een voldoende breed draagvlak had binnen de Academie. Een thema dat niet alleen Vlaanderen maar ook vele andere Europese landen én de Verenigde Staten van Amerika aanbelangt: het gebrek aan belangstelling voor wetenschap en technologie in wat wij graag onze “kennismaatschappij” noemen, het gebrek aan jonge mensen die willen gaan voor STEM-studies en hierin afstuderen (in België bij de laagste percentages van Europa), het dramatische deficit aan jonge mensen die opteren voor een STEM-loopbaan. En dit ondanks al de inspanningen van de overheid en alle acteurs in het veld. Indien Vlaanderen tegen 2020 één van de meest dynamische, innovatieve en W&T nieuwsgierige regio’s in Europa wil worden zullen er belangrijke mentaliteitsveranderingen moeten optreden. Het Denkersprogramma van de Klasse van de Natuurwetenschappen (DP KNW 2014) zou zich daarom buigen over de vraag: “IS VLAANDEREN INDERDAAD OP WEG NAAR EEN NIEUWSGIERIGE, ENTHOUSIASTE EN INNOVATIEGEDREVEN KENNISMAATSCHAPPIJ?” Het was niet de bedoeling om korte termijn antwoorden aan te bieden voor dit ingewikkeld vraagstuk, noch om het belangrijke werk, dat reeds door vele instanties in Vlaanderen geleverd werd, te dupliceren. Integendeel! De KNW was ervan overtuigd dat een internationaal erkende autoriteit omringd door stakeholders uit verschillende sectoren van de Vlaamse samenleving - niet alleen natuurwetenschappers en ingenieurs, leraars en ouders maar ook sociologen, psychologen, economisten, bedrijfsleiders, journalisten, … - de katalysator kon zijn van een denkproces waardoor bovenvermelde problematiek vanuit een andere perspectief benaderd wordt. In de hoop dat dit zou leiden tot het verwerven van nieuwe inzichten en het voorstellen van originele nieuwe strategieën. De KNW hoopte dat dit denkproces niet alleen nuttig zou zijn voor onze eigen overheid én de Vlaamse samenleving én economie in de breedste zin van het woord, maar ook op grotere schaal voor de Europese Commissie en vele andere Europese landen. Het voorgestelde thema was volgens ons “een belangrijke maatschappelijke uitdaging 4 waarop Vlaanderen een impact kan hebben” zoals vooropgesteld in het Convenant. De VRWI heeft de laatste jaren veel origineel werk gepubliceerd over deze problematiek. Het indrukwekkende verslag “Kiezen voor STEM” dat in mei 2013 ook in het Engels verschenen is, vormde een uitstekend uitgangspunt voor onze bedenkingen. 1.2 Activiteiten 1.2.1 Denker Een gezaghebbende en soms overgevraagde Denker werd geïdentificeerd: Professor José Mariano Gago, voormalig Portugees Minister voor Wetenschap en Technologie, Informatiemaatschappij en Hoger Onderwijs. De uitnodigingsbrief werd hem opgestuurd op 12 april 2013. Prof. Gago is Elektrotechnisch Ingenieur en Fysicus van opleiding, voorzitter van het LIP (gesticht in 1986 voor onderzoek in elementaire deeltjes fysica, is een laboratorium met veel prestige in Portugal en in het CERN) en lid van talrijke HL adviesraden bij de Europese Commissie. Hij is de auteur van het impactvolle rapport ‘Europe needs more researchers’, gepubliceerd in 2004. Hij is sinds meer dan 20 jaar een expert van de door ons vooropgestelde problematiek. Prof. Gago heeft merkwaardige verwezenlijkingen op zijn actief. Zo is hij erin geslaagd om in Portugal een culturele revolutie teweeg te brengen voor wat betreft de publieke perceptie van W&T en de gevolgen ervan. Hij is de initiatiefnemer van het succesvolle ‘Scientia Viva’ programma. Op 10 jaar tijd, en dank zij Gago's 5 initiatieven, is het aantal STEM afgestudeerden in Portugal verdubbeld. Op 23 mei 2013 aanvaardt hij onze uitnodiging om op 7 juni naar de Academie te komen voor kennismakende gesprekken, echter zonder engagement voor verdere samenwerking. Deze eerste ontmoeting met de kern van wat later de stuurgroep van het Denkersprogramma zou worden is heel goed verlopen. Op 26 juni ontvangen we een brief van Professor Gago met zijn analyse van de opdracht en zijn operationele voorwaarden (duur, modaliteiten, inhoudelijke en administratieve steun). Na overleg met de Voorzitter en de Algemeen Beheerder van de KVAB wordt op 1 september een voorstel van Denkersprogramma uitgewerkt, dat op 22 september 2013 door Professor Gago aanvaard wordt. 1.2.2 Stuurgroep De wetenschappelijke leiding van het programma berustte bij de Stuurgroep voorgezeten door Prof. Irina Veretennicoff (VUB), (IV), gewoon lid van de Academie en bestuurder (in 2012 en in 2013) van de Klasse van de Natuurwetenschappen. Leden uit de Klasse van de Natuurwetenschappen, aangevuld met leden uit de Klasse van de Technische Wetenschappen en een expert uit het bedrijfsleven, leverde input op zowel vanuit de industrie als vanuit de cel wetenschapscommunicatie. De Stuurgroep van dit Denkersprogramma bestaat uit: o Irina Veretennicoff (bestuurder 2012-2013 Klasse NW, VUB, Fotonica) o Conny Aerts (Klasse NW, KU Leuven, Astronomie) o Yvan Bruynseraede (Klasse NW, KU Leuven, Fysica) o Jean de Cannière (Director UFB) o Charles Hirsch (Klasse NW, VUB én Numeca) o Christiane Malcorps (Klasse TW, Solvay NV) o Niceas Schamp (Klasse NW, UGent, Chemie) o Alexandre Sevrin (Klasse NW, VUB, Fysica) o Dirk Van Dyck (Klasse NW, UA, Fysica) o Paul Van Houtte (bestuurder 2014-2015 Klasse NW, KU Leuven, Materiaalkunde) o Joos Vandewalle (Klasse TW, KU Leuven, Ingenieurswetenschappen) o Christoffel Waelkens (Klasse NW, KU Leuven, Astronomie) 1.2.3 Stakeholders Hieronder vindt u de gedetailleerde lijst van alle ontmoetingen die de Denker, Prof. Veretennicoff en/of de Stuurgroep hebben gehad in Vlaanderen met de belangrijkste stakeholders. - 6 07/06/2013 First long working session with representatives of the Steering Committee @UF and @KVAB Were present: José Mariano Gago and Freddy Dumortier, Charles Hirsch, Dirk Van Dyck, Paul Van Houtte, Irina Veretennicoff, Christoffel Waelkens. The meeting lasted from 11:30 am to 5:00 pm! 7 - 27/06/2013 First views on and conditions for a possible working program. JM Gago (JMG and IV by mail and over the phone) - 04/09/2013 First meeting with Danielle Raspoet and Elie Raetinckx @VRWI (IV alone), on the Thinkers Programme of the KVAB and on the STEM report of the VRWI. - 22/09/2013 JM Gago accepts to become a thinker/catalyser on the topic “Is Flanders indeed on its way towards a curiosity driven innovative knowledge society?” - 04/10/2013 First meeting with Joos Vandewalle, member of the Class of Technical Sciences and of the Steering Committee of this program @UF. Followed by a working session to prepare the next steps. - 24/10/2013 Long and fruitful discussion between JM Gago and the full steering committee. Agreement on the draft presentation of the DP Gago program, rationale, choice of the Thinker and JMG’lines of force for future action. - 14/11/2013 Meeting with the Steering Committee and first discussion on the roadmap for 2014. - 14/11/2013 Meeting with Minister Ingrid Lieten and co-workers Bart Motmans (advisor for science and innovation) and Jan Adriaenssens (Adjunct –kabinetschef) @Kabinet Ingrid Lieten, viceminister-president van de Vlaamse Regering en Vlaams minister van Innovatie, Overheidsinvesteringen, Media en Armoedebestrijding. - 15/11/2013 Meeting with Danielle Raspoet and Elie Raetinckx @VRWI. - 08/01/2014 Worksession on JM Gago’s roadmap 2014 and how to efficiently involve the Steering Committee. - 09/01/2014 First meeting with the full board of Directors (de Bestuurscommissie,) of the KVAB, presentation of Prof Gago and his roadmap. On the request of the members of the board the programme was given a shorter title and an acronym: F2KS. Flanders’ Future as a Knowledge Society. - 22/01/2014 First meeting with Koen Debackere (promotor of the Center for the R&D monitoring of the Flemish Government (ECOOM), Professor in Economics at the KUL) @KVAB - 23/01/2014 First meeting with Jorgen D’Hondt (president of the Jonge Academie, Prof @VUB Physics) and Jo De Cuyper (director of the RVO Society) @UF. Afternoon: working session. - 30/01/2014 Meeting with Reinhilde Veugeleers (co-promoter ECOOM, Prof @KUL and member of the board of the ERC) @UF. 8 - 30/01/2014 Meeting with Elisabeth Monard and Hans Willems, directeur Steun aan Onderzoekers/ Director Research Affairs @FWO – Vlaanderen. - 30/01/2014 Meeting with Derrick Gosselin @UF (IV only). - 31/01/2014 Meeting with Pascal Smet and Guy Aelterman (Kabinetschef) @Kabinet van minister Pascal Smet, Vlaams minister van Onderwijs, Jeugd, Gelijke Kansen en Brussel. - 12/02/2014 Meeting with the members of the KNW for lunch @UF followed by “The shape of the future of science”, a communication by JM Gago followed by a long discussion @the monthly meeting of the Class of Natural Sciences, KVAB. - 13/02/2014 Meeting with Derrick Gosselin @UF on more value for Flanders’ Future and exchange of documents. - 25/03/2014 Meeting with Henri Eisendrath and Gaston Moens @UF (only with IV) on the STEM problematics as seen by two actors/observers from the secondary schools science education programs over many years. - 28/03/2014 Meeting with members of the STEM platform @KVAB. - 30/04/2014 Working session with Irina Veretennicoff @KVAB (evaluating the last few months and preparing the next phase of the program). - 14/05/2014 Meeting with Vicerector Georges Gielen (KUL) in the presence of Joos Vandewalle, member of the Steering Committee @KUL. - 14/05/2014 Meeting with Ilse Smet KUL-CIT and Tom van Gerven (TH Limburg, Innov Lab) on their 'Games' project under construction. - 14/05/2014 Meeting at the RVO Society, IMEC. Broadly advertised seminar by JM Gago followed by a long discussion with the audience on the occasion of the annual meeting of the WIN, the Wetenschap en Innovatie Netwerk. The theme of JM Gago’s communication was related to his 2004 report from the EC “Europe needs more scientists” and Gago’s personal views and life-experience on his pathways to undisputable success. - 26/06/2014 Meeting with Inez Dua, member of staff, to define the first concrete steps towards the final Conference and adapt the roadmap. A first announcement has been broadly distributed (over two thousand emails) in Flanders on July 10 th 2014. - 06/09/2014 Meeting with the board of the VeLeWe (Vereniging van de Leraars Wetenschappen), KABIN, Brussels. - 11/09/2014 First meeting devoted to the contents of F2KS Conference as proposed by JMG. (JMG + IV) - 12/09/2014 Meeting with the Steering Committee. It is decided to restrict the duration of the F2KS conference to only November 28th and to focus on three themes within the context of Flanders as a Knowledge Society: STEM education, society and Knowledge based economy. - 10/10/2014 Meeting of JMG with IV and staff members Inez Dua and Bert Seghers devoted to the many organizational aspects (from 10am to 6pm). - 10/10/2014 Dinner by invitation from the Director of Technopolis (JMG and Eric Jacquemyn). - 22/10/2014 Work session (11am to 3pm) of IV, also on behalf of JMG, with Bernadette Hendrickx and Jacky Hellemans (VeLeWe) @KVAB and UF. - 24/10/2014 Meeting with JM Gago at the Second SCIENTIX Conference (http://www.scientix.eu/web/guest). Keynote: Prof. Mariano Gago, invited by Marc Durando, Executive Director, European Schoolnet, and Àgueda Gras-Velázquez, Scientix Project Manager; title: “How should ministries of education take up the STEM challenge?” In front of more than 350 science teachers from all over Europe. Also attended by Christiane Malcorps, Bert Seghers, Irina Veretennicoff (KVAB, SC) - 25/10/2014 Scientix Conference 2014, plenary sessions 1,2: attended by IV. - 07/11/2014 Meeting with a delegation of the Vlaamse Vereniging voor Studenten (VVS) @KVAB (JMGago, IV and Bert Seghers) - 14/11/2014 Meeting with Jo de Cuyper (with IV @KVAB) - 19/11/2014 Meeting IV with Katrien De Schrijver, Stafmedewerker STEM-platform, Martine Taeymans, Directeur Marketing & Communicatie van de Thomas More Hogeschool, en André Van Hauwermeiren, studiedienst VDAB @ meeting of STEM Platform, Antoon van Osslaan 1, 1120 Brussel. On the organization of panel 1 on STEM education at the F2KS conference. - 21/11/2014 Meeting with Kurt Meeus, General Director, Scholengroep MiddenBrabant @ het Kasteeltje, basisschool Overijse. Professor Gago heeft daarnaast ook heel wat ontmoetingen gehad in het buitenland in het kader van dit Denkersprogramma (DP), met inbegrip van enkele lezingen die hij er heeft gegeven. Zij liggen buiten het formele (ook financiële!) kader van het DP maar zijn inhoudelijk zeer nuttig geweest om het internationale aspect van de slotconferentie te onderlijnen. Bovendien dragen zij bij tot de internationale uitstraling en zichtbaarheid die de KVAB wil bereiken met het F2KS programma. 9 - Meeting with Prof. Svein Sjoberg, Professor Emeritus of Science Education at University of Oslo, (in Portugal, May 17, 2014) - Meeting with Prof. Paul Caro, Directeur de Recherche Honoraire CNRS, member French Academy, former Scientific Director of the Palais des Sciences – La Vilette (in Paris, March 27, 2014) - Meeting with Andrew Wyckoff, Director Science, Technology, Industry Directorate, OECD (in Paris, May 23, 2014) - Meeting with Joaquim Oliveira, Head of the OECD Regional. Development Policy Division (in Paris, June 4, 2014) - “Our future as a knowledge society?” Invited talk at the 2nd Convegno ROARS, Higher Education and Research Policies in Europe: Challenges for Italy, CNR, Rome, Italy, February 12, 2014. - “The social constituencies for scientific development and the problem of the values of science and democracy in the developing world” Invited talk at Brown University, Providence, US, April 9, 2014. - “Science policy and the values of science in difficult times” Invited talk at the Academia Europea Annual Conference, Barcelona, July 17, 2014. 1.2.4 Roadmap Op verzoek van de Denker, en met de hulp van de leden van de Stuurgroep en andere leden van de Klasse van de Natuurwetenschappen (KNW) en de Klasse van de Technische Wetenschappen (KTW), zijn de werkzaamheden gestart op basis van de elementen van de ‘roadmap’ die begin januari 2014 door Professor Gago uitgewerkt werden en die voor het grootste deel gerealiseerd zijn. Het was de wens van de Denker om de problematiek aan te pakken als een écht research project, waarvoor het verzamelen van opinies en data van primordiaal belang zijn. De eerste maanden van dit DP zijn dus voornamelijk hieraan gewijd. Hieronder vindt u een samenvatting van de belangrijkste punten met vermelding van de staat van verwezenlijking. 1. Een korte titel en passend acroniem vinden voor het thema van het Gago DP Titel: “Flanders’ Future as a Knowledge Society”. Acroniem “F2KS”. 2. Een Vlaanderen F2KS rubriek opstarten op de KVAB website. http://www.kvab.be/denkersprogramma/projecten-vlaanderen-kennismaatschappij.aspx 3. Zo vlug mogelijk de leden van de Vlaamse Regering ontmoeten die bevoegd zijn voor innovatie, onderwijs, STEM opleidingen en training, en het verder ontwikkelen van een “Kennismaatschappij” in Vlaanderen. Prof. Gago en coördinator Prof. Veretennicoff zijn met belangstelling ontvangen door de Ministers Ingrid Lieten, Pascal Smet en hun kabinetsmedewerkers. Het zijn duidelijk meer dan 10 protocollaire gesprekken geweest. Het DP heeft bovendien kunnen rekenen op belangrijke inhoudelijke steun. Omwille van hun drukke agenda’s zijn onze pogingen om de Ministers Hilde Crevits en Philippe Muyters persoonlijk te ontmoeten niet geslaagd. Minister Muyters was wel actief vertegenwoordigd op de slotconferentie door zijn adjunct kabinetschef, Bruno Lambrecht. 4. Zo vlug mogelijk toonaangevende stakeholders en deskundigen identificeren en ontmoeten. De Denker en/of de coördinator hebben meer dan dertig werkvergaderingen "face-toface" gehad met belangrijke Vlaamse spelers in het F2KS landschap. De leden van de stuurgroep hebben ook via hun kanalen gezorgd voor de bekendmaking van dit DP. Zie ook het overzicht onder 1.6 Stakeholders. 5. Het opstarten van een documentatiecentrum/digitale bibliotheek met een goed gestructureerde publicatielijst over en rond het thema van dit DP. Ook vergelijkende data, indicatoren en publicaties werden beschikbaar gemaakt om Vlaanderen te situeren in het EU landschap. Dankzij de bijdrage van de VRWI, de leden van de stuurgroep, andere geïnteresserde leden van de KVAB en de vele internationale contacten van Professor Gago, hebben we een grote collectie publicaties verzameld die sinds 18 november 2014 te raadplegen zijn op: http://www.kvab.be/denkersprogramma/f2ks/documentations.htm. 6. Een internationale slotconferentie organiseren rond het F2KS thema en breed adverteren. 11 2 Resultaten en impact 2.1 Conferentie F2KS Het formaat van deze conferentie werd bepaald door de Denker zelf. Hij heeft ook vijf internationale deskundigen uitgenodigd om de F2KS problematiek te analyseren vanuit een internationaal perspectief. Eén maand voor de conferentie hebben we tot onze spijt vernomen dat twee deskundigen, om gezondheidsredenen, niet konden aanwezig zijn. Dit heeft ons echter de mogelijkheid geboden om nog meer gewicht te geven aan de bijdragen van Vlaamse deskundigen als "keynote" speakers. Dit liet toe een duidelijk inzicht te krijgen van wat er op het werkveld leeft rond formeel en informeel STEM onderwijs, en het ontwikkelen van de kennismaatschappij en de innovatiegedreven kenniseconomie. Professor Gago heeft, op het einde van de Conferentie, zijn slotbedenkingen en aanbevelingen gegeven in een zeer gesmaakte toespraak. De transcriptie van zijn toespraak vindt u terug in punt 2.2. J.M. Gago, I. Veretennicoff en S. Sjoberg Behalve de vijfendertig experten die het woord hebben genomen zijn ook talrijke interventies geweest vanuit de zaal. Het aantal inschrijvingen (inbegrepen diegenen die zich de dag zelf hebben aangemeld) was ongeveer 200. Deze slotconferentie werd gehouden in het Paleis der Academiën op vrijdag 28 november van 9:00 tot 18h30, gevolgd door een receptie. De toegang was gratis maar inschrijvingen waren verplicht. 12 De Conferentiebrochure en de beschikbare papers/presentaties kan u downloaden op: http://www.kvab.be/denkersprogramma/conference-vlaanderenkennismaatschappij.aspx. J. Oliveira, C. Malcorps en J.M. Gago M.C. Van de Velde, C. Hirsch, L. Bondue en W. Dehaene 13 2.2 Slottoespraak en bevindingen JM Gago A knowledge-based society under catalysis: a personal summary, and some naive proposals for action Jose Mariano Gago, Thinker in Residence of the KVAB Slides can be downloaded at http://www.kvab.be/denkersprogramma/files/4.4_Gago.pdf. I'll try to be as brief as possible, and that's not simple. I was asked to speak about the whole subject and your work that I have tried to catalyze during one year. I was also asked to draw some conclusions out of this conference. First of all, I want to thank you, and to praise your initiative. You probably don't know, but initiatives by an organized scientific community, like the Academy or other scientific societies, are normally invisible in Europe and very scarce. There are very few initiatives that go beyond their immediate objectives. Of course there are initiatives for research spending, laws or organization of universities, but societal questions raised by professional scientists, which are of course needed to successfully bring in other members of society, are not very common in any European country. I have been following this for several decades and I can tell you that the initiatives by the organized scientific community are not very common. Individual initiatives are of course plenty. And because of that, I was proud to help. Because you were enthusiast, and committed to a difficult task in which you were not sure you could succeed. And no one could be sure to succeed, because it requires an enormous involvement, not only by those related to the science based professions and economy, but also to the rest of society. 1. Some history I tried to organize my mind, so I will try to go swiftly through this organization. It has been recalled during this conference, and I have checked it with Luc Soete, that the coining of the word Knowledge Economy was by Dominique Foray in 1994. In fact, it was immediately injected into the political machinery of OECD in 1995. It was at the same time the era of information technology deployment, so information society came first, because that was the American translation of what in that time in Europe were still called "highways of information". But at the same time, the science system got the economic input it was in need of. It was the first time -- I remember, in the nineties -- that organized groups of economists and the OECD amplified the idea that indeed the science system was an essential part of the economy and of its progress. You recall that in the beginning of the '90s, John Ziman had written "Prometheus Bound. Science in a dynamic steady state"(Cambridge University Press, 1994). In fact, the increase of the public budget for science since the Second World War and the enormous accumulation of human and physical capital for science in the United 14 States had started to produce a true revolution in the private sector, mainly in the United States and later in Europe. The message of this recognition from the economical world at the highest level had an enormous impact on policymaking at that time. In the year 2000, there have been major political breakthroughs. These did not come as a surprise, because they were in the line of this discussion over the nineties, strengthened by the amplification of information technology and the need in Europe to respond to the massive investment in IT in the United States. You must remember that, at that time, there were major debates in many European countries and communication companies to discuss whether the Internet should be left to the market or if the government should do something about it, namely in schools. The opinions were divided. Some said: Internet will be something like telephone lines -- you shouldn't do it. While in fact, more than ten years earlier, the National Science Foundation had dedicated money from the research budget of the US to pay for the connection of schools all over the United States to the Internet! The major breakthrough was the European Council in 2000. This idea, that Europe should become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion, that was 14 years ago! For the first time, one sees the start of the transition to a knowledge-based economy and society by better policies to favor the information society. You may recall that Luc Soete was one of the distinguished economists who were essential players in the preparation of this unanimous decision by policy leaders. At the time, the discussion was between France and the UK, on the European social model on one hand and on the investments in innovation and IT on the other. The combination of those conflicts was positively resolved by the idea of investing in education AND research and expanding the idea of investing in IT by investing in something more profound than technology, in something where people would get profit from: a different type of education would emerge, that IT would help to provide. This is the political status and the history of the question we are tackling today. 2. Some preliminary thoughts From Thinker to Catalyst For the record, I would just like to address a word of recognition, on why I come here now, trying to address you with this. I must thank professor Irina and the steering committee for that. If I had the time, I would make you laugh with the exchange of e-mails starting in April 2013 and finishing with an act of folly when I said yes. But I said yes, changing the idea of "Thinker" into the idea of a "Catalyst”. I won't bother you with values and what catalysis means in Old Greek -- normally it means to destroy, etc. but one of the meanings is also "to stay just one night" -- it's in Themistocles. It's a curious idea that the Academy accepted swiftly the idea that I could just come for one night! 15 Charpak and the promotion of Science Education I would like to show you -- because at this time of the day I must also entertain you!-- the 2004 novel ( Soyez savants, devenez prophètes with Roland Omnès, Éditions Odile Jacob ) that Georges Charpak, Nobel prize winner of Physics in 1992 , gave to me. I worked together with him at CERN when he was developing his wire chambers that led to new particle- and PET imaging techniques in hospitals. After his Nobel Prize, he developed this movement called "La main à la pâte" for science education in schools in France. He was inspired by Leon Max Lederman from the United States, another Nobel Prize winner in Physics. In 2004, he wrote in his dedication to me: "Ils sont fous, à Bruxelles". The last words were "Ils mettent le chariot avant les boeufs." He was not speaking about physics, but about the promotion of science and science education. Exactly the topic we discuss today. A question on the fundamentals of knowledge and technology. There is another point of view that I will try not to avoid, although it might seem too theoretical or too philosophical. One of the intellectual founders of Europe, Denis De Rougemont, wrote "Information is not knowledge" in 1981 (Denis de Rougemont, Information n’est pas savoir, Diogène, n° 116). This remained as a warning for information technologists. The paper was extremely influential in the idea that to learn and understand one should go beyond just getting information. As we heard from Svein Sjöberg today, the technology for testing education systems does not necessarily improve education. In 1939, just before World War II, one of the most interesting papers appeared in this respect– but no one realized it at the moment – “La Meditación de la técnica” by the Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset. In his December 1949 Bremen lecture, “Das Ge-Stell” , Heidegger said that: "farming is now a motorized food industry, in essence the same as the fabrication of corpses in gas chambers and extermination camps, the same as the blockade and starving of the peasantry, the same as the fabrication of the hydrogen bomb." This sentence has been discovered and discussed in the '50s and then people forgot all about it, as usual. But it's back now: this quotation is from next week ‘s issue of the New York Review of Books. There is a lot of discussion now about it. It has to do with the deeply rooted idea that as society is becoming technological all things that are technical, are more or less the same, and inspired by the same “inhuman” principles. In fact, many people have this as a gospel and in my opinion this should be attacked from the very start when you are discussing knowledge-based societies. This is a ghost that has been hanging above our heads all of the time. And it's coming back. Don't think that it's something of the '49 -ties: it's coming back, over and over again. This intellectual debate exists. Sorry to be so brief about it. 16 To study science is hard work So you have asked yourselves: how to mobilize society in order to convince families, young people, to study science? To study science is hard work. Of course it's hard work. For those who like it, it can be fun. But it's hard work. Hard work can be fun. Fine, but it can also be very depressing. It's hard, and it's work – there is nothing to do about it. You can't learn anything decently, either science (all sciences) or arts or philosophy, without hard work. And to send a different message to the education sector is really fooling the young people. There is a vast international and European accumulated expertise, mainly in the last twenty years, related to this political evolution, many books have been published -- I've just chosen some of them, all European (see slides). The question addressed above has been put over and over again for the last twenty years in many countries and on the European level: we are revisiting here something that has been intensively studied. Thousands of pages have been written and recommendations have been transformed into law in many countries, into investments programs, into training teachers, in structures. These are available in many, many countries and should be taken in consideration. 3. Some observations We have developed the acronym F2KS for Flanders' Future as a Knowledge Society. I will use this acronym as the name of a program, as if it was an object. I am now coming to the main part of the subject of this talk: about what I have learned with you, these last months. F2KS is a decoder of new signs of societal threats and opportunities It is about developing a process. If you want to change, you need a process, because you need to involve people and to recognize factors. As those who are experts in foresight studies know, a foresight study starts by identifying the factors and the actors that shape the future. So without the social actors, the people, the organizations etc., without the factors that condition their action, you cannot look forward. I have recognized signs of anxiety, signs of change and signs of perplexity. Signs of anxiety: The perception of a lack of motivation for studying science and technology. The anticipation of a strong deficit of science teachers. The perception of a lack of well trained professionals in certain technical area’s. These are three signs of anxiety -- not thirty, but they are three major ones. 17 Signs of change But there are also signs of change. I have put all of them with a question mark, as it's up to you to know whether they're real, or just the result of my perception Apparently, there is a trend to try to address social mechanisms (some would call them anachronisms) rooted in the school system and to rethink the question of the social selectivity in education. I have seen all statistics in education, but I have seen no statistics on what has been all over the place a key political issue in many European countries: is the school system contributing to social mobility, or not ? Second, there is a trend to address the issue of the pupils and students’ study and career orientation and information systems. To address this problem is to give political orientations to these career orientation and information systems. They are not technical, they are political. Are the secondary school pupils and postsecondary school students properly informed, coached and oriented? And third, being aware of the need to change and looking for signs of disruption: is the existing system going to remain as it is, or is it going to be disrupted? Will it be disrupted because in some communities too many pupils/students are unsuccessful or will the system be disrupted because students do not go into the professions that are needed? Signs of perplexity These are my signs of perplexity. 18 How to face the impossibility -- because it is impossible -- of both reproducing social rigidity and segregation and at the same time help infusing new innovative energies in youth? How to increasingly assert the right of political self-determination -- that's a key point in a region like Flanders but also in other regions and nations in Europe, and Flanders is historically a nation -- and at the same time move towards a more diverse and open society? Because this is a challenge, to go for political self-determination and not enter into isolation. How to invest creatively and generously in transforming exclusion into inclusion? The percentage of well-educated women in full-time jobs in science-based professions is still very low in society -- and that's an enormous threat. There are too many dropouts in education: young people leaving school or universities without a diploma. And there is a problem that you share with many other rich societies in Europe: the third and second generation of immigrants. Will they be considered a problem or an opportunity, and is society prepared to invest the money and resources needed to transform this problem into an opportunity? 4. Identifying actions to be taken F2KS should be a platform for concerted action to solve these problems. For that, you need to identify the dimensions of these actions. I've tried to identify these dimensions. If I look at them politically, they could be programs with budgets and leadership and so on, and they should overlap. They must be overlapping, so as to stimulate competition and co-operation among the political and social actors. First is the question of promoting scientific and technical culture in society, so bringing to the people more knowledge about science and technology. Then is the question of general science education for everyone, and the role of science and technology learning at that stage -- many of the discussions we had today with the science teachers were on this specific problem. Then is the problem of life long learning that we have not addressed here today, the problems of vocational training, and of addressing social and economic perceived qualification gaps. These three areas need specific programs to be addressed. They cannot be addressed by wording. In the UK, the question of the economically perceived qualification gap has been and is being addressed by UK business, in collaboration with local educational authorities. In many other countries, there are other solutions, but all have this is common: they are systematic, they produce a kind of observatory, which involves the local education authorities or councils with schools (municipalities, parents and so on) and employers on the other hand. They do it systematically and locally. Then, there is a problem of science communication and the media. I'm sorry, but I have never seen this problem being addressed without a strong public policy on this area. The number of science communicators, namely professional science journalists, can be greatly improved by government. News agencies, desks for science can be asked for by the authorities. The promotion of training journalists out of the scientific professions is something that has been around in Europe for many years and in fact it attracts youth with high level of scientific training in every country. It helps to change the profession of journalists and to create professional desks of science and technology journalists in journals. We know this from economy: many journalists covering economy have got this type of training. So it could be extended to other areas. And finally, the general political problem that any political party and any government must ask itself is: will my voters support me? For that, we have to strengthen and bring together the social, cultural and economic constituencies for science and technology. Those groups in society which are -for different reasons- disconnected from one another and can be led to favor a policy where priority is given to different areas of science and technology. 19 But bringing them together is something you cannot ask the people to do by themselves and you can't ask the second law of thermodynamics to do it for you. It requires the input of external energy, it requires to apply an “external field”. And that external field, in democratic societies, is provided by governments -- at national, regional or sub-regional level. One of the reasons why we elect authorities in a democratic society, is to bring-in constituencies to promote causes and changes in society. 5. F2KS and the Academy could think about an independent proposal for coherent political objectives. This is the role of an organized independent group of scientists: to address the authorities and to tell them what they think and what they propose. It's not to produce the technicalities for their action. It's to produce the ideas that will then have to be negotiated and translated into action by those who are in charge. I have done the following exercise and this is the second moment of my speech that I will need something to protect me from the things you are going to throw at me. But I'm protected by the hour! I've tried to write and to test a kind of political decalogue for the future of the knowledge society in Flanders. I've tested it some weeks ago in the Scientix conference in Brussels and I'm grateful for those who were there. I have checked with some of you some of the ideas there. Ten points, that should in my view be discussed by you, because they could be part of a political program in a specific area, to all political parties and to any government. 1. First, the main purpose of general science and technology education, in compulsory education, for everyone, is the scientific and technological culture of society at large. It's not obvious, but there is no choice. If you do that, the training of teachers, the programs, the material, etc. have to be conditioned by this objective. This is the political objective. 2. Second, science education is not only part of the responsibility of the ministry in charge of education. It is part of any ministry in charge of research, of science and technology. Science and technology policy must devote a budget, organization, human means for science education and pay the political price if there is a failure. They will be proud to have, say, x % new papers in Nature, Cell, etc., a due amount of innovations and patents, but what is their record to science education? To assess this is part of the job of a minister in charge of research 3. Third, you have to require investing in science (all sciences) and technology education, formal and informal. Informal means science centers, and the media. You must invest in the media and in schools, at all levels. And of course the usual aspects: you must invest in research, you must invest in innovation 20 policies. 4. Fourth, this is a difficult point, and it has been with us for many, many years. You have to work on the fact that, in contrast with the expectations of those who live within the science sector, the youth and even some of the most creative youth, is not keen on science and technology. This is a disease of rich societies. It is the disease of not bringing enough challenging ideas about science, and the fact that science is not presented as connected to human values. Only the human values of science can motivate and permeate youth culture. You will not permeate youth culture in a rich society only with job perspectives: we are not in rural China, where studying mathematics day and night is the only way out of poverty. No! We are in a rich society. In a vast number of families, youth will think: "why not choose something easier? Life will not be bad at all…after all." So that's not the point. It's how science can permeate youth culture, and be appropriated by youth culture. It's not by telling the youth -- sorry -- that science is very important for making a lot of money in companies. That, very frankly, will not change the mind of any one of fourteen, fifteen. It's much more if you say that you are looking for extraterrestrial life. What is, in fact, science about? It's about pursuing the truth: proof, not authority; it's about knowledge, not ignorance; it's about technical training, not definitions -- we haven't learned anything if in school we are taught definitions: we just learned a name, but that's not science, sorry -- it's history that we need, where the name comes from, not sound bytes. On the other hand, we must teach students that science does not allow neutrality. You may have to choose in your life, if you go into a science- or technology based professions! You choose peace or war. Many of my colleagues have worked to develop very nasty bombs -some of them developed bombs where the remains of the bomb inside the body could not be detected by X-rays! You must tell the students: if you go into science, you must know if you are in favor of that -and some are in favor of that -- or against it. Science is a battle ground, it's not neutral. And if you know it's not neutral, it becomes interesting. It can become part of the modern youth culture. You must choose between generosity or greed, and choose between disclosing or hiding the truth. Many sciences are key to attract the imagination both of the society-at-large and of the students. Astronomy and elementary particle physics -I am a particle physicist myself – are well known examples. And last but not least, the importance of science for society must be spelled out: you can't have life-quality control -- the water you drink, the air you breathe -- without science. 21 Science provides society with a culture of evaluation and quality control, with risk governance -- you would be submerged by epidemics without science -- and without the tools for social communication and social cohesion -- because public policies, if they are not tested by independent scientific methods, they will be rotten, as we all know. 5. The fifth commandment is straightforward: general science and technology education in schools is key to lifelong learning, to social adaptability and to social and political participation. It has to be handled with care and expertise. 6. My point in commandment six is related to the former: please do not split and create barriers between what you call STEM education and all the rest. You are not doing a service to the science teachers, nor to the students. I've told you, some hours ago, that some of the best science projects all over the world, have been obtained by the combination and the involvement of teachers and researchers of different areas. It includes languages, history and geography, etc. It can be lead by science and technology, but it must involve the school-at-large. If it doesn't involve the school, it's a failure. It means that the culture of the school has not been permeated by this drive for science and technology. 7. The seventh commandment is a difficult one, because it's related to a threat, in many European countries. We have seen it in the past and we are seeing it today in Germany, France, the UK, and many other countries. The world has changed a lot recently and is changing even more every day. Poverty and war are at the frontiers of Europe. Ten years ago, the number of people crossing by night the Mediterranean by boat, was less than one tenth of those who are crossing today, and this number is increasing and will increase, because of war and refugees. The refusal of addressing poverty and war at the frontiers of Europe -- of addressing, I'm not saying accepting or rejecting -- and addressing the increasing inflow of refugees and (illegal) immigrants as an opportunity -- because you will have them, anyhow -- are major threats for the development of highly advanced European societies. With the declining birth rates in Europe and with many people coming in anyhow, something has to be done. Europe does not exist politically. Some countries, some regions, will do much better than others. The future of their economy and their social peace will be the price to pay at the end of the day. 8. The question of the perceived lack of science and technology-based professionals in the economy and in society must be taken seriously. It has been said loudly by many people, coming mainly from companies. Of course they know their field; they can't speak about society in general, but they can speak about their company. The issue must be taken seriously by the whole scientific community. First, for a political reason: if there is a group, which is part of the constituency for science, and that this group perceives a problem, then this problem must become a problem of all of us. That is the only way to build a social constituency for science. 22 9. The question of the lack of high level science teachers has been predicted many years ago. There is a demonstration by John Ziman, who died some years ago: he said the following. "It is a sad fact that in most countries very few students who have specialised in science, technology or mathematics are recruited into teacher education. Paradoxically, the more a society has a need for people with a science and technology background, the less likely it is that such people will enter the teaching profession. Part of the reason is that remuneration, working conditions, possibilities for in-service training, etc. make the teaching profession less attractive than other areas of work for people who are in demand, in those areas. Well qualified and motivated science and technology teachers are key when it comes to stimulating future generations’ interest in science." You see the political lessons. If symbolic, social and material remuneration, working conditions and possibilities for in-service training are not improved, the situation will be degrading. It has happened in other countries, and it will happen in Flanders if nothing is done. It has been predicted years ago, it is not a novelty. And we know the solution! Many countries have solved this problem. Here I come to my ninth point. Only the empowerment of science teachers and their social recognition by society, but mainly the empowerment of teachers in schools, is a key for success of sustainable science and technology policies. I discussed this already earlier tonight: the machinery that exists for funding research project work can be extended easily from the research budget, in addition to the education budget, for project work by science teachers themselves, teams of teachers and teams of students. But there is just one caveat about it. It must be additional funding: you can't just move money from one place to the other. And the scale must be big enough. The temptation is to transform all that into a pedagogical experiment, into innovation in education. But I'm sorry, if you do that, you will not reach the scale necessary to have an impact on society, to bring the empowerment of the science teachers to the attention of parents and kids. I've made a calculation based upon my own experience and your population in school. I would say that annual calls for proposals should aim at reaching, in less than three years time, at least 50 % of all schools, at least 1000 F2KS science teachers -- I would call them F2KS science teachers -- and at least 100 researchers. And that is a very modest number. I hope that the generosity of researchers in giving free time for the schools in their neighborhood as part of their social responsibility would very much increase this number. Numbers lower than this would not have an impact in society. 10. My 10th commandment is probably the most ambitious and federative one. Devising and funding large scale stable national and international initiatives and supporting independent initiatives aiming at bringing together schools, research centres, sciencebased professionals as well as industry and science centres are key to opening the gates of an inclusive , curiosity and innovation driven knowledge society. 23 6. The end The end must be peaceful and it must come from history. It has to do with our common background: Portugal and Flanders have been very close during the sixteenth century. Both have been doomed by intolerance. In fact the richest families in Leuven and Antwerpen, who were not only a source of wealth, but also of humanist culture, escaped to Amsterdam. The rise of religious intolerance in Europe, the rise of inquisition and religion wars, transformed two of the richest regions into normal dependent regions. The rise and fall of tolerance, humanism and prosperity in Flanders and Portugal in the 16th century should be a lesson for us -- and it is a lesson that I try to remember. We are now in a stage where the rise of Europe as a knowledge society -- there is no doubt about it: during the last 20 years, not only Flanders, but the whole European Union, has experienced an extraordinary progress towards the knowledge society. The number of students, the number of educated researchers, the investments in public and private research, the results and appropriation of research in products and services in society has been tremendous in the European Union in the last years. And that has been appropriated by almost all political parties and all governments; at least they all do something or pay lip service to the idea that they are in favor and they do what they can for a knowledge society. That, I call the rise of Europe as a knowledge society. But now we face an uncertain future. War has surrounded Europe and poverty is tending to come into Europe since the last ten years. Division has doomed the hopes of the years 2000 within Europe. Any of us, in each society, must do our best, to overcome this difficult situation. As in a conference almost one year ago, I wish to recall the famous humanist Damião de Góis, Portugese by birth, married to a Flemish family who fought for the defense of Leuven against the French troops. He was arrested and rationed by the king of Portugal. He was a friend of Erasmus. At the end of his life, after being back in Portugal as the historian royal he was imprisoned by the inquisition and probably assassinated. Some years ago it was found that his many competences in the highest level included music. In fact a few sheets of music written by his hand, were found. It's a few seconds. The music you are going to listen is without words, but the words intended for this music are known and come from a passage of the Bible. They should be read in retrospect of these dark times, the times that came after an extraordinary expansion, the first globalisation of the world. This is the passage in Latin, translated as : “Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, God will be my light”. Five centuries later, I invite you to listen to his music. Ne laeteris, inimica mea Super me quia cecidi 24 Consurgam cum sedero In tenebris Dominus lux mea est Thank you. Transcripted by Bert Seghers, edited by Irina Veretennicoff 2.3 Nieuwe ideeën De belangrijkste boodschap die voortgekomen is uit het Denkersprogramma F2KS is de bevestiging dat een innoverende lerende economie steunt op goed gevormde én enthousiaste (jonge) mensen en een goed ingelichte samenleving. De vele face-to-face gesprekken waren hierin zeer leerrijk. De toestand van het lerarencorps is echter problematisch, ondersteuning ontbreekt veelal en een sterke hervorming is noodzakelijk. De aandacht van de media voor de wetenschap en technologie is eveneens inadequaat. Dit is een gemiste kans voor beleidsverantwoordelijken op alle niveaus. Niettemin is er in Vlaanderen wel degelijk veel in beweging. Bewijs hiervan zijn onder meer de vele rapporten die het afgelopen jaar zijn verschenen (zie digitale bibliotheek F2KS), Technopolis maar vooral ook de recent opgerichte STEM Academies. Het is de overtuiging van JM Gago dat wetenschap dé manier is om de sociale kloof aan te pakken, daar waar taal en sociaal milieu vaak voor barrières zorgen. Zo zijn er in de wetenschappen veel taalonafhankelijke kanalen van communicatie die kunnen aangewend worden om mensen te stimuleren de sociale lift te nemen. De taal van de wetenschap is immers universeel. 2.4 Communicatie en media De activiteiten van het Denkersprogramma werden aangekondigd op de website van de KVAB en in de Academieberichten. Er is een interview verschenen van Prof. Gago en Prof. Veretennicoff in de Academieberichten nr. 58, 2014, p. 2-5 (in bijlage). De aankondiging en de uitnodigingen voor de slotconferentie werden vanuit de Academie op drie verschillende data (begin juli, eind oktober en midden november 2014) per email opgestuurd naar meer dan 2000 geadresseerden. Op de websites van VUB, KU Leuven, Technopolis, VLEVA (Vlaams Europees Verbindingsagentschap), EPOS vzw, en in de nieuwsbrief van ie-net vzw werd de slotconferentie aangekondigd. Een persmededeling werd uitgestuurd en de "marketing" dienst van De Standaard werd per email gecontacteerd. Alleen Flanders Today reageerde op onze uitnodiging met een 25 uitgebreid artikel: http://www.flanderstoday.eu/education/rekindling-flanders-love-scienceand-technology. Een belangrijk document is de Conferentiebrochure (in bijlage) naar aanleiding van het afsluitend Congres op 28 november 2014. Deze brochure, alsook de papers/presentaties zijn terug te vinden op de website van de KVAB. Naar aanleiding van de Conferentie werden tweets gepost via Twitter onder #F2KS. Het Denkersprogramma van de KVAB is overigens aanwezig op LinkedIn. Enkele belangrijke links: - Documentatiecentrum: http://www.kvab.be/denkersprogramma/f2ks/documentations.htm - Conferentiebrochure: http://www.kvab.be/denkersprogramma/projecten-vlaanderen-kennismaatschappij.aspx - Conference papers/presentaties/transcriptie: http://www.kvab.be/denkersprogramma/conference-vlaanderenkennismaatschappij.aspx 2.5 Opvolgacties 2.5.1 Rapport met aanbevelingen Prof. Gago heeft tijdens zijn slottoespraak op de conferentie van F2KS zijn aanbevelingen geformuleerd in de vorm van 10 geboden: 1. General science and technology education main purpose is the scientific and technological culture of society at large. 2. Science Education must be part of S&T policy. 3. The appropriation of Science and Technology by society requires investing in science and technology education, formal and informal, at all levels, as well as in scientific and technological research and other public policies. 4. Only the human values of science and their role in civilisation can deeply interest society and effectively permeate youth culture. 5. General Science and Technology Education in schools is key to lifelong learning, to social adaptability and to social and political participation. 26 6. Science and technology education shall be shaped as an inclusive process of practical socialisation to science and technology, together with and contributing to all other areas (from the arts to the sports) with no barriers. 7. General science and technology education, project work, systematic experimental and technical practice, shall be widely used as tools for improving social cohesion and for reducing social selectivity in education. 8. Addressing systematically the perceived lack of S&T based professionals in the economy and in society is key to building up trust and a sense of common social responsibility. 9. Only the empowerment of science teachers and their social recognition by society may allow for the success of sustainable S&T policies. Science and Education policies shall aim at bringing Scientists and Science Teachers together. 10. Devising and funding large scale stable national and international initiatives and supporting independent initiatives aiming at bringing together schools, research centres, science-based professionals as well as industry and science centres. De volledige presentatie is terug te vinden op de website van de KVAB. De transcriptie van zijn toespraak vindt u terug in punt 2.2. 2.5.2 Standpunt De stuurgroep zal, met het oog op het verder uitbouwen van het gecreëerde momentum rond het denkersprogramma, en de vernieuwende inhoudelijke aspecten van F2KS een Standpunt van de Academie publiceren in 2015. In samenspraak met de belangrijkste stakeholders van het DP F2KS is het de bedoeling over te gaan tot het opsommen van enkele praktische acties, in het bijzonder toegespitst op het lager en middelbaar onderwijs. Op basis van de resultaten van deze workshop zal een standpunt voorbereid worden. Het doel hiervan zal zijn een kader te creëren om het enthousiasme en de motivatie bij leraren en leerlingen te stimuleren. 2.6 Exit-gesprek Voor de evaluatie van het programma door de Denker wordt verwezen naar het eerste deel van de slottoespraak van JM Gago. De stuurgroep heeft de organisatie en de outcome van het programma, inlcusief mogelijke opvolgacties, uitvoerig besproken in haar vergadering van 26 januari 2015. 27 3 Dankwoord Professor Gago en de F2KS stuurgroep wensen alle stakeholders en sprekers op de slotconferentie te bedanken voor hun belangstelling voor het F2KS programma, en hun beschikbaarheid om efficiënt bij te dragen tot dit programma. Onze bijzondere dank aan Professor Dirk Boogmans en Danielle Raspoet, respectievelijk Voorzitter en Algemeen Secretaris van VRWI, evenals aan Elie Ratinckx (VRWI) die ons vanaf het begin met raad en daad hebben bijgestaan. Wij wensen hen ook te feliciteren met de kwaliteit van hun adviezen en aanbevelingen. Ook hebben we de kwaliteit en het nut van de wekelijkse VRWI nieuwsberichten bijzonder op prijs gesteld. Zij laten toe om polshoogte te houden van het wereldwijd reilen en zeilen van de Science en Technology Policies. Onze dank en gelukwensen gaan ook naar alle leden van het STEM platform en in het bijzonder naar de efficiënte ‘liaison officer’ Katrien De Schrijver en de Voorzitter Martine Tempels. Hun bijdrage is indrukwekkend. Wij hopen dat hun succesvolle initiatieven bestendigd worden in duurzame structuren. Ook wensen wij de medewerkers van het Vlaams Ministerie van Onderwijs en Vorming en in het bijzonder Rita Dunon te bedanken voor het leveren van gegevens en informatie. Dank aan Professor Luc Sels en medewerkers van het Steunpunt Werk en Sociale Economie (KU Leuven) voor het leveren van data omtrent knelpunten en kritische vacatures. Tenslotte kunnen we niet genoeg de nadruk leggen op het werk geleverd door de hele staf van de KVAB. Wij wensen hen allen te bedanken en te feliciteren. In het bijzonder danken we de beleidsmedewerkers Inez Dua en Bert Seghers. Dank voor hun enthousiasme en professionalisme, de kwaliteit van de samenwerking met de Denker en de stuurgroep en de efficiëntie van hun contacten met de Vlaamse Administratie, de stakeholders en de buitenwacht. Ik hoop dat deze informatie een duidelijk overzicht geeft van de activiteiten van het “Flanders’ Future as a Knowledge Society” Denkersprogramma. Met dank voor de aandacht die u aan dit verslag zal geven, vriendelijke groeten, Prof. Irina Veretennicoff Coördinator Denkersprogramma F2KS 28 4 Bijlagen 4.1 Academieberichten nr. 58 4.2 Conferentiebrochure F2KS – 28 november 2014 29 30 UITGELICHT DENKERSPROGRAMMA KENNISMAATSCHAPPIJ Marc Vanneste Irina Veretennicoff: “Hopen dat bezieling van José Gago op Vlaanderen overslaat” “Is Vlaanderen inderdaad op weg naar een nieuwsgierige, enthousiaste en innovatiegedreven kennismaatschappij?” vormt het tweede luik van het Denkersprogramma dat binnen de Academie in 2014 in de steigers werd gezet. Het wordt op 28 november tijdens een slotconferentie afgerond. Wil Vlaanderen zijn welvaart op peil houden, dan mag het de trein, waarvan innovatieve wetenschaps- en technologiebeoefening de locomotief is, niet missen. De meegetrokken wagons hebben namen als engineering, technologie en techniek en vormen de natuurlijke toepassingsgebieden van fundamenteel wetenschappelijk onderzoek in wat men de STEM-disciplines noemt (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). Ondanks alle initiatieven van de overheid en de privésector halen totnogtoe te veel Vlamingen hun neus op voor ‘exacte’ leerstof en technische competenties. Hoe komt dat? Hoe kan je ervoor zorgen dat wetenschap en haar afgeleiden een plaats weten te verwerven in het innerlijke van de mensen en dat wetenschap en technologie prominenter aanwezig zijn in het bedrijfsleven en in de kenniseconomie in Vlaanderen? Er is dringend een mentaliteitsverandering nodig, maar hoe creëer je die overslag in de geesten? Professor em. Irina Veretennicoff, fysica aan de VUB en lid van de raad van bestuur van de KVAB, wil daar samen met een vermaarde buitenlandse deskundige en zo veel mogelijk leden van de KVAB over nadenken. Veretennicoff slaagde erin om een autoriteit als José Mariano Gago als ‘Denker’ aan boord te hijsen van het Denkersprogramma rond de uitbouw van een kennismaatschappij in Vlaanderen. Momenteel laat prof. Gago volop zijn licht schijnen over de situatie in Vlaanderen. Hij is daarvoor goed beslagen. Hij wist in de Portugese samenleving een culturele aardverschuiving ten voordele van STEM-onderwijs, -onderzoek en -communicatie op gang te brengen. Zijn advies zou voor Vlaanderen wel eens van tel kunnen zijn. Hoe ver is zijn Vlaamse ‘introspectie’ opgeschoven? Wat zijn de knelpunten? Hoe wordt het initiatief door de stakeholders ontvangen? Een gesprek met professor Irina Veretennicoff, de gangmaakster van het denkersthema ‘Is Vlaanderen inderdaad op weg naar een nieuwsgierige, innovatiegedreven kennismaatschappij?’/ ‘Flanders Future as a knowledge society’ (F2KS) en met professor José Mariano Gago, de ‘Thinker in Residence’. 2 Hoe denkt professor Gago zijn ‘Vlaamse’ opdracht aan te pakken? En hoe kan de Academie hem daarbij helpen? Hoe is de Academie bij professor José Mariano Gago terechtgekomen? Waarom wordt hij als Denker aangetrokken? Irina Veretennicoff: “Toen de Klasse der Natuurwetenschappen in maart 2013 unaniem besliste om haar eerste Denkersprogramma te wijden aan een thema dat toch heel controversieel overkomt, wisten we dat we moesten zoeken naar een ‘Denker’ van groot formaat, iemand met een brede visie op deze problematiek, met ervaring, met prestige en vooral een ‘Denker’ die resultaten haalt. Reeds sinds het einde van de jaren ’90 volgde ik de merkwaardige evolutie van Portugal inzake wetenschap en technologie, onderwijs, onderzoek en wetenschapspopularisering. Zowel via zijn werk binnen de Raad van de EU als in zijn functie van Minister voor Wetenschap en Technologie, Informatiemaatschappij en Hoger Onderwijs had ik het werk en de acties van prof. Gago leren kennen. Ik had veel gelezen over zijn inspirerend ‘Ciência-Viva’programma in Portugal (www.cienciaviva.pt), zijn bezielende werkkracht en zijn charismatische invloed op de Portugese bevolking. Ook op Europees niveau heeft hij – en nog altijd! – een heel grote invloed.” Wat verklaart zijn succesverhaal in Portugal? Irina Veretennicoff: “Zijn succes is te danken aan politieke omstandigheden, die in Vlaanderen om diverse redenen nooit aanwezig waren. Ten eerste was hij als minister van W&T (Wetenschappen en Technologie) zelf een pur sang wetenschapper. Tegelijk had hij, lang voordat hij zijn ambt bekleedde, een visie ontwikkeld over zijn verantwoordelijkheden en doelstellingen. Vervolgens kon hij twee lange ambtstermijnen van telkens 7 jaar rondmaken (weliswaar met een onderbreking van 3 jaar), wat hem toeliet zijn politiek op een coherente manier uit te bouwen en te consolideren. Daarbovenop kon hij rekenen op de volle steun van zijn regering en tenslotte kende hij, dankzij zijn bevoegdheden in de ministerraden van de Europese Unie, perfect de situatie van W&T en het hoger onderwijs in de rest van Europa en daarbuiten, in het bijzonder in landen als Frankrijk en Groot-Brittannië, en hij kende ook de toestand in de Verenigde Staten. Het was dus niet moeilijk om mijn Confraters en Consorores van de KNW ervan te overtuigen dat professor Gago dé geknipte Denker was voor ons programma.” Irina Veretennicoff: “Dat moet u hem zelf vragen! Eén zaak is zeker: José Mariano Gago gaat niet over één nacht ijs. Eerst wil hij de situatie in Vlaanderen diepgaand doorgronden, vooraleer conclusies te trekken. Hij wil dus ruim de tijd nemen om de situatie te begrijpen. Zijn speurtocht deelt hij op in drie luiken. Eerst wil hij hoogte krijgen van de Vlaamse samenleving. Hoe is haar houding ten opzichte van wetenschappen en technologie? Zijn de STEM-opleidingen wel optimaal? In een tweede fase wil hij te weten komen wat er hier voor verbetering vatbaar is en of een hervorming nodig is. Het derde luik ten slotte, heeft te maken met economie en het bedrijfsleven. Waarom staat het Vlaamse bedrijfsleven niet voldoende open voor innovatie? Welke zijn eventueel de hindernissen die hier moeten worden weggewerkt?” Waar en wanneer zullen al deze bevindingen publiek gemaakt worden? Irina Veretennicoff: “Dat zijn allemaal vragen die aan bod zullen komen tijdens de afsluitende conferentie die plaats heeft op 28 november 2014 in de KVAB. Buitenlandse en Vlaamse stakeholders zullen hun standpunt toelichten en met hun gehoor in discussie gaan. Daarna zal professor Gago zijn definitief rapport met aanbevelingen neerleggen. Professor Gago wenst onder andere de ministers Muyters (Werk, Economie, Innovatie en Sport) en Crevits (Onderwijs), de VRWI (Vlaamse Raad voor Wetenschap en Innovatie) en zoveel mogelijk vertegenwoordigers van onze universiteiten, van leraars en studenten, wetenschapsjournalisten, vertegenwoordigers wetenschapscommunicatie, van het Vlaams patronaat en van de vakbonden te betrekken in dit slotsymposium, samen met alle geïnteresseerden binnen en buiten de Academie.” Wat heeft er u tot nog toe het meest getroffen in de aanpak van professor Gago? Irina Veretennicoff: “In de eerste plaats zijn bezieling. Hoe een man met zijn gezag en allure niet te beroerd is om midden in het werkveld te gaan staan. Dit was ook al te zien tijdens het Ciência Viva programma in Portugal, waarvan hij tijdens zijn ambtstermijn als Minister van wetenschap en technologie de initiatiefnemer en gangmaker was. De aanpak was drieledig: 1. De rol van de leraars wetenschap versterken; 2. Een cultuur van nabijheid creëren tussen geleerden en niet-wetenschappers, anders gezegd wetenschap en samenleving bij elkaar brengen; 3. Een netwerk tot stand brengen van belevingscentra voor wetenschap. Centraal in het Ciência Viva stelsel staat het groot ‘Pavilhao do Conhecimento’ (Paviljoen der Kennis) in Lissabon, dat in vele – maar niet in alle aspecten – lijkt op onze Technopolis. Een twintigtal kleinere structuren van het Paviljoen der Kennis zijn verspreid in provinciesteden over heel Portugal. Zij bieden lab-ruimte en ondersteuning aan de leerkrachten die het wensen. Tijdens de vakanties organiseren ze thematische activiteiten zoals geowandelingen voor de hele familie. Het initiatief van Ciência Viva werd vanaf zijn oprichtingsfase ruim gedragen door de media. Professor Gago was ook heel veel aanwezig op deze evenementen. Hij was een zichtbare Minister, die bruggen bouwde tussen W&T en de maatschappij. Om bijvoorbeeld mensen in te wijden in de niet zo eenvoudige chemie van mayonaise nam Gago tijdens een demonstratie zelf de garde ter hand terwijl hij uitleg gaf aan het jongetje dat ermee bezig was, in aanwezigheid van zijn ouders en natuurlijk een groot publiek. De tv was er ook. Vandaag is een dagje uit met het hele gezin naar een activiteit van een Ciência-Viva-belevingscentrum zelfs een doodnormale, maar boeiende vrijetijdsbesteding geworden. Gago heeft Portugal in beweging gezet. Zoals Vlaanderen in Actie dat ook beoogt.” Irina Veretennicoff en José Mariano Gago 3 UITGELICHT Heeft de populariteit van de Ciência-Viva-beweging zich ook vertaald in meer inschrijvingen voor de STEMrichtingen en wat was daarvan de weerslag op de economie? “ Irina Veretennicoff: “Dat is een vraag die niet zo gemakkelijk te beantwoorden is, omdat er zoveel factoren meespelen. Maar toch, de cijfers spreken voor zich. In 1995 vertegenwoordigde R&D (Research en Development) 0,5 % van het Bruto Binnenlands Product in Portugal. Dat was dus om zo te zeggen onbestaand. Zestien jaar later, in 2011, was het aandeel meer dan verdrievoudigd en maakte R&D 1,6 % van het BBP uit. De R&D-intensity binnen bedrijven verdubbelde van 25 naar 50 %. Het aantal voltijdse equivalenten van hoog opgeleide onderzoekers klom van 3 naar 9 op duizend banen. De peer reviewed wetenschappelijke productie vermenigvuldigde met vijf. Dat is in vergelijking met het Europees gemiddelde relatief weinig. Maar als men de groeicurve apart bekijkt, is de evolutie spectaculair.” Gago heeft Portugal in beweging gezet. Zoals Vlaanderen in Actie dat ook beoogt. ” Dear Professor Gago, since many years you are involved in the creation and management of research institutions, you have taken important research initiatives, you participate in high level Think Tanks, you advise Scientific Institutions from INSERM in France to the ESA. What made you accept the invitation to become the Thinker of the KVAB on Flanders’ Future as a Knowledge Society? José Mariano Gago: “This is a very interesting question, thank you! To keep the answer short, I would just say that I was first of all impressed by the sense of social responsibility of the Academy in striving to address a difficult societal problem its members perceived as closely related to their own role in society as scientists and academics. I had the opportunity to discuss at length the objectives of the initiative and to become convinced of the commitment of its main supporters. Finally, I was deeply impressed by the in depth discussions and exchanges I had with Irina Veretennicoff, then Director of the Class of Natural Sciences of KVAB, and colleagues from the Steering Committee, and for their extraordinary commitment and experience. I felt it was my responsibility to do my best to help, namely by bringing to the 4 attention of KVAB new political, international and historical perspectives that might help opening up the debate and suggest new lines of thought and new forms of action. However, I had to overcome my own reluctance to admit that I might eventually play a positive role, despite my reduced knowledge of Flanders’ society. I am especially grateful for the opportunity to learn more about modern Flanders, for many reasons: Flanders’ tensions and conflicting aspirations are somehow representative of other contemporary regional or national development processes; Flanders’ roles in Belgium as well as in Europe and internationally all seem to converge (as the Academy justly perceived) on the difficult problem of future sustainability of modern knowledge-based societies. Finally and retrospectively, I must also say that history has certainly played its role: Portugal and Flanders have been politically and economically in contact at least since the XIV century, and in the XVI century Portuguese merchants and humanists played an important role in Flanders and long lasting ties were then established; at the same time, many families from Flanders settled in the Azores islands and helped to shape much of the unique sensibility and traditions in some islands; and, more recently, many of my fellow countrymen were buried in Flanders as the result of the horror of the First World War.” What was your strategy to approach this theme? José Mariano Gago: “Over the last 20 years I have devoted much of my time trying to help shaping Europe’s future as a knowledge-based, inclusive and open society. I have tried to contribute by organising EU extensive studies and conferences on the future of science education, on the culture of science in Europe, on the information society, among others. I was deeply involved in the political preparation and in the adoption and deployment of the EU strategy for a knowledge-based economy and society adopted by the European Council in March 2000 (in Lisbon, and therefore usually referred to as the “Lisbon Strategy”). And, of course, I have devoted many years of my life trying to help shaping the future of my own country in that direction. The Ciência Viva movement in Portugal is probably one good example of a wide societal engagement for science and technology in one society. As an external invited participant in the Flanders debate, I define my role as a catalyser. Changes in democratic societies are based upon a multiplicity of convergent actions and ideas, rooted in the minds and values of many social actors. Contributing to those processes, although very modestly, of course, as a discrete catalyser who helps opening up the debate internationally, and who strives to bring in together stakeholders who should progressively establish denser networks in society, is what I have tried to do.” To wrap up your findings and discuss them with the stakeholders in Flanders a final Conference is organized at the Academy on Friday, November 28th. Can you please highlight its main topics? José Mariano Gago: “The Conference Programme outline is probably self-explanatory: The Future of Flanders as a Knowledge-Based Society in Perspective will address International perspectives: Why is science education in schools key to the future of sustainable knowledge-based societies? Why is Informal Science education a key factor for the cohesion of knowledge-based societies? How are knowledgebased economies and societies emerging and evolving? How are regional and national policies addressing the challenges of supporting knowledgebased economies? And it will specifically address and stimulate discussion on “Flanders as a knowledge-based society in perspective”, namely on two key issues: Flanders Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) deficit in perspective: are we lacking STEM students and graduates, either in general, in specific domains, or not at all? What should we do about it? Flanders economic development in perspective: how can society sustain a performing knowledge-based economy? I am certain the Conference will challenge Flanders political, economic and academic stakeholders, and I hope it will contribute to bring them together to discuss openly and in an informed way how to better shape Flanders future as a knowledge-based society.” Een ‘Higgsveld’ van belangstelling voor wetenschap Samen met Europees Commissaris Philippe Busquin stond José Mariano Gago aan de wieg van de European Research Area en de Lissabon 2000 Agenda en was hij heel actief bij de opbouw van het Bolognaproces. Hij is zowel elektrotechnisch ingenieur als doctor in de hoge-energie-fysica. Sinds 1976 is hij verbonden aan het CERN in Genève. Vandaag staat hij aan het hoofd van een groot en succesvol gedecentraliseerd onderzoekslabo, het LIP (www.lip.pt). Na de Anjerrevolutie (1974) is hij onmiddellijk naar Portugal teruggekeerd om les te geven aan zijn moederuniversiteit, het IST (Instituto Superior Técnico) in Lissabon. Vanaf zijn jeugdjaren heeft hij politieke verantwoordelijkheid op zich genomen en heeft hij diep nagedacht over de rol van Wetenschap en Techniek in de maatschappij . Hij werd – zonder een partijkaart te hebben – minister voor Wetenschap, Technologie en Informatiemaatschappij tussen 1995 en 2002 en minister W&T én Hoger Onderwijs tussen 2005 en 2011. Hij heeft een cruciale rol gespeeld bij de opbouw van zijn land en slaagde erin om een mentaliteitsverandering tot stand te brengen bij zijn landgenoten, die 40 jaar fascisme en intellectuele onderdrukking hadden gekend. Als fysicus zou men zijn Portugese verwezenlijking metaforisch kunnen omschrijven als de creatie van een soort ‘Higgsveld’ (Nobelprijs Fysica, 2013). Een veld dat alle sectoren van de maatschappij doordringt met oprechte belangstelling voor en een positieve houding ten opzichte van wetenschap en technologie. Zoals het Higgs-Brout-Englertveld het volledige heelal binnendringt en aan de deeltjes massa geeft! Zijn uitgebreid CV kunt u nalezen op de website van de KVAB (www.kvab.be). Enkele leden van de stuurgroep, v.l.n.r. Joos Vandewalle, Paul Van Houtte, Inez Dua, Irina Veretennicoff, Yvan Bruynseraede, José Mariano Gago, Alexander Sevrin en Christiane Malcorps. 5 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE Flanders’ Future as a Knowledge Society (F2KS) in perspective November 28, 2014 Palace of the Academies Albert II auditorium Brussels - Belgium “A knowledge society generates, processes, shares and makes available to all members of the society knowledge that may be used to improve the human condition.” (Definition provided by the UNESCO World Summit 2005) Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts - Hertogsstraat 1 - B-1000 Brussels - www.kvab.be - [email protected] Flanders’ Future as a Knowledge Society (F2KS) in perspective November 28, 2014 - Palace of the Academies - Brussels Program 08:30 Registration & coffee 09:00 Irina Veretennicoff - Coordinator of the F2KS Thinker in Residence Project, member of the KVAB Setting the scene 09:15 International perspectives on science education Chair: José Mariano Gago – KVAB F2KS Thinker in Residence Svein Sjoberg – Professor emeritus in Science education, Oslo University Creating a sustainable scientific culture among young people: the importance of interest, joy and motivation, and the curses of testing and ranking. - Q & A 09:45 STEM education in Flanders - PART I Chair: Irina Veretennicoff – Member of the KVAB, VUB A provocative round table discussion followed by a debate with the audience Flanders’ STEM deficit in perspective: Are we lacking STEM students and graduates, either in general, in specific domains or not at all? What should we do about this? Is the STEM education adequate? Kurt Meeus – ASO GO! Joos Vandewalle – KVAB, KU Leuven Discussant: José Mariano Gago Bernadette Hendrickx – VeLeWe Andreas Frans – VVS Q&A 10:45 Coffee break 11:15 Facts and Figures about Flanders as a Knowledge Society Chair: Dirk Van Dyck – Member of the KVAB, UAntwerpen Koen Debackere – Professor innovation management and policy, KU Leuven Q&A 11:45 STEM education in Flanders - PART II Chair: Veronique Van Speybroeck – Member of the KVAB, UGent A provocative round table discussion followed by a debate with the audience Flanders’ approach to informal STEM education. Kathleen Kuypers – Teacher ICT and CS Erik Jacquemyn – Technopolis, STEM Academies 12:30 Lunch Registration: kvab.fikket.be 2 Jo Decuyper – RVO Society, IMEC Q&A 14:00 Address from the Flemish minister of Innovation Chair: Ludo Gelders – President of the KVAB Philippe Muyters – Flemish Minister for Work, Economics, Innovation and Sports The need for science and innovation in Flanders: food for thought. 14:20 Evidence, doubts and thoughts about Flanders on its way to a knowledge society Chair: Alexandre Sevrin – Member of the KVAB, VUB Eric Corijn – Cultural philosopher and social scientist, Founder COSMOPOLIS, VUB Are our universities ready for the knowledge society? Conny Aerts – Vice–dean communication & Outreach, Faculty of Science, KU Leuven, KVAB A natural scientist to bear witness - Q & A 15:05 International perspectives on knowledge-based societies and economies Chair: José Mariano Gago – KVAB F2KS Thinker in Residence Joaquim Oliveira Martins – Head, OECD Regional Development Policy Division, Paris How are regional and national policies addressing the challenges of supporting knowledge-based economies? - Q & A 15:35 Break 16:05 Flanders economic development in perspective Chair: Christiane Malcorps – Member of the KVAB, Executive vice-president at Solvay S.A. Luc Soete – Former director UNU–MERIT, Rector Magnificus Maastricht University Flanders economic development in perspective: how can society sustain a performing knowledge-based economy? - Q & A A provocative round table discussion followed by a debate with the audience Flanders towards a creative, innovation driven knowledge economy? Koen Laenens – Essenscia Marie Claire Van de Velde – UGent Lena Bondue – NFTE Charles Hirsch – KVAB, VUB, Numeca Wim Dehaene – KU Leuven, MICAS Q&A 17:15 Conclusions and recommendations Jose Mariano Gago – KVAB F2KS Thinker in Residence A knowledge-based society under catalysis: a personal summary, and some naïve proposals for action. 17:45 Official closing Ludo Gelders – President of the KVAB 17:50 Reception and room for further informal discussions 33 Introduction Is Flanders indeed on its way to a curiosity and innovation driven knowledge society? This is the question that we intend to address today during this international Conference entitled "Flanders Future as a knowledge society (F2KS) in perspective". It didn’t take very long to identify Professor José Mariano Gago as probably the best possible candidate “ Thinker” for our project. I hope that his short CV, to be found in this conference brochure will convince you that we made the right choice. Welcome to you, esteemed 25 experts and stakeholders who will throw their own light on the question. Welcome to you, the 150 ladies and gentlemen from many horizons who decided to attend the Conference and hopefully contribute to a debate that will for sure not be closed tonight! Let us not anticipate here on what will be discussed today. Let me just tell you that Flanders has made great progress on its way to a Knowledge Society especially in the last decade. Innumerous programs, actions and instruments to stimulate research, education, and innovation for business and industry have been launched. But we have to admit that the return on these investments is not as strong as expected. Can one identify some of the origins of this problem? Can solutions be proposed? Most of you may know that our Academy has committed itself to organize nine "Thinkers in Residence" programs in the period 2013-2017. These programs aim at giving the Flemish Government but also our society at large, an independent, high level, "academic" opinion on a topic of concern today and a source of even more concern for tomorrow. The rules of the game are the following: - the topic is determined by one or more of the four classes of the Academy. In our case, it were the members of the class of Natural Sciences - that I had the privilege to direct last year- who came up with the Flanders’ Future as a Knowledge Society (F2KS) theme. We were very fortunate that two eminent members of the class of the Technical Sciences joined the steering committee. - the process is guided by a well-known international expert in the field, a "Thinker" invited to spend about 45 days - fortunately not in a row! - at the Academy. His/her responsibility is to feed the discussions, inspire and interrogate its members and hopefully many other stakeholders in Flanders. And vice-versa. By the end of his/her stay the Thinker is expected to organize a Conference … such as the one we are having today. 4 During this Conference our concept of a Knowledge Society will we confronted with the Flemish realities, starting from present day trends in education, society and economy. We are fortunate to have three international experts with us, who will bring our questions in perspective. Although most presentations will be given in English, your interventions, questions and remarks in Dutch or in French are more than welcome. A twitter account has been opened to collect your first reactions: #F2KS. On behalf of Prof JM Gago and the steering committee of this Thinkers in Residence program, I wish you a most interesting and enjoyable day! Irina Veretennicoff Coordinator of the F2KS Thinker in Residence Project Thinker in Residence José Mariano Gago – KVAB F2KS Thinker in residence Former Minister of Portugal, in charge of Science and Technology, Information Society and Higher Education (1995-2002 and 2005-2011). Professor José Mariano Gago is an experimental high energy physicist and a Professor at IST (Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon). He graduated as an electrical engineer by the Technical University of Lisbon and obtained a PhD in Physics at École Polytechnique and Université Pierre et Marie Curie, in Paris. He worked for many years as a researcher at the European Organisation for Nuclear Physics (CERN), Geneva, and in Portugal’s Laboratory for Particle Physics (LIP) that he created and currently chairs. He has also created and chairs a think-tank for forwardlooking studies, Instituto de Prospectiva, responsible for the annual Arrabida meetings on prospective studies (since 1991). He launched the Ciência Viva movement to promote S&T culture and S&T in society. He was responsible for the reform of Higher Education and for the policies leading to the fast development of Science and Technology in Portugal. During the Portuguese EU presidency (2000), he prepared, along with the European Commission, the Lisbon Strategy for the European Research Area and for the Information Society in Europe. He also launched in 1998 the EurekaAsia Initiative in Macao. During the 2007 Portuguese EU Presidency he promoted the adoption of a strategy for the future of S&T in Europe and for the modernisation of Universities in the EU. He was responsible, with M. Heitor, for the launching of large scale collaborative programs with US universities (MIT-Portugal, as well as with CMU, UTA and Harvard Medical). Prof. Gago has also prepared, with UNESCO and CPLP, a new initiative and a new UNESCO Centre for the advanced training of scientists from developing countries, Ciência Global. He chaired the Initiative for Science in Europe (ISE) and campaigned for the creation of the European Research Council. He also chaired the High Level Group on Human Resources for Science and Technology in Europe and coordinated the European report Europe Needs More Scientists (2004). Prof. Gago was the first President of the International Risk Governance Council (IRGC) in Geneva and is a member of IRGC Board. He is a member of the Board of INSERM (France), a policy advisor to the European Cancer Organisation (ECCO), a member of the Board of Trustees of the Cyprus Institute, and a member of the Governing Board of Euroscience. He is special advisor to the European Space Agency (ESA) Director-General. He is a member of the Academia Europaea and was elected Honorary Member of the European Physical Society. Steering Committee F2KS Conny Aerts Institute of Astronomy, KU Leuven Yvan Bruynseraede Laboratory for Solid-State Physics and Magnetism, KU Leuven Jean De Cannière Executive Director United Fund for Belgium José Mariano Gago Former Minister of Portugal Charles Hirsch President NUMECA International, VUB Dirk Inzé Plant Systems Biology, UGent Christiane Malcorps Executive Vice President Solvay SA/NV Niceas Schamp Chemistry, UGent Alexandre Sevrin Theoretical Physics, VUB Dirk Van Dyck Physics, UAntwerpen Paul Van Houtte Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, KU Leuven Joos Vandewalle Electrical Engineering, KU Leuven Irina Veretennicoff Photonics Science and Engineering, VUB Christoffel Waelkens Institute of Astronomy, KU Leuven 5 Keynote lectures In order of appearance Svein Sjøberg – Professor emeritus in Science Education, Oslo University Svein Sjøberg is professor emeritus in science education at Oslo University, Norway. He has worked extensively with international and comparative aspects of science education through e.g. UNESCO, OECD, ICSU and the EU, and has won several prizes and awards for his research and promotion of science literacy and public understanding of science. He is member of the two Norwegian academies: Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and Norwegian Technical Science Academy. Creating a sustainable scientific culture among young people: The importance of interest, joy and motivation, and the curses of testing and ranking. School science is often perceived to be dull, boring, closed and authoritarian, and when science is no longer an obligatory part of the curriculum, many students opt out of science. Students' attitudes to and perceptions of science and technology (S&T) are strong determinants for their choice of studies and careers. Moreover, attitudes are more lasting than the actual knowledge that has been learned, and may determine how students relate to S&T as adults, as voters and consumers. International comparisons are important; we can learn from others and get inspiration. But when international comparisons take the form of country rankings according to universal, global (and hence decontextualized) criteria, the results may be damaging and detrimental to a sustainable interest in S&T. The global discourse on education is increasingly being dominated by the OECD-study PISA. The race to improve PISA-rankings has become high priority in many countries. National curricula, values and priorities are pushed aside. The battle to improve test results may conflict with the task to make science relevant, interesting and motivating for the learners. The presentation will raise some of the problems caused by PISA as a global measure of quality. Koen Debackere – Professor innovation management and policy, KU Leuven Koenraad Debackere became professor at KU Leuven in 1995 where he teaches Technology and Innovation Management. He has won Best Research Paper Awards from the American Academy of Management and the Decision Sciences Institute. His research has focused on the area of technology and innovation management and policy. He is also actively engaged in technology transfer activities as managing director of KU Leuven Research & Development and Chairman of the Gemma Frisius Fonds of the KU Leuven. 6 He is the co-founder and chairman of Leuven.Inc, the innovation network of Leuven high-tech entrepreneurs. He is a board member of IWT-Vlaanderen, the Flemish government agency that supports science and technology development in Flemish industry. Since 2005, he is the general manager of KU Leuven. Facts and Figures about Flanders as a Knowledge Society. The focus of the presentation is on the indicator base to map the knowledge and innovation intensity of the Flemish region. Data and indicators on R&D expenditures, participation in higher education programs, participation in the European Research Area, publication and patent output, and the innovation performance of Flemish companies underpin the innovation performance of Flanders. Time series data show that the Flemish region is oscillating between being an innovation leader and an innovation follower. Philippe Muyters – Vlaams Minister van Werk, Economie, Innovatie en Sport The need for science and innovation in Flanders: food for thought. Philippe Muyters was born in Antwerp on 6 December 1961. After his economic studies, he started his career as an economic advisor. At the age of 32, he became head of the SERV (Flanders’ Social and Economic Counsil). From 2000 until 2009 he was the Managing Director of VOKA (Flemish Chamber of Commerce and Industry). In 2009 he joined the Flemish Government, where he was responsible for Finance, Budget, Work, Town and Country Planning and Sports. After the elections of June, Philippe Muyters became Flemish Minister for Work, Economics, Innovation and Sports, a portfolio that might have been written for him. Eric Corijn – Cultural philosopher and social scientist, Founder COSMOPOLIS, VUB Eric Corijn, cultural philosopher and social scientist, professor of urban studies at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, founder of Cosmopolis, Centre for Urban Research, vice chair of the Brussels Studies Institute and director of Brussels Academy, coordinator of 4Cities, an Erasmus Mundus Master in Urban Studies with the universities of Brussels (VUB and ULB), Vienna, Copenhagen and Madrid (Complutense and Autonoma), author of more than 250 publications. Are our universities ready for the knowledge society? The hypothesis of a “knowledge society”, where innovation and creativity are essential and immediate tools for socialisation, questions the town gown relationship. Are universities adapted to this knowledge society? Are the production conditions of academic knowledge suited for contextual social challenges? This contribution will advance some sceptic observations on the “really existing academy” and suggest paths to a better relation with knowledge society. It will define the importance of innovation and creativity in relation with the processes of globalisation, urbanization and postindustrial transition. It will then contrast the origin, structure and functioning of the universities related with the nation state, with scientific disciplines and with commodification of knowledge. It will finally draw some arguments from the “slow science” movement to improve the relationship between town and gown. Conny Aerts – Vice–dean communication & Outreach, Faculty of Science, KU Leuven, KVAB Conny Aerts studied mathematics at Antwerp University and astrophysics at KU Leuven. She is currently Director of the Institute of Astronomy and Vice-Dean Communication & Outreach of the Faculty of Science, KULeuven. She also occupies the Chair in Asteroseismology at the Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands. Conny Aerts is an expert in stellar astrophysics and a pioneer of the research field of asteroseismology. She was awarded with an ERC Advanced Grant in 2008 and was the first woman to receive the Francqui Prize in Exact Sciences in 2012. Conny Aerts holds numerous international responsibilities worldwide, in particular at space and research agencies such as ESA, ESO, and ERC. A natural scientist to bear witness. Conny Aerts will stress the importance of motivation and fun as basis to choose studies in the natural sciences and mathematics. Her talk also contains a plea to adopt research-oriented active learning in lecturing and to avoid inappropriate stereotypical representations of scientists in the press and media. The importance of collaborative efforts between secondary schools and universities to attract more students to STEM education will also be stressed, with specific emphasis on the need for more female and allochtonous populations at universities. Joaquim Oliveira Martins – Head, OECD Regional Development Policy Division, Paris Joaquim Oliveira Martins is the Head of the OECD Regional Development Policy Division, where he supervises projects on regional and urban development, multilevel governance issues, regional statistics and well-being. He was former Head of the Structural Economic Statistics Division, where he developed Trade & Globalisation studies, Productivity measurement and Business statistics. He was also Senior Economist at the OECD Economics Department, where he managed projects on Health Expenditures, the Economics of Education and Ageing and Growth. As Head of Desk for Emerging markets, he was in charge of the first Economic Surveys of Brazil, Chile and several transition countries. Before the OECD, he was Research Fellow at the Centre d’Etudes Prospectives et d’Informations Internationales (CEPII, Paris). He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Paris-I, Panthéon-Sorbonne, and is currently Associate Professor at the University of Paris-Dauphine. How are regional and national policies addressing the challenges of supporting knowledge-based economies? The traditional macro and sectoral engines of growth seem to be stalled in Europe. Although there is evidence that economy-wide structural policies and sound macroeconomic conditions are good for regional productivity convergence, the particular (power-law) distribution of the contribution of the different types of regions to aggregate growth, implies that uniform, economy-wide policies alone are unlikely to achieve all efficiency gains. This granularity of the sources of growth implies that economy-wide structural policies supporting growth and innovation may need to be completed by spatially-targeted policies. The latter can also increase policy complementarity, and, in this way, contribute to enhancing the return of individual reforms across all levels of government. In this regard, there is a “good governance premium” to be mobilised, for which regional policies can contribute. Luc Soete – Former director UNU–MERIT, Rector Magnificus Maastricht University Luc Soete is Rector Magnificus of Maastricht University. Professor Soete is a member of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences (KNAW) and the Advisory Council for Science and Technology Policy (AWT). He is Chairman of the High Level Group “Research, Innovation and Science Policy Experts”(RISE) at the European Commission. Professor Soete obtained his PhD in economics at the University of Sussex. He worked at the Department of Economics of the University of Antwerp, the Institute of Development Studies and the Science Policy Research Unit both at the University of Sussex, and the Department of Economics at Stanford University. In 1986, he was appointed Professor of International Economic Relations at Maastricht University. In 2002, he was awarded the Maastricht School of Management Honorary Fellow Award. In 2006 he obtained the Commander in the Order of the Crown, a national decoration of Belgium. In 2010 he received a Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Ghent. Flanders economic development in perspective: how can society sustain a performing knowledge-based economy? 7 Panel discussion Better preparation and realistic views on his/her capacities with a positioning test at the end of high school can help the student to confirm or modify the study program selection. This leads to a better success rate in the first academic year and more STEM graduates. Panel discussion on STEM education in Flanders - PART I Flanders’ STEM deficit in perspective: Are we lacking STEM students and graduates, either in general, in specific domains or not at all? What should we do about this? Is the STEM education adequate? Members of the panel: 1. Kurt Meeus General Director, Scholengroep Midden-Brabant, GO! Onderwijs van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap Headmaster of Koninklijk Atheneum Vilvoorde (ASO) Teacher Physics and ICT at secondary level Ingenieur Andreas Frans Panel discussion on STEM education in Flanders - PART II Flanders’ approach to informal STEM education. Van een complexe structuur met een eenvoudige en duidelijk afgebakende taak voor een leerkracht naar een eenvoudige structuur met een complexere taak voor een team van leerkrachten? Zelfsturende teams als “systeem” als basis voor actueel wetenschapsonderwijs? 2. Bernadette Hendrickx Member of the Association of Science Teachers (VeLeWe) Teacher in physics Heilig-Hart&College, Halle Representative of the science teachers in the ASO Members of the panel: Kurt Meeus - "Optimizing science education to make students like studying" In a knowledge society sciences are present in everyone's daily life. In a knowledge society there is a great need for scientists. Therefore we have to invest in science education to offer quality and motivate young people to choose for science studies. A central examination can make students work regularly and continuously to really enjoy sciences and to be well prepared for science education at the university. 3. Joos Vandewalle Joos Vandewalle obtained the electrical engineering degree and doctorate in applied sciences from KU Leuven in 1971 and 1976. Until October 2013 he was a full professor at the Department Electrical Engineering (ESAT), KU Leuven, and head of the SCD division at ESAT, with more than 150 researchers. Since October 2013 he is a professor emeritus with assignments at KU Leuven. He held visiting positions at University of California, Berkeley and I3S CNRS Sophia Antipolis, France. He taught courses in linear algebra, linear and nonlinear system and circuit theory, signal processing and neural networks. His research interests are in mathematical system theory and its applications in circuit theory, control, signal processing, cryptography and neural networks. He is a Fellow of IEEE, IET, and EURASIP and member of the Academia Europaea and of the Belgian Academy of Sciences. “Bridging the gap between high schools and universities” 8 4. Andreas Frans International officer, VVS - National Union of Flemish Students Student, Faculty of Medical and Biomedical Sciences, KULeuven Bernadette Hendrickx 1. Kathleen Kuypers Kathleen Kuypers is passionate about teaching ICT and CS. As a master in mathematics and computer science at the university of Antwerp she worked as a software engineer at Ordina Denkart and as a network engineer at Digipolis and Azlan. She also trained future IT teachers as a lecturer at Thomas Moore higher Education institute. When the domain “IT and networks” was launched in the technical secondary education (TSO), she was eager to bring her experience to a new generation of students. She is determined to show them the way to become not only consumers but also creators in the digital world. Now she is a driving force translating this idea into concrete actions. As a result, her school has become a "STEM school of excellence". Her continuing challenge is to convince young students that STEM is not nerdy but a fascinating topic with a great future. “Moving up from digital consumers to creators, how to lead students the way.” - Kathleen Kuypers Joos Vandewalle As digital natives, today’s students take modern technology for granted. They simply can’t imagine a world without it… By showing them what technology is driving the tools they use in daily life, we try to make students curious about the possibilities of ICT. This is an effective way to make students eager to design and create their own applications instead of merely use tools. In secondary school we should train students to become smart consumers as well as creators of digital technology. To achieve this, the current subject Informatics should be split up into two. An Applications subject in which students learn to use tools in a smart way and a Computer science subject which deals with creation of digital solutions. It is also very important to inspire and impassion students, therefore teachers should tease them by showing the omnipresence of technology in daily life. This omnipresence proves that STEM is relevant to society and to the future. 2. Jo De Cuyper Jo Decuyper studied physics and obtained his PhD in 1993 on cognitive models of the physical world and their relation to common sense reasoning at the Artificial Intelligence lab of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in 1993. He joined the Flemish administration for science policy. Among other tasks he was responsible for a program devoted to the public understanding of science and technology. Since 2000 he is directing the Roger Van Overstraeten Society VZW (rvo-society), a not-for-profit organisation founded by imec, the universities, industrial partners and a number of close friends of Professor Van Overstraeten. The RVO Society was established in 2000 in fond memory of Prof. Dr. Ir. Roger Van Overstraeten (RVO), the founder and first CEO of Imec. The RVO Society has the ambition to be kind of a "logic gate" between research and scientific and technical education so as to convey, in an interesting and relevant way, awareness and practical skills to young people and the public-at-large. During this panel discussion, we want to present some elements of thought that can serve as building blocks of a more efficient STEM-based education system and lead to a broader public support for STEM activities in general. They might also pave Flanders' way towards a knowledge society. Jo De Cuyper “On Technopolis® and STEM Academies” Erik Jacquemyn Panel discussion on Flanders economic development Flanders towards a creative, innovation driven knowledge economy? Members of the panel: 1. Koen Laenens Secretary General, Director Social Affairs, Essenscia 2. Charles Hirsch Founder of Numeca International (Software for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) design and automation), VUB Member of the KVAB, initiator of the KVAB publication: “Innovative entrepreneurship by spin-offs of knowledge centra” Koen Laenens Charles Hirsch 3. Erik Jacquemyn Erik Jacquemyn is CEO of Technopolis®, the Flemish Science Centre (Mechelen, Belgium). As CEO -since 1988 - of the F.T.I Foundation (set up by the Flemish Government), he coordinates numerous activities bringing science and technology to different target groups. The science centre (open February 2000) and its outreach activities reach over 500 000 people/year. Erik Jacquemyn served on the Boards of Ecsite (European Network of Science Centres and Museums) and ASTC (Association of ScienceTechnology Centers) and sits on different committees and juries active in the field of science communication. Technopolis® is the Flemish centre for science communication, with its science centre in Mechelen (opened in 2000) and numerous innovative outreach projects for specific target groups. Technopolis®’ mission is to Bring science and technology closer to people. Technopolis® aims to go further than just heightening public awareness of or insight into sciences and technology. Its objective is to involve the public at large in sciences and technology. With its activities, Technopolis® is a complement to the formal education system. Informal learning, also called “free choice learning”, is an important tool for getting both young and old interested, educated and involved in science and technology. Internationally Technopolis® is considered one of the leaders in the field. From 17 till 19 March 2014, Technopolis® hosted the Science Centre World Summit, a unique high-level, global gathering that brought together CEO’s, managers, decision makers and experts from within and outside the science centre field. In total, 464 participants from 58 different countries attended the World Summit. 3. Marie Claire Van de Velde Advisor Vice-Rector UGent 4. Wim Dehaene KU Leuven, ESAT-MICAS Micro-electronics engineer with projects on bridging the gap between high tech development at universities and secondary education. 5. Lena Bondue Director NFTE, Network for Training Entrepreneurship Belgium Marie Claire Van de Velde Wim Dehaene Lena Bondue 9 Chairpersons Irina Veretennicoff Member of the KVAB, VUB Ludo Gelders President of the KVAB, KU Leuven Irina Veretennicoff obtained her PhD in Physics from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in 1973. She became full professor at its Faculty of Engineering in 1990 in a new department , devoted to research and education in applied physics and photonics, that she contributed to establish and expand. Irina has been serving as an expert in many European, Federal and Flemish advisory boards and research programs. She is member of the Flemish Academy for Science and Literature and Fine Arts and was the first woman to direct the Class of Natural Sciences in 2012 and 2013. Ludo Gelders is emeritus professor of Industrial Management at KU Leuven. He holds degrees in electromechanical engineering (Ghent) and Industrial Management (Louvain). He studied management at the MIT-Sloan School and holds a PhD in Industrial Management. After work experience in jet-engine manufacturing, he took up an academic career. He served as chairman of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Center for Industrial Management (KU Leuven). He published on logistics, production, maintenance and quality management. He has been active in private and public companies. He was President of the Flemish Water Supply Company, vice-president of UHasselt and President of KVIV (Royal Flemish Engineering Society). Currently he is President of the Royal Belgian Academy for Sciences and the Arts (KVAB). Dirk Van Dyck Member of the KVAB, UAntwerpen Dirk Van Dyck is professor emeritus in physics and honorary vice-rector for research of the University of Antwerp. He is known for his work on electron microscopy and microtomography. He is the codeveloper of the first desk-top X-ray microtomograph and founder of 4 spin-off companies including SKYSCAN. Dirk Van Dyck is manager of UBCA Research Park of UAntwerpen. He published about 300 scientific papers and several books and holds 4 patents. In 2001 he received the Francqui Chair of the KU Leuven for his scientific work in electron microscopy and holography. Veronique Van Speybrouck Member of the KVAB, UGent Veronique Van Speybroeck is full professor at UGent within the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture. She also holds a position as Research Professor at UGent. She graduated as engineer in physics at UGent in 1997 and obtained her PhD in 2001 on a subject dealing with theoretical simulations of chemical reactions with static and dynamical approaches. She was co-founder of the Center for Molecular Modeling (CMM), which is now composed of about 35 researchers. In this Center, she is leading the “Computational Molecular Modeling” division. Her current research interests primarily comprise study of the kinetics of chemical reactions with state of the art molecular modeling techniques. She is member of the STEM-platform which was installed by the Flemish government to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics training and careers. 10 Alexandre Sevrin Member of the KVAB, VUB Alexander Sevrin got his physics degree in 1985 from UGent. In 1988 he obtained his PhD from KU Leuven. He performed postdoctoral research at the C.N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics at Stony Brook (New York), the University of California at Berkeley, the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and at CERN. At the end of 1994 he got tenure at the Physics Department of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He founded there the Theoretical High Energy Physics Group whose members investigate theoretical aspects of elementary particle physics and cosmology. He is the deputy director for physics of the International Solvay Institutes for Physics and Chemistry and he serves on numerous boards among which the board of the Francqui Foundation and the one of the Vlaamse Wetenschappelijke Stichting which he also presides. He is a guest professor at UAntwerp and KU Leuven. Christiane Malcorps Member of the KVAB, Solvay S.A. Christiane Malcorps is Head of Global Facility Management and Country Manager for Belgium for SOLVAY S.A. Throughout her career she gained extensive experience in business management, always with a special attention for safety, quality and innovation to ensure that sustainable development creates value. She is active in several organizations striving for a direct contribution of business and academic experience to find solutions for societal needs. She is member of the Business-Academia Board for university qualified engineering at the Flemish universities of Louvain & Ghent. She is also member of the Board of several professional organizations in Belgium (essenscia, UWE, VOKA, BECI, de Warande). She is engaged in teaching on Skill Development of PhD students preparing them for a successful business – academia interface and helping them to develop as better citizens of the world. Christiane Malcorps studied university qualified chemical engineering at the Catholic University of Louvain and completed a PhD with major in Veterinary Science and minor in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA in 1983. Participants list Guy Conny Frank Marc Aelterman Aerts Baert Beddegenoodts Paul Stephan Bertels Blickx Carine Boonen Philippe Danièle Dominique Philippe Jan Philippe Carine Simon Eduard Elke Philippe Liesbet Jean-Pierre Bourdeau Bouvy Boyen Busquin Buysse Cara Casteleyn Cauwenbergh Celens Christiaen Claeys Cockx Contzen UGent KU Leuven KU Leuven GO! Onderwijs van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap STEM-Platform Fonds voor de beroepsziekten Flanders' Care Beleidsdomein WVG ARB VOLTA Co-valent European Parliament Vleva VUB Explorado UGent Howest, University College VUB UAntwerpen Von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics Eric Corijn COSMOPOLIS, VUB Ben Craps VUB Michael Creek Freelance Lino da Costa Pereira KU Leuven Johan Danneels Essensium Dennis De Bie Uitgeverij De Boeck Jelle De Borger KU Leuven Jean De Cannière United Fund for Belgium Erik De Corte KU Leuven Hans De Four eduCentrum vzw Jean-Pierre De Greve VUB Paul De Hondt Kabinet Vlaams viceministerpresident Hilde Crevits Lut De Jaegher Arteveldehogeschool Roger De Keersmaecker IMEC Haydée De Loof UAntwerpen Martine de Mazière Belgisch Instituut voor Ruimte Aëronomie Jolien De Meester KU Leuven Stijn De Mil Ersamus University College Brussels Bernard Astrid Jo Koen Nathalie De Potter De Schrijver De Wachter Debackere Debaes Jo Wim Nicole pascale Decuyper Dehaene Dekelver dengis Christof Jorgen Aurelie Devriendt D'Hondt Duchateau Freddy Rita Hendrik Renaat Dumortier Dunon Ferdinande Frans Andreas Frans José Mariano Gago Niko Geerts Ludo Gelders Georges Gielen Mieke Gijsemans Vincent Ginis Inge Gyssens Jacqueline Hellemans Bernadette Hendrickx Jean Pierre Henriet Kris Heyde Charles Hirsch Lut Hoornaert Serge Huyghe Mark Huyse Erik Jacquemyn Liliane Etienne Karel Luc Heidi Anne-Lize Cedric Jonckheere Keller Kersters Kindt Knipprath Kochuyt Koslowski Flemish government VOLTA KU Leuven KU Leuven EYESTvzw, Excite Youth for Engin., Science and Techn. RVO-Society VZW KU Leuven UHasselt Flemish government, dept. EWI VUB VUB Flemish Department of Foreign Affairs KVAB, UHasselt Department of Education UGent University College LeuvenLimburg VVS Thinker in residence Flemish government KVAB, KU Leuven KU Leuven VUB R&D department VUB Atheneum Brasschaat KU Leuven H.-Hart&College Halle UGent UGent NUMECA Int. VTI Veurne VKW KU Leuven Technopolis, STEM Academies Dep.Keller member KVAB RVO Society HIVA-KU LEUVEN Planetarium Brussels WeZooz Academy 11 Participants list Kathleen Koen Franklin Kuypers Laenens Lambert Philip Greet Greet Marc AR Annemie Peter Marie Boniface Christiane Jelle Lambrechts Langie Langie Larmuseau Sr Lemahieu Lievens Lubs Lumpungu Malcorps Mampaey Harry Kurt Nicki Pieter Martens Meeus Mennekens Mestdagh Tijs Gina Liliane Elisabeth Bart Philippe Michiels Mihai Moeremans Monard Motmans Muyters Gerda Joaquim Manuel Wim Hensen Danielle Neyens Oliveira Martins Paiva Peeters Pieter Raspoet Dirk Reyntjens Filip Evi Robyn Roelen Rony Jef Luc Ronald Niceas An Nick Bert Alexander Manuel Svein Brigitte Dirk Luc Ingrid Marit Mertens Roos Rosiers Rousseau Schamp Schrijvers Schryvers Seghers Sevrin Sintubin Sjoberg Smessaert Snyders Soete Stes Storhaug KSJoma Essenscia VUB and International Solvay Institutes KlasCement KU Leuven KU Leuven eesv Eurysconsult CD&V KU Leuven ARPNS ISTA / KINSHASA KVAB, Solvay S.A. CHEGG - Centre for Higher Education Governance Ghent VLOR, UHasselt ASO GO! KU Leuven esero.be: teaching with space De Warande European Schoolnet Flemish government, dep. EWI FWO KU Leuven Flemish Minister for Work, Econ., Innov. and Sports KU Leuven OECD ULB PBDKO BNP Paribas Fortis VRWI - Flemish Council for Science and Innovation DG EMPL - European Commission VTI Veurne Flemish Department of Foreign Affairs European press federation VDAB AP KU Leuven KVAB VRWI UAntwerpen KVAB VUB KU Leuven Oslo University Flanders' House of Food UAntwerpen Maastricht University Uitgeverij Van In Oslo and Akershus University College, Norway Annemie Luc Philippe Joseph Hendrik Struyf Taerwe Tassin Thas Theunissen Lieve Kris Bruno Alla Willy Els Wim Marie Claire Didier Thibaut Thienpont Tindemans Tourguieva Van Belleghem Van Damme Van de Moortel Van de Velde Van de Velde Georges Freek Dirk Georges Van der Perre Van Deynze Van Dyck Van Goethem Paul Helene Van Houtte Van Kerrebroeck Rudi Philippe Willy Veronique Karine Van Lysebetten Van Meerbeeck Van Overschee Van Speybroeck Van Thienen Thierry Rosette Paul Johan Roland Pita Joos Vancrombrugge Vandenbroucke Vandenplas Vanderborght Vanderstukken Vandevelde Vandewalle Sandra Vanhove Walter Eef Walter Gert Verbeke Verbeke Verbeke Verdonck Pierre Irina Nele Vincent Dirk Dominique Kristiaan Jacques Pieter Marleen Verdoodt Veretennicoff Vermeulen Verrydt Wauters Willems Willems Willems Willot Wynants UAntwerpen UGent Chalmers University UGent Cabinet of the Ministerpresident HIVA-KU Leuven Arteveldehogeschool SYNTRA Vlaanderen BNYE Flemish Ministry for Education UGent VDAB UGent Vlaams Verbond Katholiek Secundair Onderwijs KU Leuven/KVAB UGent UAntwerpen European Commission / DG Reserach and Innovation KVAB, KU Leuven Centrale Raad voor het Bedrijfsleven VVKSO VRT KVAB, CIMCIL UGent VSKO - Flemish Office of Catholic Education FOD Justitie VUB ARB Milora Group NV Procopia AP Electrical Eng. Dept. KU Leuven International Polar Foundation Thomas Moore ToekomstATELIERdelAvenir Euroclear SERV Stichting Innovatie & Arbeid Vlaamse overheid, dept. EWI VUB, KVAB Hogeschool Gent Tracé Brussel KVAB UGent, KVAB KU Leuven KVAB KU Leuven Crosstalks