Higher Education: Open for Innovation?

Abstract

In the first part of the lecture I will show how, despite its traditional resistance to change, there have been important new developments in higher education in the last fifty years. The most important developments have been in the direction of greater openness. I will explore the different dimensions on which universities can become more open.// In the second part of the lecture I will argue that openness in its higher education system makes a society more innovative. Some of you may have heard a lecture by my fellow DeTao Master, Richard Greene, who claims to have found 60 ways to foster creativity and innovation. But I shall mention only two.// In the final part of the talk I will refer to some of the DeTao Masters. They are all people who have reached the pinnacles of their disciplines and professions. My fellow Education Master, Stamenka Uvalić-Trumbić, and I have had the privilege of interviewing many of them. I will try to capture some of the common aspects of their education and careers that have made them great.