Higher Education, Service to the Community and ICTs

Abstract

Microsoft Education Leaders’ Forum, Paris, 2009-07-07, Higher Education, Service to the Community and ICTs by Dr Kodhandaraman Balasubramanian & Sir John Daniel, Commonwealth of Learning (presented by Sir John Daniel) // So much for the prologue: we are in France and Caesar divided Gaul into three parts. I shall make three points. // First, higher education should engage with communities by playing to their agendas rather than imposing its own view of the world. // Second, ICTs are only useful in rural development as part of a wider system. // Third, we must focus on creating a new type of professional, which we at the Commonwealth of Learning call an infomediary. // For a wider discussion of these issues I refer you to the background paper ICTs for Higher Education that COL prepared for this week’s World Conference.