Engineering and Applied Sciences in Central America:
How to Develop the Next Generation of Innovators

DRAFT AGENDA

Session

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Overview

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Guiding Questions

Arrival Day – Tuesday, February 21, 2012

17:30-19:00 Welcome Cocktail Reception (TBC)

19:00-19:30 Speakers’ Debrief
Workshop Day 1 – Wednesday, February 22, 2012
9AM – 5:15PM
9:00-9:15 Welcoming Remarks
·  MICIT Representative [TBD]
·  HP Representative [TBD]
·  World Bank representative [Country Director?, TBD] / ·  Format: 5-minute welcoming remarks by key sponsors of the event (no slides)
·  This Session will welcome participants, set out the rationale for the event / ·  What would we like to achieve in the following two days?
9:15-9:45 The Challenges of Tertiary Education in the 21st century
Keynote lecture by Jamil Salmi / ·  30’ minute keynote, without Q&A, to set the stage and introduce the issues generally and some of the lessons learned globally. / ·  What are the main contemporary challenges for tertiary education institutions and how have they been dealt with successfully elsewhere in the world?
9:45-11:00 Challenges and Opportunities of Growing Engineering Talent in Central America
Moderator: Gabriel Macaya [TBC]
Roundtable Discussion
·  Moderator: poses 2-3 rounds of questions for discussion
·  Key discussants (3 discussants from government, a multinational company and a local firm [TBD] responding to the interview questions, 5 minute per response, 15 minute total response time per discussant)
·  Audience feedback between questions
·  Audience discussion (30 min) / ·  This Session will contribute to setting the stage for the conference and promote a common understanding of challenges and opportunities of growing engineering talent in Central America.
·  The discussion will focus on (i) the link between engineering talent and competitiveness of local economies, (ii) the types of skills that are most in demand to improve competitiveness in Central America and (ii) key challenges or constraints that the countries face in addressing engineering talent needs and key success factors. / ·  What are the roles and responsibilities of the public sector, academia and the private sector for growing, attracting and retaining engineering talent in Central America and how should they better work together?
11:00 – 11:15 Coffee Break
11:15-12:45 Role of Engineering Education in Knowledge Economies
Facilitator: Jamil Salmi, Lead Education Specialist, World Bank
·  Introductory Remarks by the Facilitator (15 min)
·  Facilitated World Café exercise – 3 rounds of questions discussed at tables (45 minutes)
·  Full audience discussion and report back (20 minutes)
·  Concluding remarks from the Facilitator (5 min) / ·  This session will focus on the (i) role of engineering talent in a knowledge economy; (ii) changing needs & practices in engineering education globally; (iii) implications for tertiary education in Central American countries.
·  The session will facilitate an interactive discussion of major challenges for engineering and applied science education in Costa Rica and other Central American countries. The discussion will help to surface the issues that tertiary education faces in adjusting to the new needs for engineering talent.
·  Policy questions surfaced during the collective brainstorming on current challenges and opportunities to be addressed through the conference. / ·  How are tertiary education practices changing globally to respond to the new needs of knowledge economies for engineering talent?
·  What are the lessons that Central American countries can draw from that experience?
12:45 – 1:45 Lunch
1:45 – 3:15 The Road to 21st Century Skills: How to make Engineering Education more Relevant
Keynote, panel and discussion
·  Keynote: Richard Miller on the changes of contemporary engineering and Ollin College’s response to them (45’)
·  Panel discussants: Representative from the private sector [TBD] and Clotilde Fonseca [TBC] (20’)
·  Audience discussion (25’) / ·  This session will focus on identifying contemporary transformations in the field of engineering and applied sciences, and the challenges they pose for universities.
·  Discussants and participants will be encouraged to identify the specific traits of the Central American economy – namely skill sets demanded by industry, balance between local firms and MNCs’ demands, etc.) and the types of skills that tertiary institutions are producing as they relate to engineering and applied sciences. / ·  Particular focus will also be given to development of entrepreneurship in Engineering. Innovation & Entrepreneurship Best Practices in support of KE; University-Industry Collaborations in engineering Education
3:15 - 3:30 Coffee Break
3:30 - 5:00 Catalyzing Innovations to Address Talent Needs: Lessons of International Experience for University Reform
Chair [TBD] introduces session and speakers (5’)
Case Discussions – Experience from Colombia (Patricia Martinez Barrios) and Argentina (Esteban Campero)
·  Serving the needs of the local community and industry: Patricia Martínez Barrios (25’ talk and 15’ audience discussion).
·  Strengthening entrepreneurship among engineers and scientists: Esteban Campero (25’ talk and 15’ audience discussion).
Session summary by the chair (5’) / ·  This interactive session will focus on surfacing promising solutions to talent challenges based on the international lessons of experience.
·  The session will bring together global thought leaders and practitioners who have successfully catalyzed new solutions to address talent needs in their countries.
·  The experts will work together with the workshop participants to identify ways to develop innovative solutions or identify and adopt good practices from similar contexts to address talent needs. / ·  What can be done to ensure the adequate inflow of students in engineering and applied sciences programs?
·  How to interest more women in engineering studies?
·  How can opportunities for the expansion of research in engineering and applied sciences be widened?
·  What are the lessons from your country that could be adopted and customized to provide context-specific solutions to the current challenges that Central American countries face in relation to the talent needs?
5:00 - 5:15 End-of-day remarks
Speaker TBD / ·  This Session will summarize key findings and conclusions of Day 1 discussions / ·  What are two-three main challenges for growing talent in Central America that were most commonly referred to in today’s discussion?
·  What are the emerging solutions discussed today?
7:30-9:30 Dinner Reception [TBC]
Workshop Day 2 – Thursday, February 23, 2012
9AM – 4:30PM
9:00-9:15 Day 1 wrap-up and Day 2 opening
·  Richard Miller / ·  This Session will welcome participants to Day 2 / ·  What was discussed yesterday?
·  What were our main achievements? How far are we from reaching the goals we established yesterday?
·  What are we doing today?
9:15-10:30 Science and Engineering in the 21st century: The importance of networks
Lecutre and debate
·  Seeram Ramakrishna: 30’ lecture.
·  2 Discussants: local entrepreneurships and/or scientists [TBD] (20’)
·  Audience discussion: 25’. / ·  This Session will set the stage for the day’s focus on networks, introducing questions and suggesting answers regarding the challenges of networking.
·  The discussion will focus on (i) the rational for increasing the focus on engineering talent needs to support competitiveness of local economies, and (ii) key challenges that the countries face in addressing engineering talent needs. / ·  Why are networks important?
·  What are the relevant actors to build networks with?
·  How can we proceed to foster the generation of useful networks?
10:30 – 10:45 Coffee Break
10:45 – 12:30 Creative responses to a changing environment: Evidence from Europe and North America
Chair [TBD] introduces session and speakers (5’)
Panel with Case Discussions – Experience from Europe (Rolf Tarrach) and North America (Arthur Bienenstock; Lueny Morell).
·  Rolf Tarrach: 20’ presentation.
·  Arthur Bienenstock: 20’ presentation.
·  Lueny Morell: 20’ presentation.
·  Panel discussion (30’).
Session summary by the Chair and presentation of the Open Space Technology session in the afternoon (10’). / ·  This session will prepare the stage for the OST session in the afternoon. By presenting specific international experiences of reform in the face of a changing environment, participants will be encouraged to engage with other stakeholders in designing and implementing activities. / ·  How can universities accommodate and take advantage of change in their economic and social environment?
·  What can international experience teach Central American stakeholders in the field of engineering and applied sciences?
12:30 – 1:30 Lunch
1:30 – 4:00 Open Space for Action Plan
Open Space Technology
·  Facilitator [TBD]: Presents the main challenges identified along the conference and encourages participants to find solutions.
·  Participants work collectively to identify and program specific activities that can stem as outputs of the conference. / ·  This session will focus on identifying strategies to face the challenges of Costa Rica and Central America in the field of engineering and applied sciences education and, more generally, in the governance structure in the area. Especial attention will be paid to the issues of networks and coordination, and to how these will be fostered. / ·  What are the solutions we have identified for the problems we have been dealing with during the conference?
·  What specific activities can we program to help, in a coordinated manner, to overcome those challenges?
4:00 – 4:30 Closing
·  Alejandro Cruz, Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology
·  World Bank representative? [TBD] / ·  This session will formally close the conference, summarize the main achievements, and overview follow-up steps. / ·  What have we achieved?
·  What can be done to build on these achievements?

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