<P><FONT color=#33711E><STRONG>Day 2 – Session 4C: <br>Educational Partnerships: Academic Institutions</STRONG></FONT></P>

Queen’s Park 5, 2nd Floor
13.00 – 13.20

4.C.1. Global Interchange between Tertiary Institutions: Listening to the Other
Ria Hanewald, Lloyd Holliday and Howard Nicholas, La Trobe University, Australia
This paper explores the sustainability of relationships between one Australian university, La Trobe, and its Asian partner universities. The case study exemplifies how personal and cultural differences manifest themselves in the academic and administrative dealings between tertiary institutions and leads to a process whereby each partner is reshaped by the dialogue in a reflective process such that the process promotes the development of education systems and leads to improved outcomes. The data collected in the study reveal the values and behaviour of individuals and how they are grounded in varied cultural mindsets and practices. These culturally developed preferences for thinking and working underpin the expectations and interpretations of events and intentions. Examples reveal how working collaboratively over some ten years required awareness of these cultural differences combined with well developed skills to handle cross-cultural interactions, and how solutions required incorporation of perspectives from ‘the other’. The paper also explores specific examples of events that were interpreted differently and suggests that one of the key factors that contributed to the successful resolution of differences was the willingness of the partners to listen to, and learn from, one another as the relationship evolved.

Download the paper (word, 90kb) and presentation (pdf, 450kb)

13.20 – 13.40
4.C.2. Collaboration and Networking – A Key to Sustainable Development
Vijaya Deshmukh, NID, India
Academic Institutions need to abandon traditions of academic isolation and become active in innovative teaching, research and outreach. Collaborative strategies should also be explored. Inter-institutional alliances offer a means to capitalize on each institution’s strengths and to reduce costs involved in the duplication of effort. It is important to build platforms for sharing information and experiences and to promote dialogue among stakeholders. Computer-based collaboration and networking strategies can be useful in this area. This paper outlines the necessity of networking and alliances of similar educational institutions in order to re-orient education towards sustainable development, and to design integrated curricula and deliver effective programmes. This paper highlights the factors for building sustainable collaboration and acknowledges the initiatives of some organizations in this regard. The requirement of innovative leadership and institutional reforms is discussed. And the need for stakeholders, including educators, researchers, students, parents, employers, social activists, media and government, to be involved in helping to formulate educational policy and programmes, is emphasized.

Download the paper (word, 180kb)

13.40 – 14.00
4.C.3 Sustainability Education Working Group in the University of Tokyo
Ayumi Arakawa, Genki Moriyama and Tamai Akihiro, University of Tokyo, Japan
This paper describes the goals and activities of the “Sustainability Education Working Group”. This group is made up of postgraduate and undergraduate students from various subject areas. The group aims to promote interdisciplinary communication and to contribute to ESD through various activities. Activities undertaken include  holding  study  meetings  to  promote  interdisciplinary  communication  and  to  compare  studies; developing educational material that many people would be interested in, based on documentaries and mainstream movies; convening workshops and exhibits during the university’s festival so as to raise awareness of sustainability issues; dispatching observers to meetings related to ESD to collect information and current ideas which can be shared with the group members, and to network and collaborate with other actors in the field of “sustainability education”.

Download the paper (word, 40kb) and presentation (pdf, 390kb)