logo for sustainability goal number 4.7.

Which are the opportunities that COVID-19 brings for reform and innovation in education? Do we also see opposite implications?

Baltic University Programme (BUP) is organizing a webinar series where these topics are discussed.

The main target group for the webinar series is teachers in higher education, especially within the BUP, however the webinars are open for everyone interested.

Each webinar is arranged at 14–15 CET.

The programme

16 November 2021:

Yash Chawla, assistant Professor, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Poland: “Predictors and Outcomes of Individual Knowledge on Early-Stage Pandemic: Social Media, Information Credibility, Public Opinion, and Behaviour in a Large-Scale Global Study”.

This study explores how individuals obtain knowledge, perceive information sources, behave, and form opinions while facing a pandemic at an early stage. We develop a conceptual model linking the predictors of individuals’ knowledge with people’s behavior and opinions. The model is empirically tested through a large-scale global survey of 15,552 respondents from 126 nationalities. Our results indicate that relying on one source of information does not lead to favourable behavior towards curbing the pandemic. Furthermore, we need to educate people and control misinformation spread on policy and social network platforms to curb emergencies collectively.

14 December 2021:

Shepherd Urenje, Specialist at SWEDESD, Uppsala University, Sweden: “Smart Phones, Gorillas and Armed Conflicts”.

What is the hidden cost of your high-tech equipment, such as smartphones? As demand for smart gadgets continues to rise, mining for smart phone minerals and their illegal trade are also rising. These are often controlled by armed groups helping to feed a vicious circle of conflicts, poverty and disease. Our discussion will question how the use of your mobile gadgets affect communities around the world and what you can do about it.

18 January 2022:

Jukka Manner, professor, Aalto University, Finland: “The Negative Impact of ICT in Respect of Energy and Resource Demand”.

How much energy and natural resources do all our ICT devices consume, from computers to smart phones and tablets? ICT is typically said to enhance other industrial sectors, yet nothing is said about how much resources ICT consumes by itself. Data shows that 70 per cent of the resources and energy of the Internet is spent on video streaming, mostly for amusement. The volume of traffic grows fast. This talk will highlight some of the downsides of our digital society and what we need to change.

15 February 2022:

Charlotta Hilli, PhD, Åbo Akademi University, Finland: “Towards a Sustainable Virtual Higher Education? Entanglements of Digital Technologies, Didaktik, Trust and Frustrations”.

The webinar discusses pedagogical outlines for higher education with theories of Didaktik, posthumanist education and recent empirical studies on distance education. As education becomes more entangled with digital technologies, theories of teaching and learning can help understand new possibilities and new challenges that these entanglements between humans and machines create.

Registration

It is free to participate in the webinars, but registration is required. Please, register on: https://survey.abo.fi/lomakkeet/13880/lomake.html

Warmly welcome!

BUP_webinar_flyer

All webinars will also be available on Baltic University Programme’s Youtube channel.

A circle with the text Year of research-based knowledge 2021.