Forward Thinking: Keys to the Future in Education and Research
As part of a series of events launched by the German Presidency in the first half of 1999, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) will be hosting an international foresight conference. Forward Thinking: Keys to the Future in Education and Research will take place in Hamburg, Germany, on 14-15 June 1999.
The conference aims at identifying possibilities in education and research which can be realized to increase European competitiveness and create new networks of science, industry and policy in Europe. It will also explore the interaction between technological trends and the social and economic environment. Through the conference activities the BMBF hopes to stimulate Europe-wide Technology Foresight activities.
Four panels will focus discussions on the following issues:
- Trends and Challenges in Industrial Technology: The culture of Forward Thinking. Representatives from different industrial sectors will discuss new approaches to handling the impact of research developments and societal changes on industry;
- Major Forces for Change and their potential Impact on Education. Representatives from different educational systems will discuss the way technical and societal developments influence education and educational systems;
- Action Agenda for State-funded Science and Policy. Experiences with national Foresight processes will be exchanged to aid in identifying the 'action agenda' necessary to follow in state-funded research and policy;
- Coherence and Disparities in Forward Thinking in Europe. Foresight experts from the EU Member States and from the candidate countries will discuss differences in methodology and key objectives with a view to a unified Europe.
Participating countries can present their national Foresight concepts and measures.
Congress secretariat:
CCH-Congress Organization
P.O.Box 30 24 80; D - 20308 Hamburg
Tel. +49-40-35692341; Fax +49-40-35692269
E-mail: forward.thinking@cch.de
Scientific coordination:
VDI Technology Center
Future Technologies Division
Graf-Recke-Strasse 84; D - 40239 Düsseldorf
Tel. +49-211-6214494; Fax +49-211-6214484
E-mail: westphalen@vdi.de
General coordinator:
Federal Ministry of Education & Research
General Policy Issues and Strategies
Heinemannstrasse 2; D - 53175 Bonn
Tel. +49-228-573892; Fax +49-228-572267
E-mail: matthias.hack@bmbf.bund400.de