13th Annual EAIE Conference 2001
5 to 8 December Tampere, Finland
Not only were the sessions wide ranging but so too were the participants both in terms of geography and job description - international office managers, rectors, international office assistants, vice-rectors, lecturers, deans, external relations officers and so on. What a wonderful way to share international higher education expertise!
Tapio Varis, professor and chair of media culture and communication education at the University of Tampere, discussed the following trends with the Keynote Plenary: transnationalisation of education, Public-private partnerships, technology-enabled learning and what will happen to traditional universities. He also talked about the effects of the 11 September attacks on the free exchange of students in the upcoming years and the risks that are present in higher education. 'There is the risk of hegemony of one single language to the detriment of multilingualism. There is the risk of hegemony of one single culture to the detriment of plurality. We have the challenge of the lecture rooms of the future: digital sites and virtual seats of learning. What will be the future role of the teacher in the broad sense of the word'?
He then went on to say the following, 'Whatever our background, wherever we come from, there are certain main objectives of higher education. We have to be able to generate new knowledge; if we don't do that nobody will, at least publicly. But we also have the educational function, the training of highly professional qualified personnel. We have to supply services to the society and to global development as a whole; and we have to maintain social criticism. No-one else will do it, because even the media, are dependant on what researchers say about the complex world.'
Wedigo de Vivanco, 2001 EAIE President added the following in his presidential address at the keynote plenary: 'It is the task of education to sensitise and prevent black holes of knowledge as experienced in the immediate past of 11 September. Once more it was proven that it is pivotal to understand the other, to be able to communicate across cultural boundaries, to mediate between different cultural experiences, to fight ignorance. It is in this context that we have to strengthen our efforts to internationalise higher education. (…) Take the impressive and rapidly growing list of international cooperation with our Eastern European colleagues. These activities help to overcome borders and prejudice, help to prepare a fair ground for the enlargement of the European Union, help to secure a peaceful future'.
These thought provoking speeches helped instil the theme 'International education - realising the human potential' and set the tone for the rest of the conference. Many different sessions and tracks were available this year and what was of particular interest was the IRM (SIG) pilot project called 'in camera'. What makes 'in camera' unique is that it allowed participants to freely express opinions and discuss issues and concerns in an environment that was confidential and based between colleagues. It proved to be very successful and will be offered again at next year's conference in Porto.
The 'Sounds of Symphony Orchestra' concert, featuring Pirkanmaa and Helsinki Polytechnics' symphony orchestras conducted by Ari Angervo, was just one of several social events offered to participants. In addition to the traditional EAIE Dinner and Dance and the Opening and Closing Receptions, there was a concert of Christmas music in the cathedral of Tampere, and a delightful mulled wine reception in the Tampere Pakkahuone. And no trip to Finland is really complete without a visit to the sauna. Seventy-five lucky participants were able to enjoy this experience to the full at a specially arranged sauna immediately following the conference.
Few will forget the stunning performance of the Human Potential Choir at the Closing Event. In a testament to the skill of the conductor Risto Hiltunen, the choir of conference participants, which had only rehearsed twice, gave a beautiful rendition of two songs. They blushingly received a standing ovation from the impressed audience.