To: All Faculty <everybody@illinois.edu>
From: "Ravi K. Iyer" <ovcr@illinois.edu>
Reply-To: ovcr@illinois.edu
Subject: MASSMAIL - Call for Interdisciplinary Summit-Proposals
<![CDATA[Call for Satellite Thematic Workshops
Innovation Summit
Building Bridges to Interdisciplinary Learning at Illinois
Integrating Education and Research
Beckman Institute Auditorium
April 13 & 14, 2011
http://summit.research.illinois.edu
The world is ever changing and with it higher education. With rapid
globalization, employers of all sizes have developed the flexibility to
move swiftly, transforming their labor force and ways of working operating
wherever they can find a ready and available talent pool. The grand
challenges facing contemporary society require solutions spearheaded by
teams of interdisciplinary scholars. Likewise, the world's students, at
all levels, migrate in an increasingly deregulated global education
sector. The great university cannot rest easy; it must evolve and renew
itself for the next generation, preparing education that can meet the
needs of this transforming world. At the University of Illinois, we
aspire to take full advantage of this opportunity to confront these
challenges head on at this critical historic juncture. This calls for a
move toward an interdisciplinary education in step with interdisciplinary
research.
This summit aims to galvanize a campus dialogue on interdisciplinary
research and education for students, staff, and faculty that will support
and sustain Illinois as a leader in interdisciplinary learning.
Fundamental questions
-What are the potentials for and challenges facing interdisciplinary
research and education?
-How can we engage interdisciplinary education to support
interdisciplinary research?
-What resources and programs at the University of Illinois can enhance
interdisciplinary experiences?
-What changes should be instituted on campus to make broad-based
interdisciplinary education and research a reality?
Outcomes
The summit is expected to result in a challenge to the University to
transform the educational system to better meet the needs of the next
generation of students. We call for concrete proposals to make Illinois a
leader in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary education and research.
We envision a blueprint that considers what it will take to afford
Illinois students, staff, and faculty interdisciplinary research and
education opportunities in synch with our changing world.
Call for workshop proposals
We invite faculty to host topical or problem-driven pre-summit workshops
whose outcomes can then animate the summit. The aim of these workshops is
to examine the interaction and integration between interdisciplinary
education and research in a number of different areas.
Workshops should involve multiple disciplines and extend beyond the
departmental boundaries. Workshop themes could encompass, but are not
limited to, the following broad domains:
Themes Anchored in Core Human Needs:
-Health: New Frontiers of Wellness, Prevention, and Medicine
-Hunger: Comprehensive Plans to Feed a Hungry World
-Water: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Delivery and Use of Water
Resources
-Shelter: Sustainable Models for Financing and Meeting the Complex Needs
for Housing in Developed and Developing Economies
-Business: Integrative Perspectives on the Rise and Fall of Business
Markets
-Work: Knowledge-Driven Work at Individual, Group, Organizational,
Institutional and System Levels
-Community: Creating Safe Communities for Education, Families, and
Economic Growth
-Law: Corporate Social Responsibility and Government Regulation in an Era
of Accelerating Change
-Energy: Social and Technical Dimensions of Distributed Power Generation
and Distribution
-Environment: Interdisciplinary Climate Research
-Food: Access to, Distribution Practices, and Promotion of Healthy Food
For the Health and Economic Development of Communities
Themes Centered on The Future of Higher Education:
-The Role of the Humanities in Interdisciplinary Research
-Connects and Disconnects Between Interdisciplinary Research and
Interdisciplinary Education
-Transdisciplinary Approaches to Training Grants
-Social Science and Interdisciplinary Research
-NSF Science and Technology Centers ? a Paradigm for Interdisciplinary
Research
-Breadth at the Expense of Depth in Interdisciplinary Education and
Research
The daylong pre-summit workshops should take place in February and March
and include the participation of graduate and undergraduate students as
appropriate. The knowledge and conversations from these workshops will be
presented at the April 2011 Summit by the respective faculty member(s)
hosting the workshop. It is expected that at least one representative from
each workshop be present on the second day of the summit to participate in
the development of recommendations.
If you are interested in hosting a pre-Summit Workshop, online
applications are available at
http://summit.research.illinois.edu/WorkshopSubmission.aspx) and are due
by December 10, 2010. Decisions will be announced in early January.
The host UI faculty will be responsible for securing a venue for their
workshop, optional external speaker(s), and arranging food and
refreshments for the workshop participants. In addition, hosts are
required to provide a short summary after the workshop indicating who
attended major issues addressed, and provisional
conclusions/recommendations.
If funds are requested, please fill out a budget summary on the enclosed
form (or on the web site). You may request funds for a nominal honorarium
($500 maximum suggested per external speaker), up to two days per diem,
two nights lodging and transportation for the speaker(s), and for
food/refreshments during the workshop. A maximum of $3,000 per workshop is
allowed.
Sponsored by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, with support
from Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Office of the
Chancellor.
]]>This mailing approved by:
The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research
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