Conference: Sharing Knowledge to build a stronger European economy driven by human capital

I was invited as a co-facilitator on a workshop on the role of innovation into education and training in the realms of the European Vocational Training Association's conference on Sharing Knowledge to build a stronger European economy driven by human capital, which took place last week in Brussels. 

I had the chance to interact with many interesting professionals in field, listen and challenge their opinions and build upon a highly interesting and sometime provocative discussion. 

I would like to share some of my personal cognitive take- aways from the conference which I think bring an added-value to the discussion on the role of innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship into education and training. 

1. Education is more than knowledge and skills; is a pathway to develop attitudes, cognition, culture and incentives to learning, changing, social engagement and development of both hard and soft skills 

2. Education should drive collaborative learning and encourage open knowledge 

3. Skill development is far more effective if the world of learning and the world of work are effectively integrated. Always bare in mind the phrase by Andreas Schleicher, OECD during WISE 2012 in Qatar that "Skills have become the central currency of 21st century economies".

4. Expertize is not the one that matters anymore; it is the ability to accumulate experiences which will help into adjusting into new globalized environments. It is a matter of culture, mindset, attitude and character.

5. More education does not automatically translate into better skills and competences. It is important to understand and deliver skills in a way that they make a difference. 

6. The new ecosystem proposed by EVTA which brings together the pillars of employment, innovation, entrepreneurship and training is the realization that global world changes do not happen globally: a change always starts from somewhere, i.e. the combination of regional cooperation at a policy level.

I would like to thank the organizers for inviting me to share my thoughts and feelings and also all the participants for the inputs, feedback and contributions.