Innovation is flourishing in the region, said Wojciech Przybylski, editor-in-chief of Visegrad Insight and Res Publica Nowa, in a March 20 discussion organized by CEU’s Center for EU Enlargement Studies (CENS). The two magazines published “New Europe 100”, a list that selected Central and Eastern Europe’s most influential innovators.
In the panel discussion titled “Educating Innovators in Central Europe: Sharing Experience of 'New Europe 100' Challengers” editors of the publication and CEU professors talked about education’s role in promoting innovation and creativity.
“We looked for people who challenged the status quo in a positive way, had big ideas and made an impact - and we have found many,” said Przybylski about the New Europe 100 project that was created with the cooperation of the International Visegrad Fund, Google and Financial Times among others. “The start-up business is blooming in Central and Eastern Europe. One of the main topics we want to discuss today is what kind of education we need to keep ‘producing’ such talents.”
In addition to the organizers’ own research, the group established a network of nomination partners to better monitor each country, Przybylski said. The selection process went beyond the borders of the European Union.
Thirty-eight percent of the innovators came from the field of business, 30 percent from society or politics, 17 percent from media and culture and 15 percent from science, said Anna Wojcik, assistant editor of Visegrad Insight. The average age was 35.
“Those interviewed regarded themselves as forward-thinking liberals, or even libertarians, members of a new, global elite” she said. “However, when asked how they could influence their own society, many expressed that they feel somewhat disconnected, as they were ‘living in a bubble.’”
Still, the list included many examples of innovators making a change locally. For example, Vladimir Koren, mayor of Ricany, Czech Republic, successfully introduced a system for residents to individually auction the delivery of electricity and gas to their households, helping locals cut their electricity bills by 17 percent, and their gas bills by approximately 30 percent. Kristofs Blaus from Latvia created an online platform called ManaBalss.lv (My Voice) that allows Latvian citizens to engage directly in local policymaking. Every proposal that gathers 10,000 signatures must be debated in the country’s parliament, and the platform helps citizens present their own proposals, simplifying and authenticating the gathering of signatures. ManaBalss.lv is such a success that about 40 percent of Latvia’s population has already used it, and just a week after its start, one of the proposals was discussed and passed in parliament.
Journalist Benjamin Cunningham, who covers Central and Eastern Europe for The Economist, Time magazine and Visegrad Insight, talked about the peculiarities of Central European education. In his view, education in the region – but also in Germany and the U.S. – still maintains many aspects stemming from the Industrial Revolution, when its primary purpose was to prepare masses for employment in factories.
There is a global need for reform, Cunningham said, naming a shift in emphasis from memorizing to problem-solving as the main goal. He mentioned specialization in secondary schools and on a university level a striking, but not necessarily positive, trait of Central European education. According to Cunningham, this approach discourages discourse across disciplines. He also identified a lack of public demand for educational reforms an obstacle.
“The Minister of Education is regarded as a throwaway position in Central European coalition negotiations, and generally, weaker coalition members get it,” he stated.
During his talks with New Europe 100 innovators, he found that those who were hiring extensively were not necessarily interested in candidates’ education.
“They said that graduates are not ready for work, they need to be trained anyway. They are looking for extracurricular activities and individual projects rather, to see what additional skill sets the candidates have to offer for the company,” Cunningham said. He also quoted Prezi CEO and Co-Founder Peter Arvai, who says “creativity can trump experience.”
Putting Central European education in a global context, Cunningham cited McKinsey & Company’s rankings. According to the consulting firm, most countries from the region are in the “good to great category” along with Germany or the U.S., trailing Finland, the only member of the “great to excellent category.” Regarding investments in education, McKinsey found that investing in teacher training has the best returns. “Along with higher salaries and social standing, a professionalized training on the level of lawyers and doctors is the key for a higher-quality education,” summarized Cunningham about McKinsey’s findings.
Helga Dorner, lecturer at CEU’s Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) spoke about innovation’s role in education. “What is creativity and innovation in a higher education context? It can best be phrased as 'transformational experience based on new ways of thinking,” said Dorner.
To emphasize the importance of creativity and problem-based teaching, she referred to research by TUNING Educational Structures conducted in 2005 and 2008, in which students were asked five years after graduation what skills they found most useful in their jobs. New ideas and solutions, willingness to question ideas, ability to present ideas, alertness to opportunities, coordinating and organizing skills and an ability to acquire new knowledge were among the most frequently mentioned.
In concluding the discussion, Peter Balazs, director of Center for EU Enlargement Studies, reminded the audience that critical thinking was one of the key phrases during the discussion.
“Here at Central European University, creative thinking has always been a cornerstone of education,” he said. “It is especially important in a region where critical views were not encouraged by education nor by past political systems.”
