Art Credit: 'Nyntastic', Gail Troth, 2006 Dr Kelly Smith, currently based at the Birmingham Business School, is an influential enterprise and entrepreneurship educator with a strong portfolio of graduate venture creation. Here I spend time with one of the key architects of Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Educator networks in the UK. Contributing to education research and …
Continue reading "The mind behind curious & reflective entrepreneurship"
Photo: Pawel Szvmanski 12 weeks into lock-down I succumb to an anxiety brain fog. I dialled my 4th emergency service, IT. Irritable, an acute sense of slow thinking and processing, not feeling myself, I admitted to having forgotten a standard access code used over twenty times a day! An exceptionally tasking week on all fronts …
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Following 'Judge it! A book by its cover' last October, I embraced another invitation to work with the Faculty of Communications, Arts & Media (FCAM) at the International University of Malaya-Wales. This time, my task was to review, reflect and feedback on an extensive collection of digital campaigns about various social issues, to shortlist a …
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I am experiencing data overload. The constant state of being plugged in, tuned in, updated. There is a heavily disorientating aspect to the Age of Distraction, as penned by Richard Wurman in ‘Information Anxiety’ and revisited in Nicholas Carr’s ‘cri de couer’ ‘The Shallows’. My tension, fully embodied (Francis, 2018), requiring unbundling beyond this blog-space. …
An education with nature: Lao Tong and I in 2005, Thailand It's my birthday so I'll re-share if I want to ;-). Just watched 'Disney Nature's Elephants'... The development of critical thinking, creativity and complex problem-solving are long standing goals of education. Recently I’ve been exploring the potential of Biomimicry to support critical and creative …
Continue reading "Education, Biomimicry and becoming better beings"
In an update this week for 'EntreCompEdu', the multi-country project aimed at strengthening teacher competences for entrepreneurial learning, I reported on the magnificent commitment of our teachers and support staff to our learners and families through our global crises. "Covid-19 has hit education hard, pushing the ‘brick and mortar’ school into uncharted territory. Placing unprecedented …
An interview with Dr Simon Brown. From security hologram innovation, pioneering education research and practice, to high impact roles shaping the academic, graduate and business enterprise landscape, Dr Simon Brown is a leading figure in enterprise and entrepreneurship business incubation and education in the UK. You have a multi-sector background Simon, which includes the study …
Continue reading "The mind behind pragmatic and innovative entrepreneurship"
For those who follow my posts you will know I am a strong advocate of what I term the 'professional context assessment vlog'. Here, guest contributor, Kieran Hughes, reflects on the skills development achieved from the VLOG assessment integrated into one of my online Human Resource Management graduate modules. A newer assessment model helps equip …
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This is my first WFH-homeschooling ‘Earth Day’. Today, I reflect on the opportunity born from COVID-19 adversity, to have brought all the SDGs much closer to home. A genuine shift in priority, focus, mindset and daily habit. In the period of lock-down, as a family, we have both been ‘forced’ and ‘encouraged’ to adopt new …
It’s not fun turning 6 in COVID-19 lock-down, especially when plans to spend time with your friends for your first ‘big boy party’ get scrapped! Yet, I am in awe of my sister Frances, who has embraced the situation, drawn on her creativity, and made use of natural materials to create some magical moments for …
On being, and managing change while working from home (WFH) To share one experience of a working mum’s ‘COVID-19 state of mind’, I turn to Roald Dahl’s lesser-known sequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Dahl, 1962). Charlie’s Great Glass Elevator adventure (Dahl, 1972) starts with Charlie Bucket and chocolatier Willy Wonka squeezing Charlie’s entire …
Multiple-award winning educator and author, Dr Colin Jones is committed to the development of authentic and transformative entrepreneurship and enterprise education. Here I gather Colin’s reflections on entrepreneurial education, and garner insight into how his personal journey shapes his students’ authentic learning environments. On Entrepreneurial Education What do you say to those who argue entrepreneurship …
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An enthusiastic and forward-thinking Carmarthenshire primary school (South Wales) has taken steps to increase its ‘entrepreneurial learning’ curriculum content through engagement in the ‘EntreCompEdu’ pilot, the Erasmus+ funded skills framework that aims to build educator creative and entrepreneurial mindsets. Identifying the value of entrepreneurship education, Dafen Primary School Head Teacher, Mrs Iolan Greville with full …
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‘Harmony principles’ in practice For the delegates and presenters drawn to the UWTSD's Harmony Institute Student Conference 2020 last week, this translated into crossing silos, addressing diversity, adopting integrative thinking, moving beyond analysis to synthesis, and empowering with narrative. To the representations gathered from, and for, the business, interfaith, theology, social justice and inclusion faculties, …
Continue reading "In pursuit of Harmony: we can thrive again"
Here I argue the 'VLOG' has the power/agency to disrupt written discourses in some areas of business and management academia.
Piloting of the Erasmus+ 'EntreCompEdu' is underway in Wales, with primary teachers and PGCE Post Compulsory Education Teachers in training, currently being immersed into the new CPD framework that envelopes EntreComp (the Entrepreneurship Competence Framework). EntreComp Today’s I report on the PGCE PCET engagement led by Mark Flagg, the UWTSD’s Programme Director PG Cert HE. …
Continue reading "‘EntreCompEdu’ embraced by teachers in Wales"
Creativity, Curiosity, Challenge with Fire, Fun and Focus. That was my morning yesterday, joining Professor Andy Penaluna, as he inspired educators and leaders from a breadth of Swansea primary schools. Delegates gathered together, as agents of change in the development and implementation of the new Curriculum for Wales 2022. A collective of focused professionals working …
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I stand proud as a ‘Pirate in Education’, pledged to facilitate ‘positive disruption’ in the education system. Embracing a shared vision with other ‘rebel’ educators and parents, I commit to shape an education system that maximises the innovative potential of all learners; one purposed to social, cultural, environmental and economic value creation. Subscribed to the …
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Photo Credit: https://homegets.com/ My curiosity, appetite for learning, and joy of questioning have brought a new level of challenge to work-life balance this week. Hitting a peak in the middle of school half term. My bundles of joy, fairly and enthusiastically demanding more hours of fun, stimulus, attention and care. This evening, I’m feeling somewhat …
Immensely proud to be part of the EntreCompEdu project, a policy reform project funded through Erasmus+ Key Action 3, to assist educators with the development of EntreComp competences. EntreCompEdu seeks to empower teachers to rethink the skills they have and how they can be used to foster entrepreneurial skills in their learners. The vision being …
At 'We are Curious' Last weekend I spent the day in Bristol's 'We are Curious' science discovery centre with my young children. Amongst the interactive exhibits, activities and labs, I was particularly inspired by their ‘question’ installation. Collecting since 2017, ‘We are Curious’ aims to gather 10,000 curious questions from across the city of Bristol …
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Some of the EntreCompEdu Steering Group who met in Swansea Last week, in the heart of the UWTSD’s SA1 technium centre, EntreCompEdu’s pioneering team met to drive forward the implementation of the professional entrepreneurship competence framework. A team drawn from Spain, Belgium, Sweden, North Macedonia, Wales and Finland, brimming with expertise and enthusiasm. An international …
In light of today's [28/01/20] discussions generated by the Guardian's article on 'Schools Killing Curiosity' - a revisit to one of my 'hot topics' of 2019. Questions, a kindling for curiosity For many babies, ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ is one of the first literary introductions to the concept of wonderment, contributing to the foundation ‘inquisitive …
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2020. The time has come to ditch broken paradigms, and unleash the power of 21st century 'EntreComp' skilled change agents. As global citizens, we live with constant change and challenge. Issues seeded from an era of unrestrained greed and competition, and an over-zealous drive for growth. All against the backdrop of rising populations, depleting resources, …
Continue reading "EntreComp: the tool of choice for resilient VUCA*-proof change agents"
As a founding figure of ‘positivism’, Francis Bacon is very well-known for his promotion of the scientific method. This contrasts with my own researcher position as a phenomenologist. Subscribing to the belief that knowledge is obtained through both experience and observation, I adopt the view “science is useful for understanding many things, but not literally …
Continue reading "I’ll do my thinking with a spot of ginger and bacon!"
I, I shake it off, I shake it off.I, I shake it off, I shake it off. (Taylor Swift, 2014) A joyous by-product of my fascination with biomimicry as introduced in Education: Biomimicry and becoming better beings, is a gathering of the powerful tips nature supplies for us to deal with the messiness of living. …
It’s hard to ignore the outgoing decade witnessed a growing disillusionment to deliver on happiness, particularly that born of personal fulfillment. 2020 heralds the dawn of a new decade. I look forward. Open to its new possibilities. Hope for a rebirth of consciousness of both the individual and collective mind. In contrast to previous episodes …
2019 meant facing a full year without Dad. Experiencing grief, day by day has felt like layers of myself being stripped away. There have been times when I’ve been totally despondent over everything that death represents. Yet, it has been said, grief can lead to transformation; from darkness will come light. I believe this is …
Beginning with the Winter Solstice celebration this Sunday, then enveloping Christmas, Yuletide starts with a celebration of the lengthening amount of light we experience in the day. This provides a welcome moment to reflect on the first four seasons of ‘Emergent Thinkers.com’. A chance to illuminate the themes that have emerged over the year. Rebellion …
This time of year begs reflection. Recently I’ve been trying to document some of the learning from my doctoral and professional journey. After a great conference session at the ALT Winter Conference 2019 today, with international contacts I now consider an intricate part of my learning network, I had a moment! I suddenly realized that …
Continue reading "Back to the future: the journey of one vlog"
This post focus on the value of motivation, in relation to additional hours worked by employees in organisations. Through the contents of an article co-authored by Dr. David Griffiths, the late Dr. Rob Lewis, and myself a few years ago, I appeal to revive discussion on motivation, and HR’s awareness of value creation through voluntary …
Today I attended the Wales Academy for Professional Practice and Applied Research (WAPPAR)'s ‘Coaching Today for a Better Tomorrow: Flourishing Communities and Organisations’ Conference. A room packed with people, irrespective of coaching expertise who fundamentally believe in people and the transformative power of coaching. Underpinned by a range of disciples and areas of knowledge there are many …
Intergenerational exchange (image: pixabay) Globally connected, locally rooted It was my first Circular Economy mapping event [20/11/2019]. A breadth of industries and contexts were represented in the room, from farming to engineering, goods repair through to artisan glass manufacture, student, sole trader, SME and large corporation. All ready to access and share, ideas and opportunities …
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My 'lived experience reflections' of the ICDE's 28th World Conference on Online Learning, Dublin, 2019 (4-7 November), hosted by Dublin City University (DCU). Sense of place WCOL2019 was well situated in the unique glass-fronted futuristic Conference Centre Dublin. Interaction, innovation and inspiration were first impressions as I rose the heights of its atrium of crisscrossing …
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Image: Entrepreneurial competencies (EntreComp) The Global Skills landscape is morphing quickly. In the educational context, the spaces and silos built up between disciplines are collapsing under the weight of 21c connectivity and the appetite for transversal competencies. There is a growing collective impetus for curricula reform, that which will robustly prepare learners for life beyond …
An abridged re-post from earlier in the summer when I marked one year to the day I last held my father’s [an Irish-man] hand. Reflections on loss that triggered a deeper reflexive insight, on being, life perspective, and identity, including that of a ‘researcher’. Feelings resurfaced, as I make an emotional return journey to Ireland. …
Continue reading "WCOL2019: the power of voice and story unveiled [repost]"
my Dutch window-shopping I return home from a week in Holland further persuaded sustainability isn’t a goal but a mindset. One that is predisposed to being healthy, playful, smart and community-focused. In my view, exposing the important role of cultural worldview in addressing sustainability issues Various studies have for a while listed awareness, compassion, empathy, …
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An interview with Sam Conniff Allende. Social Entrepreneur. Innovator. Disruptor. Author. Following the impact of my first meeting with Sam at an Urban Foundry 51.6 event, as reported in my previous blog: 21st century pirate: the rebel with a cause I finally get to know more about the mind behind the global movement 'Be More …
Image: Markus Spiske Three words have tumbled around my head repeatedly, almost prophetically for the last 12 months. Sustainability. Ethics. Technology. Three lenses through which to address the urgent interlinked societal issues: from the environment through to education and the economy. Sustainability: as it balances economic, ecological, and social values in the pursuit of long-term …
Continue reading "Rebel Call: sustainability-based ethics in a technological world"
Faculty of Communication, Art & Media, at the University of Malaya-Wales This is a break from the norm for me, as it contrasts with my interest in minimizing cognitive bias and introduces me to the power of visual rhetoric, how we are persuaded by the things we see. Here, on invitation to judge six pieces …
Saturday (5th Oct) is World Teachers' Day, also known as International Teacher Day. Established in 1994, it celebrates the signing of the 1966 UNESCO/ILO recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, to "acknowledge, evaluate and enhance the instructors of the world" and to "consider the issues identified with educators and the teaching process in general". Over …
Tay Kay Luan's gift to the future generation It is with enormous pleasure I announce the availability of Mr Tay Kay Luan's second book on sustainability. The arrival of the book has brought tremendous excitement to my household. For not only does it contribute significantly to the global discussion on the most important challenge of …
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A simple thank you to all my followers and visitors from the last 12 months. Whilst I typically have education, sustainability and technology themes in mind, exploring how we can prepare well for a future AI-shaped volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world, simply I enjoy the journey of a voice shared. In the words of …
Picking up from earlier blogs embracing-sandcastles-rekindling-imagination and cyborgs-part-1-world-without-mind a brief share on an incredibly invigorating induction with sand, soul, and sustainability in mind with the Carmarthen Business School (UWTSD) freshers today on Tenby beach. "The future will belong to the nature-smart—those individuals, families, businesses, and political leaders who develop a deeper understanding of the transformative …
Fast-track to a ‘World without Mind’? Technological development has quickened its pace; it’s now speeding down the autobahn in a super-car. For the dreamy-eyed, it’s risk-free, without limits, and will deliver us to a better world. The right to drive forward, as fast as possible is considered by a number to be sacred, even an …
New academic year It’s the beginning of a new academic year for thousands globally. Our media and networks highlight the beginning of a new journey for learners, kitted out afresh, young and mature; all gearing up excitedly for their year of challenge, with focus on the end prizes of progression and achievement. Yet, the energies …
Picture: Vishal Shah: Castles in the Sky Imagination, the engine of my creativity Ian Van Dahl’s millennium classic ‘Castles in the Sky’ conjures strong memories of my youth. Interpreting the lyrics as dreams of visionary projects or the impossible, few can deny the deep neural connections between music and imagination (Kaufman, 2000; Fries, 2009) or …
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4IR ? In the words of the Word Economic Fourm (2018) ‘the fourth industrial revolution is already here! ‘ “Emerging Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies are rapidly changing how people, business, society and nations interact. Universities have a pivotal role to play. Their ability lies in three main dimensions: developing new technologies; grappling with the broader …
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Steve Wheeler is a Learning Innovations Consultant and former Associate Professor of Learning Technologies at the Plymouth Institute of Education. Here I interview the global educator, author, edublogger, and disrupter activist whose work on technology-enabled learning attracts millions of followers. You have a rich career path Steve, from artist and musician, psychologist and lecturer, to …
Continue reading "The mind behind harnessing technology for learning"
Fresh from some research on AI, robots and sustainability, the health of the planet has become a consistent theme that weighs heavy on my mind. Technology vs Nature. Various news media pump out the stories. We see-saw between a celebration of the latest advancement or ingenuity, to serious lament over the newest crisis, another step …
