Welcome from your Conference CHAIRS
The aim of the 32nd EAIR Forum VALENCIA 2010 is to unite the whole academic community for a new social challenge: motivate higher education researchers and policy makers to promote innovative best practises on academic and R&D & innovation activities and services to society all around Europe.
Universities must face in a positive way the actual challenges and changes. Public funds are decreasing dramatically and Universities must look for new alternatives to share knowledge with the society and industry via continuing education, technology transfer and all possible alternatives that R&D and innovation are able to offer for social engagement.
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are changing in a radical way how the society and its members interact with these challenges. It is a matter of fact that the European Higher Education Area requires education and management transformations using all the potentialities that ICT offers to the whole academic community. ICTs are changing the concept of classes and all the educational processes are affected. The new generations require less face to face activities and more and more virtual libraries, multimedia repositories, social networks adapted to the University setting - the virtual campus is part of this new "revolution". Road maps for facing the finance and competitiveness crisis are going to be based on innovation and the recuperation speed will depend on solutions Universities offer society to integrate ICT. Dedicated innovation areas (University science and technology parks), lifelong learning activities, systematic international cooperation (Asia and Latin-America), tools for "blended learning", fund raising ... all the third mission services HEIs are able to achieve, organise and operate.
Valencia is a good metaphor of what can be done.
A 2000 years old city with over 500 years of University tradition, synthesise a particular approach with respect to history and, at the same time, practise systematic innovation. Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (UPV), a third mission oriented University, represents the confident spirit between the knowledge transfer and the society engagement; between teaching and R&D. Our city has developed a balance between the traditional and the new city setting; the biggest gothic area in Europe and the Santiago Calatrava's city of the science, arts and technology. How has this been achieved? By being respectful of history while at the same time having innovation as the citizens' main motive. The Universities in Valencia has been impressed by the innovative spirit being present in all the national and international rankings of knowledge transfer, industry creation and international patents.
UPV accepted the challenge to host the 32nd EAIR Forum with the aim to share shortcuts, experiences and tools to be innovative in any University mission.
Welcome to SPAIN, welcome to the 2000 years old city of VALENCIA, a unique European technical and cultural crucible, welcome to the Universidad Politécnica de VALENCIA, welcome to the future.
Miguel Ferrando, Forum Chair
Patricio Montesinos, Forum Co-Chair
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