Building Global Partnerships: Stanford-Denmark links
As the world becomes more connected, collaboration among researchers, students, and industry will continue to grow in dynamic and often unpredictable ways. Stong institutional and individual relationships will help all parties navigate and take advantage of these changing times.
Building on the partnership that Innovation Center Denmark has built wth Stanford University, I (Dan Gilbert from the Stanford Center for Innovations in Learning) traveled to Denmark to meet with professors and students from Aalborg University, Danish Pedagogical University, and the Danish Royal Academy of Art and Architecture. This trip was possible because of the vision and support of Innovation Center Denmark Silicon Valley, an office of the Danish government charged with building connections between Denmark and Silicon Valley organizations.
In Aalborg, Professor Lars Botin and I conducted two distinct activities. First, three researchers from Stanford joined a symposium via videoconference on exciting developments in Project Based Learning (PBL); second, we agreed to pilot a globally collaborative student project in April 2008. In this project, students from Aalborg’s Architecture and planning departments will work with Stanford graduate students in education to design public spaces that support learning.
In Copenhagen, I met with students and researchers at Learning Lab Denmark of the Danish Pedagogical University to exchange ideas and identify potential contacts at Stanford for future collaboration. I also met with graduate students and faculty from the Royal Academy of Architecture and visited three spectacular schools that merged innovative design with innovative curriculum.
A successful outcome for this trip will be if we can develop project sin the next one to two years that connect the expertise we have in innovative learning practices with our partners' expertise in architecture and design. I am looking forward to some exciting conversations in these areas.
