Presentación de James Karlsen en el Seminario Aprendiendo de las Diferencias organizado por Programa ConectaDEL BID FOMIN-Orkestra-Agderforsking Buenos Aires, Argentina 24 de Abril 2012

1. Higher Education and
Territorial Development
A missing link?
Dr. James Karlsen, Senior Researcher

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3. Structure of the Speech
• Is there a missing link in the higher education
system?
• Structure of the speech:
– The missing link concept
– Regional development in Norway
– A trend towards a more educated population in
Norway
– An example from regional development in Norway
– Conclusion and some questions for discussion
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4. Different types of knowledge (1)
1. Theoretical/analytical knowledge
– Abstract, codified, universal, and is created by following
scientific methods and is verified by other researchers
through academic review processes
– This type of knowledge you learn at school or by reading
academic books
2. Practical knowledge
– How things functions in real life
– This type of knowledge you learn at work and in
interaction with others
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5. Different types of knowledge (2)
3. Knowing how
– The capability of combining different types of knowledge in action
– It is expert knowledge, it is knowing
– A part of this knowledge is tacit, you know more than you can tell
• Where do you learn this kind of knowledge?
– At university? As a theoretical concept, YES and in some studies YES,
but in general NO
– At work? YES, but as a tacit learning process
– Through life long learning, you start as a novice and might end up as
an expert
– Most educations lack an approch that combines theoretical and
practical knowledge
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6. Knowing how – the missing link?
Theoretical/analytical Praxis Practical
knowledge knowledge
- Know why - Knowing how - Know what
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7. The knowledge society
• In Norway more and more of the population has
higher education (Bachelor, Master and PhD)
– The number of students have quadrupled over the last
40 years, reaching 230.000 in 2010
– Most higher degree candidates are employed in the
public sectors of health and social services, education
or public administration
– Higher eduction is becoming more and more theoretical
• Society is becoming more and more complex
• Expert knowledge rules
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8. The knowledge challenge
• How to use knowledge as a strategy for regional
development?
• One example is to transfer analytical knowledge from
universty to society (technology transfer, linear transfer of
knowledge)
• This has not been that succesfull in Norway
• Another example is to initiate collaboration between
university and firms with the aim of creating innovations.
• This has been done in the VRI program
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9. VRI (Policy tools for regional
innovation)
• Initiated and financed by Research Council
Norway
• Co-financed and managed by the counties (there
are 15 regional VRI programs)
• One of them is in the Agder region, which I
represents, and where Agderforskning has the
operative responsibility
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10. Organizational structure
VRI Board
Coordinator
Knowledge Research
brokers team
Industry
Industry
Industry
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11. Some results from the program
• The program has been important for
development of networking/cluster
organizations in the region
• A lot of research results have been published
the last years
• However, there is one thing we are struggling
with and that is to create a space for common
reflection and learning between researchers,
knowledge brokers and the board
• To make knowing how to a collective capability
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12. VRI Board
Coordinator
No real sharing of
Knowledge knowing how
Research
brokers team
Industry
Industry
Industry
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13. Questions
• A collective knowing how would be a co-generated
knowledge shared by the ones working with the same
project/process
• Can there be built a bridge between individual knowing
how and a collective knowing how?
• How can this be done?
• Can this be built into the higher education system?
• What is your reflections about making knowing how
more explict?
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14. Thank you, gracias, takk
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