Rethinking Baltic education in Cambridge

  • 2014-10-10
  • By Richard Martyn-Hemphill, RIGA

Cambridge University (photo: AFP)

The Baltic Times will be keeping a close eye on Cambridge University this weekend, as the second annual Cambridge Baltic Conference kicks off later today, and will be one to watch.

We were impressed with the rigor and academic integrity of their first annual conference in 2013, which was packed full of provocative and insightful debates between academics, journalists, policy makers and students — successfully bringing to light many of the tough challenges facing the Baltic states.

This year's conference will be more focused, honing in on the subject of educational policy in the Baltic States and beyond, allowing for a more detailed analysis of potential policy solutions.

Panel discussions and student projects will address specific issues such as "Best Practices in Higher Education", "Does Education Foster Entrepreneurship?", "Skills versus Knowledge in Secondary Education", and "Future Trends and Innovations in the Field of Education".

And speakers will include: Maive Rute, a director of the Research and Innovation DG of the European Commission; Marcis Auzins, rector and professor at the University of Latvia; and Dr Robert Kilis, a former minister of Education and Science in Latvia — among many others.

The conference will also have an exciting final touch, with a video address and Q&A with last year's Nobel prize winner Robert J. Shiller, who is himself of Lithuanian descent.

We look forward to sharing any noteworthy insights from the conference in our upcoming print issue, and we recommend following our Twitter and Facebook pages for live updates of the conference. The Twitter handle for the event is: #cambalticconference14