Future activities

Some recent activities brought me closer to the subject of violence against women. We prepared an outine for the 3rd World Conference of the Global Network Women's Shelters, to be held in the Netherlands, that is, if we can find adequate financing. We were given an assignment for the establishment of a Women Entrepreneurship Center at the Yanki Devi Memorial College for women in Delhi, India. Stimulating entrepreneurship with women is an effective way to achieve women empowerment, and this is part of the fight against violence. The statistics on violence against women are staggering: in the Netherlands, a small country of 16 million, the policy gets a call every seven minutes. In Russia, a woman or girl is killed every hour. In China, a third of women have attempted suicide because of violence against them. Fortunately, public opinion has become aware of this gigantic problem as women feel freer to speak about their experiences and as the press pays more attention to it. No doubt, violence will be on top of the agenda in most countries and international organisations. 

We established a foundation, Diversity and Inclusion of Women Anywhere (DIWA), that will seek sponsorship to establish more women entrepreneurship centers around the globe. 

Recent activities

A presentation was given in June 2013 to the conference “Financing higher education – In search of effective solutions based on best practices in North America, Europe, and Asia”. This Conference was organised by The US Economy and Transatlantic Relations Institute at Lazarski University in Warsaw (website: http://us.institute.lazarski.pl). The text will be published in a book. Actually, this text is more elaborate than the presentation. It makes a plea for the full privatisation of universities as a way out of the squeeze caused by increasing costs and declining. Some suggestions for cost saving and the increase of revenue are presented. All this is based on a description of the financing of universities present and past. If you are interested in the text, mail me at jgw@wissema.com.

In May 2013, a presentation was given at an SME Congres in Ankara, Turkey. My group discussed Indutrial and Innovation Policies. My presentation was expanded and turned into a chapter of a book that will be published later in the US. It gives first of all a short history of industrailsation/innovation policy, followed by an anlysis of the current situation. A number of trends are then identified and a view is given on innovation/industrialisation in the near future. Again, this article is available from jgw@wissema.com. 

In March 2013, the University of Lucknow and the School of Planning and Architecture, both in New Delhi, were visited and the concept of the Thrid Generation University was discussed.

In December 2012, a presentation was delivered at a Conference at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, on the occasion of the opening of an Ecorys office in that city. The theme was: New approaches in Higher Education Policy. Especially the subject of Innovation in education was addressed as part of HE policy (see under New Ideas).

In November 2012, a presentation on Women Academic Leadership was given at a Round Table at Duzce University, Turkey, hosted by the female rector of Duzce University. Participants included forty women rectors of other Turkish universities.

Also in November 2012, a presentation was given at the Annual Congress of Kalder, the Turkish Society of Quality Management, for some 3000 participants in Istanbul (see picture). The title of the presentation was Quality in education.

In May 2012, a presentation on Innovation Policy was given at the Technical University of Wroslaw, Poland, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Entrepreneurship Centre of this university.

A presentation entitled Towards the Third Generation University was given in October 2011 at the Al-Farabi University in Almaty, Kazakhstan, for some 2000 participants. The Congress was organised to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s independence.