A Multiversity?
You never heard of a multiversity?
Following we will explain you the concept of a our multiversity and why we think that this will be one concept for the future of learning and knowledge transfer in a the knowledge society.
A group organised by the New Club of Paris (NCP) initiated by G. Koch met in autumn 2008 (!) at Commerzbank Headquarter Frankfurt (G. Szogs) to first time discuss a new university concept under the headline „Multiversity“.
The NCP idea was on reformation / substitution of university. (NCP Discussion has been taken up by the European Academy of Science on university reformation)
Aalto (University) Campus of Society Innovation (ACSI) started in 2010 a new “education for innovation” project under the participation of NCP.
Major impulse for the “Multiversity”.
Multiversity – as a term – was first time introduced by President of the (entire) Universities of California (UC) Clark Kerr in 1963 :
The Idea of a University‘ was a village with its priests.
The Idea of a Modern University‘ was a town with intellectual oligarchy.
The Idea of a Multiversity is a city of infinite variety… This city is more like the totality of civilization as it has evolved… and movement to and from the surrounding society…
1. Multi-Generations for Life-long-Learning
The Humboldt-COSMOS Multiversity will be a place for knowledge exchange for multi generations. One important aspect of the future courses is the wisdom of the elder people. With their experience of Life and Work they can teach younger people. They can share their experience with other people through workshops, lessons-learned, knowledge café’s and throughout other concepts of knowledge transfer.
On the other hand there are also a lot of important knowledge of the younger people they can share with elder people, for example how to use the new media, their expectations for the future and other important aspects of life in a society.
The Humboldt-COSMOS-Multiversity (HCM) will be a place where every generation can be teacher and a student at the same time. Multi-generation life-long learning will be one important aspect of the multyversity.
2. Multi-perspective / Multi-cultural
To study and to learn means to explore new fields of knowledge and to hear about new perspectives. Our common, well-known perspectives are often connected to our own cultural background.
The Humbold-Cosmos-Multiversity will be a place of multi-perspectives and a multi-cultural way of learning and teaching. Therefore it is necessary to attract experts from all over the world with a different cultural background and different experience to spread the new ideas around to all the students from different countries and different cultural backgrounds.
3. Multi-national
Starting at the island of Tenerife the Humboldt-Cosmos-Multiversity will spread around the world to everybody who is interested in the topics and concepts of the HCM. It will spread to every knowledge society where the courses of the HCM can help people to “energize their future”.
The aim is not only to spread the courses all over the world but also to attract teachers and experts from all over the world. The Humbold-Cosmos-Multiversity will not evangelize other nations with the knowledge of a few experts, the HCM will offer a multi-perspective or a multi-cultural range of courses.
4. Multi-method approach
The Humboldt-Cosmos-Multiversity will strictly encourage a multi-method approach in research, learning and teaching. This is a necessary consequence out of the multi-perspective and multi-cultural approach. To deal with future problems we think that it is necessary for the HCM students to have the ability to use a wide range of methods and tools. The traditional way of thinking will solve only traditional problems. For future problems we need a new way of thinking and acting based on the experience of the elder people. Therefore the students of the HCM should have the opportunity to learn many different and new methods and tools and get the chance to test them in different scenarios.
5. Multi-forms of learning
Knowledge-management and knowledge-transfer, learning and cooperation was revolutionarized by the internet. The Humboldt-Cosmos-Multiversity will consequently use the new internet technologies to transfer its knowledge to every place where it is needed. Through the internet we will bring together the teachers and the students of the different countries.
But this will not be the only way of knowledge-exchange. The personal experience, the contact to the teachers and experts also needs some kind of physical presence. We also will have normal workshops and seminars where people can meet, discuss, learn and find other experts from multiple disciplines.
