The document discusses the need for transformation in the educational system amidst global changes, emphasizing the shift toward open source concepts and the importance of critical skills for future employment. It highlights the emergence of freelance politicians and new political cultures that prioritize active participation and adaptation to societal needs. Additionally, it outlines the role of students in applying their knowledge to real-world problems and participating in collaborative learning experiences to foster creativity and responsibility.

1. Towards An Open Source
Educational System
Students' Role In The Context Of
The Global Challenge
Summer University Science Conference, Albena, 27/08/2013
Hristian Daskalov

2. • Tackling the Crisis Through Utilization of
Applied Knowledge &Youth Energy, Von
Mises Conference, Genova 2012
• Innovation In The Cooperation Between
Business & Academia, TexWeb, Sofia
2012
• The Rise of the Freelance Politicians,
Human Rights & Democracy, Dublin 2013
SOFIMUN 2013

3. Contents
• The Global Change
• The Educational System
• The Open Source Concept
• The Students’ Role
Hristian Daskalov
Summer University Science Conference, Albena, 27/08/2013

4. The Global Challenge
Summer University Science Conference, Albena, 27/08/2013

5. Toffler believes that along
with the transition to the
“third wave”, this mass
character will disappear
from many aspects of our
lives and will be replaced by
more varied forms of
communication, education
and enjoyment, consistent
with the unique desires of
individuals.

6. The social transformation
face us with a need for:
a.) change management
b.) crisis management

7. • The dimension that we have a significant
increase in today is the ‘speed’ of the
problems’ formation & development in
the finance and economic sector, due to
the quantitative accumulation processes
taking place throughout the years and
the need of rapid adaptation towards
changes.
50 major banking crashes across Europe and the
US are described dating back to 1618
(Kindleberger).

8. • Unfortunately, politicians are moving exactly in
the opposite direction of what needs to be done
in times of global transition – they are
overregulating, creating fiscal disbalances,
indebting the future generation that is to
change the tendencies...
• This not only ruins the financial system but also
transfers the burden of consequences over
such reckless behavior (through measures
such as bailouts) to citizens themselves, leaving
them with nothing but long-term problems to
solve, in state of insolvency.

9. The Result of the lack of transformation and adaptation

10. The outcome:
The raise of the „freelance politician“ as an alternative of
establishment politics
• Freelance politicians do not
necessarily have self-interested
political motives for participation
in the conventional political and
governmental model. They
implement their public policies by
the influence they exercise, using
modern forms of social
communication online, blogs,
social platforms such as Twitter,
Facebook, and others.

11. The protest movement in Bulgaria expressed with great dose of offline creativity its thoughts on the present day
political status quo, recreating a scene from the French Revolution from the times of radical social and political
upheaval, when French society underwent an epic transformation, giving birth to modern-day liberal democracies.
These and many more are scenes of a new political culture of active and creative participation.

12. Implications
• The Global Change
▫ Learning to manage change is vital to avoid crisis and the
governmental mismanagement following.
▫ The systems that are unwilling to adapt become turbulent and shaky.
Eventually they become substituted by modern forms of organization
(e.g. private & digital money vs. state-owned/central banking).
Summer University Science Conference, Albena, 27/08/2013

13. The Educational System
Summer University Science Conference, Albena, 27/08/2013

14. • The heritage of the industrial revolution is
today still the leading form of social
organisation in the world, even in areas
which are to be progressive in their nature,
such as education.
Recommended reading: All Our Futures:
Creativity, Culture, and Education
http://sirkenrobinson.com/skr/pdf/allourfu
tures.pdf
• Lessons learned from the political system
– outdated inst. systems are creating
disturbance not complying with the needs
of the environment, and eventually get
substituted after a painful process of
transition towards a new decentralized,
more democratic organizational model.

15.  95% of employers “put a priority on hiring people with the intellectual and
interpersonal skills that will help them contribute to innovation in the workplace”
 93% of employers say that they are asking employees to “take on more
responsibilities and to use a broader set of skills than in the past”
 95% of employers say that “a candidate’s demonstrated capacity to think critically,
communicate clearly, and solve complex problems is more important than their
undergraduate major”
 91% of employers say that “the challenges their employees face are more complex
than they were in the past.”
Source: “It Takes More Than a Major: Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success”
(Hart Research Associates, 2013)
What the system demands for?

16. Critical thinking/ analytical reasoning
Ability to analyze/solve complex
problems
Effective oral communication
Effective written communication
Apply knowledge/skills to real-world
settings
Locate, organize, evaluate info from
multiple sources
Innovation/creativity
Teamwork/collaboration in diverse
group settings
Ability to connect choices and
actions to ethical decisions 64% 27% 9%
67% 22% 11%
71% 20% 9%
72% 19% 9%
78% 16% 6%
80% 12% 8%
80% 12% 8%
81% 13% 6%
82% 11% 7%
“It Takes More Than a Major: Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success” (Hart Research Associates, 2013)
Put more emphasis than colleges have in the past Less emphasisThe same emphasis

17. The Growing Demand for Higher Order Skills
Source: Council on Competitiveness, Competitiveness Index

18. The Open Source Concept
Summer University Science Conference, Albena, 27/08/2013

19. • „Generally, open source refers to a program
in which the source code is available to the
general public for use and/or modification
from its original design.
• Open source code is typically created as a
collaborative effort in which programmers
improve upon the code and share the
changes within the community.“

20. У
«Специализрано образование и кадри за сектор „Облекло и текстил”. Комуникация между висшето образование и бизнеса.
Очаквания, възможности, добри практики», Христиан Даскалов, 08.05.2012г.
HEI
Student Enterprise
We need an open peer-to-peer network to connect the stakeholders
(e.g. Bitcoin), create synergies from the disperssed resources
(e.g. BOINC), and multipy the opportunities along the chain.

21. • Besides teaching and research,
serving society is becoming a
coherent domain of the
university.
• Transition towards fulfilling the
third mission is called the
second academic revolution
(Etzkowitz, 2004) and active
universities in that process are
called entrepreneurial
universities.

22. У
Entrepreneurial HEIs
Key competences Open Innovations
Collaborative research +
validation and verification
Online & on-the-job learning
+ structured outcomes
Internships and work placements
+ L&D portfolio/credentials wallet
Innovation clusters
Knowledge
transfer
Continuing
education
Regional
specialization

23. The Students’ Role
Summer University Science Conference, Albena, 27/08/2013

24.  Integrative and Applied Learning
• Demonstrated through the application of knowledge, skills, and responsibilities to new settings and complex problems
 Intellectual and Practical Skills
• Practiced extensively across the curriculum, in the context of progressively more challenging problems, projects, and
standards for performance
 Knowledge of Human Cultures and the World
• Focused on engagement with big questions, enduring and contemporary
 Personal and Social Responsibility
• Anchored through active involvement with diverse communities and real-world challenges
LEAP initiative, AAC&U
Academic Implications & Demands

25. Through the LEAP initiative, AAC&U has published research on a set of widely tested teaching and learning strategies and
programs that—when done well—have substantial educational benefits.
High Impact Practices
First-Year Seminars and Experiences
 Common Intellectual Experiences
 Learning Communities
 Writing-Intensive Courses
 Collaborative Assignments and Projects
 Undergraduate Research
 Diversity/Global Learning
 Service Learning, Community-Based Learning
 Internships
 Capstone Courses and Projects

26. Offline Experiences - Find a Friend @ NBU
• FaF@NBU VOLUNTEER is someone who:
• Acts as a resource and provides essential academic and non-
academic information that will help first-year students become
confident and well informed;
• Is willing to be a part of a dynamic group of current students who
seeks to create an atmosphere that minimizes anxiety and
promotes positive attitude;
• Contact new students through e-mail;
• Organize personal (Face to face) meetings with first- year
students;
• Introduce students to all NBU services;
• Introduce students to university activities, clubs and
organizations;
• Help students understand and prepare for academic and social
demands of University life;
• Help students develop a sense of community;

27. NASU Summer University
• The “Summer University” is a social project aimed to
create conditions for development of active dialogue
between the student communities of the
universities, through their participation in trainings,
seminars, sports and cultural events, bringing them
to work together to develop the mass student
sports, education and intercultural values.
• We aim by this project to promote the mass
amateur sports among students and to attract more
students actively involved in sports, culture and
social activities in the universities.
• The organizers are trying each year to modify and
extend the agenda of the Summer University,
involving various academic and creative workshops,
training for teamwork, knowledge competitions and
entertainment events .

28.  Most creative acts are generally unexpected and originate in the minds of people
who are interacting with their environment.
 Hence, maximizing data processing in students’ minds – encouraging them to be
proactive provides positive conditions for creativity and eventually for achievement
of positive outcome of the crisis.
 In terms of constrains, as creativity loves restrictions, they become just an incentive
in the fight to change the status quo.
 Never the less, as everyone has the license to pursue dreams, the more we share on
the daily challenges on the transition path - the better ideas come from everywhere,
the more we inspire and the closer we get to the goal.
 We need a decentralized system to store and keep track of these learnings in an
open, scalable manner, i.e. an ‘Open Source University’.
Main implications on the topic:

30. Thank you & All the best,
Web: Daskalov.info
Mail: Daskalov.HR@gmail.com
LinkedIn: bg.linkedin.com/in/hristian/
Twitter: H_Daskalov