Professor of Psychology in the Department of Communication and Psychology at the University of Aalborg, Denmark, where she serves as director of the QS-research group (30 members, VIP), advisor for several Ph.D.-students, Co-director of The International Centre for the Cultural Psychology of Creativity (ICCPC), and co-director of the Center for Qualitative Studies, a network of more than 90 professors and researchers concerned with methodology and development of new research tools (http://www.cqs.aau.dk/). She is regional editor of The International Journal of Qualitative Research in Education and co-editor of Psykologisk Pædagogisk Tidsskrift. Lene is the author of numerous books and articles, among those the book: Lær – effektiv talentudvikling og innovation.

Keynote - Learning as a dynamic social practice:

This key-note by Professor Lene Tanggaard addresses the need of a dynamic understanding of learning in education and beyond. Research into knowledge transfer has shown that transposing the knowledge acquired in a training course onto work is not without its problems. People discover that learning processes can be difficult and at times they can regress. Furthermore, there is a body of knowledge that does not lend itself to absorption or transfer via traditional teaching.

It is simply not enough to just fill up on the mental stock of knowledge in individuals and in organisations. We are in need of a more dynamic understanding of learning. Most of our new graduates are equipped with analytical skills, a flair for acquiring knowledge and a willingness to learn new things. Yet the fact is that we could exploit these excellent skills far more systematically than we currently do – and this is true of skills acquired in academic as well as other contexts. We know that formal education or teaching is often the best way to instil deep specialist knowledge. However, most jobs in both private and public spheres need employees with both breadth and depth of knowledge if they are to have the ability to expand the frontiers of current expertise. We know that most innovative companies typically look for the 'T-shaped' professional, one who possesses a depth of skills and the ability to apply him- or herself to other areas. Such employees have mastered their subject; but they are also keen to explore any chance for learning something new wherever possible. Working on this broader plane often requires other elements: networks, experience and practicality. And it demands the kind of apprenticeship in which depth is combined with breadth. Could we work with this thinking also in formal education and develop a more active and apprenticeship based kind of teaching? These are the questions addresses by Tanggaard in the present key-note.