CMT: 10th March ‘08
For our usual seminar session today, we had to attend a workshop on “Soft Technology, Creativity, and Innovation”
WORKSHOP – School of Computing Science, Middlesex University, London
VENUE: Room WG17, Williams Building, Hendon Campus, 13:15-17:00
Organiser: Satinder P. Gill Senior Research Fellow, School of Computing Science, university sattisan@yahoo.com
Soft technology examines the symbiotic relationship between technology, creativity and innovation that builds on the societal knowledge (social, cultural, institutional) and utilises this to design processes, products and services for sustainable innovation. The importance of understanding and applying the concept of Soft Technology is nowhere more apparent than in China. China is currently faced with the challenge of leapfrogging towards a knowledge society where culture becomes crucial. The workshop will introduce the concept of Soft Technology and explore its implications for the future of China in the globalising world, and it will discuss the importance of the cultural heritage industries and human centred innovation within broader contexts of Soft Technology.
Workshop Chair: Martin Loomes Dean of School of Computing Science, Middlesex University, London.13:15-13:30
Introduction: Satinder P. Gill13:30-14:00 Plenary Talk: “Soft Technology— The Source ofCreativity in the 21st Century”
Speaker: Zhouying JIN Director, Center for Technology Innovation and Strategy Studies of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; President, Beijing Academy ofSoft Technology, China.
Discussion14:15-14:35 “New Business Model & Corporate Responsibility”Speaker: Shihong HAN Chairman of the board, Beijing Meridian Sun Co. Ltd., China.
Discussion14:45-15:00
Tea Break
Workshop Chair: Zhouying JIN15:00-15.20 “Boundaries of Cultural Heritage Industries”
Speaker: David Smith Professor and Director of Research, Newport College of Art, Media and Design, Wales.
Discussion15:30-15.50 “Human-Centred Innovation”
Speaker: William Wong Director: Centre for Interaction Design, School of Computing Science,Middlesex University. London.
Discussion16:00-16:30 Reflections on Soft Technology and Future Collaborations
Closing Remarks
Biography Prof. Zhouying Professor Zhouying Jin is a senior researcher and professor of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences(CASS); Director of Center for Technology Innovation and Strategy Studies (CTISS) of CASS; President and Founder of the Beijing Academy of Soft Technology.
She has been visiting professor of Case Western Reserve University and University of Nebraska-Lincoln, U.S.A(1993-1994); Senior Research Fellow, Institute For The Future (U.S. CA, Menlo Park 1996); Special researcher, Institute of Science and Technology policy of Japan (2002); and Visiting Professor of University of Aix-Marseille III of France(2003).
For the past ten years, she has focused her research on “soft technology”. She was invited to attend the First ‘Festival of Thinkers’ as one of ten selected World Thinkers with ten Nobel Laureates in 2005.
She is also Chairman and founder of the Future 500(China) devoted to stakeholder engagement to maximizing the “the triple bottom line” in China. The Future 500 mechanism is aiming to improving sustainability and harmonizing economic profits with social and environmental benefits in enterprises dimensions. She holds two personal copyrights on Enterprises Evaluation and Benefit & Risk Evaluating System for Technological Project.
PDE: 14th March ‘08
Today’s Interaction Design practice session was held as usual, I could not attend for some personal reasons. On enquiring from colleagues, I understand that it was presentations and supervisory advice on individual projects as usual.