Lilian Lihasi | Rasigan Maharajh & Rebecca Hanlin

LECTURE-5: THE EVOLUTIONARY CORE OF NATIONAL SYSTEMS OF INNOVATION

The lecture covers the following

-Learning as ‘interactionist‘process

-Learning as a ‘socially-embedded‘ process

- ‘Inter-connectedness‘of learning and innovation

-technological trajectories and technological paradigms

- Interaction and feedback as root to innovation

- Learning by Doing and Learning by Interactions

- Experiential learning (DUI) versus the STI mode of learning

- The Learning Economy

CHAIRS:

Rasigan Maharajh is concurrently Nodal Head of the Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation’ Centre of Excellence in Scientometrics and Science, Technology and Innovation Policy; the founding Chief Director of the Institute for Economic Research on Innovation at Tshwane University of Technology; Professor Extraordinary at the Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology of Stellenbosch University; an Associate Research Fellow of the Tellus Institute in Boston; and the Chairperson of the Southern Africa Node of the Millennium Project.

Rasigan was previously: Visiting Professor at Rede de Pesquisa em Sistemas e Arranjos Produtivos e Inovativos Locais in the Instituto de Economia of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Visiting Research Scholar at the George Perkins Marsh Institute of Clark University, USA; Head of Policy at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research; and National Coordinator of the Science and Technology Policy Transition Project for South Africa’s first democratic government. Before these deployments, Rasigan was: Senior Researcher at the Education Policy Unit of the University of Natal; National Coordinator and Researcher at Operation Upgrade of Southern Africa; Research Assistant at the Macro-Education Policy Unit of the University of Durban-Westville; Research Assistant at the Labour and Community Project of the South African Council for Higher Education; and a Casual Labourer at Pick and Pay Supermarkets. During the struggle against the apartheid regime, Rasigan held elected leadership positions within the: United Democratic Front, Congress of South African Trade Unions, and the African National Congress.

More about Rasigan

Dr. Rebecca Hanlin is Innovation and Development Specialist for AfricaLics based at African Centre for Technology Studies in Nairobi. Rebecca is also a Visiting Fellow at the Development Policy and Practice unit at the Open University and at the Innovation, Knowledge and Development group at Aalborg University, Denmark.

Rebecca received her PhD at the University of Edinburgh in the area of science and technology studies.  She has an BSc (Hons) in Development Studies and Politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies, an MSc (Econ) in Health Policy, Planning and Financing, a joint award from London School of Economics and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and an MSc (Res) in Science and Technology Studies from University of Edinburgh.

Rebecca has over 20 years of experience living, working and researching in Africa especially, Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania.  Her research work is in the area of innovation and development. Particular research interests include: innovation for pro-poor growth, scientific research capacity strengthening; the intangibles of innovation; and the application of innovation systems concepts in developing world settings.  Rebecca currently leads ACTS’ work on rural electrification in Kenya (www.irekproject.net) and has recently completed a project focused on the challenges facing African science granting councils in building science systems. Rebecca is also engaged in health innovation research.  In 2020 two books that she is co-editing will be published.  The first book will be published by Routledge and outlines the findings of the IREK project while the second book will to be published by ACTS Press and outlines the lessons learnt from three years interacting with African science granting councils.

The speaker:

Lilian (Kidula) Lihasi is an agribusiness and development practitioner, with a wide experience in capacity building and strengthening of partnerships to foster mutual learning and development of creative ideas. Lilian, a consultant at The Lead Consortium, has served for over 20 years. in various leadership capacities in research and regulatory institutions in Kenya. Driven by her passion to build change champions and transform livelihoods for sustainable food systems and organizational change; Lilian facilitates change processes while driving leaders to conceive and implement new experiences within their existing context. Lilian has a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Agricultural and Rural Innovations and a Master of Science (MSc.) in Agricultural Extensionfrom Egerton University, Kenya. She is the Founder and Team Leader of the Vuyande International.

More about Lilian.