IOE academic speaks at Science and Innovation International Festival

Dr Denise Hawkes, EdD Programme leader at the UCL Institute of Education (IOE), has given a speech at the Science and Innovation International Festival in a session that explored the conditions to increase innovative potential.

The Festival was organised by the Eastern Europe University, Caucasus University and the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA), and produced 150 lectures, seminars, conferences and scientific picnics throughout Georgia.

Dr Hawkes' talk was entitled "Professional Doctorates as a Mechanism for Innovation: Evidence from the EdD at UCL".

The talk focused on some of the aims of professional doctorates, the wider demographics of EdDs, EdDs available at UCL as well as the differences between professional doctorates and PhDs.

Dr Hawkes explored reasons why students undertake professional doctorates, which included having long term problems of practice and wishing to address them.

The talk then examined some real-life problems of practice across a variety of education institutions relating to social inequalities and teaching entrepreneurial skills among others, before addressing the benefits of establishing professional doctorates in order to find innovative answers to these and many other longstanding questions.

Dr Hawkes was invited to the Ministry of Education and Science the following day to discuss the professional doctorates with policy makers looking to reform the higher education system in Georgia. Dr Hawkes hopes to continue her work in Georgia, potentially establishing professional doctorates.

Links

• Dr Denise Hawkes' research profile
• Education EdD