Strand 2
Strand 2: Regenerating City-Regions: Learning Environments, Knowledge Transfer and Innovative Pedagogy
Leader: Lorna Unwin, with Alison Fuller, David Guile, Geoff Mason, Richard Noss and Susan Robertson
Strand 2 examines the role of lifelong learning in the shift towards the ‘knowledge economy’ in city-regions in the UK, and the consequent implications for communities, employers and education and training providers. It does this through investigating various geographical, educational and economic sites which provide research ‘windows’ onto the complex relationships involved in skills generation, innovation and transfer. Activity at the Further/Higher Education interface is a major area of inquiry.
The strand contributes to the theoretical development of the study of lifelong learning and the dynamic inter-relationship between the economy and education at sub-national level. Projects investigate the extent to which the learning approaches, skills and knowledge that are identified as being required to sustain and enhance emergent and growth sectors of the economy, can also contribute to greater social cohesion. They also seek to shed light on the most effective vehicles for reconciling policy goals of competitiveness and social cohesion within city-regions.
Project 1: Cultural Quarters: Small Businesses, Self-Employment, and Innovation (Leader: David Guile)
Project 2: Retail Parks: Worker Identity, Aesthetic Labour and the Youth Labour Market (Leader: Alison Fuller)
Project 3: Innovation, Knowledge Transfer, and the Role of Higher Education (Leader: Geoff Mason)
Project 4. Industrial Competitiveness, Social Inclusion and the Upskilling of Older Workers (Leader: Geoff Mason)
Project 5: The Higher and Further Education Marketplace (Leader: Susan Robertson)
