ICEIPI 4th

The 4th International Conference on Educational Innovation and Philosophical Inquiries (ICEIPI 2023) was a hybird conference which includes several workshops (offline and online) around the world. Prof. Enrique Mallen from Sam Houston State University, Dr. Chinny Nzekwe-Excel from Birmingham City University, and Dr. Nafhesa Ali from Northumbria University have chaired these workshops on related topics. ICEIPI 2023 provided the participants with good opportunities to exchange ideas and build networks, and it will lead to further collaborations between both universities and other societies.

Workshop

Sam Houston State University, USA

Organizer: Prof. Enrique Mallen, Professor in Sam Houston State University

Pablo Picasso visited Paris for the first time in the fall of 1900 and within a few months he was already being investigated by the police. Although there was no evidence of any crime, he was suspected of being an anarchist, simply for being of foreign origin. This is not the first time he was treated as an "extranjero" (etymologically related to "extraño", strange, different). Having been born in Málaga, in the south of Spain, he was already treated as "different" when he moved north, first to A Coruña and then to Barcelona. It was 1904 when Picasso settled permanently in France. Most of his friends in the capital were "foreigners" like him in one way or another. This not only applied to all his Catalan friends residing in Paris, but also to French citizens like Max Jacob, a Jew and a homosexual, therefore an outsider; Guillaume Apollinaire, a revolutionary poet of Polish descent; Leo and Gertrude Stein, Jewish-American expatriates, or his dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, also a Jew of German descent. My presentation discusses the fact that Picasso defined himself as a "liminal artist", one that remained critically at the margins, living IN another culture, but not OF that culture. The two characters he identified with the most were equally liminal individuals: the Harlequin (a messenger from the dark side) and the Minotaur, half beast, half human.



Birmingham City University, UK

Organizer: Dr. Chinny Nzekwe-Excel, Associate Professor in Birmingham City University

The diverse student population in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) brings both enriching benefits and challenges. One of the challenges is the issue of students' ability to confidently communicate and express themselves in writing. Deficiency in academic or critical writing has a direct impact on students' adjustment to higher education study and academic progression. HEIs are recognizing the deficiency of fundamental soft skills in students and so, some are making effort to drive and implement inclusive initiatives aimed at practically developing such skills in the curriculum design and delivery. Precisely, the practice of embedding targeted writing support sessions within subject-disciplines offers an opportunity for students to gradually develop and enhance their writing ability through critical reflections. As part of the goal on supporting the learning needs of the diversity of students in their higher education study, this session is premised on fostering an inclusive, and progressive learning experience for a multi-cultural student population. The session supports inclusive learning environments where students gain their subject knowledge and are concurrently equipped/prepared to apply fundamental soft/ employability skills. The session provides insights on the perceptions of students on the value of the embedded writing sessions, in terms of enhancing their learning engagement and writing ability.



Northumbria University, UK

Organizer: Dr. Nafhesa Ali, Lecturer in Northumbria University

The workshop seeks to explore at how empirically informed teaching creates increased space for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in the classroom, and benefits teaching content and learning materials available to students. Discussions around the importance of connecting research and teaching will reify knowledge around the need to advocate research-led teaching that informs, and contributes to, excellence in HE pedagogy and building dialogue between students and educators.

Online Session

The online session of the 4th International Conference on Educational Innovation and Philosophical Inquiries (ICEIPI 2023) was held on August 7, 2023. Professor Enrique Mallen from Sam Houston State University, Dr. Chinny Nzekwe-Excel from Birmingham City University, Dr. Nafhesa Ali from Northumbria University and Dr. Javier Cifuentes-Faura from University of Murcia have given keynote speeches on related topics of Education, Psychology, Sociology, etc. Also, we invited authors of qualified papers to deliver oral presentations at the Online Session. Ten authors have presented their studies of linguistic, pedagogy, psychology, etc. Questions from the audience were collected and answered by the presenters.

Highlights

Title: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach to Picasso's Bilingual Poetry
Presented by: Enrique Mallen, PhD, Professor, Department of World Languages and Cultures, Sam Houston State University


Title: Designing an Innovation Experience to Promote Sustainability in Higher Education
Presented by: Javier Cifuentes-Faura, PhD, Researcher, Department of Financial Economics and Accounting, University of Murcia


Title: (Re)Connecting Research and Teaching: Generating New Knowledge and Adopting Changing Pedagogies
Presented by: Nafhesa Ali, PhD, Lecturer, Department of Social Sciences, Northumbria University


Title: Soft Skills Development Is Crucial in Higher Education Learning: The Essence of Critical Writing
Presented by: Chinny Nzekwe-Excel, PhD, Associate Professor, Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences, Birmingham City University

Videos

You can find the Youtube Playlist here.