Previous Fora / 2011
BURCHARDT, Ulla
Chair, Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment, Bundestag, Germany
Ulla Burchardt
1972 Obtained Abitur (school-leaving certificate giving right of entry to university)
1972-1977 Studied educational science, social science and psychology
1977-1990 Specialist in youth and adult education
Since 1990 Member of the German Bundestag
Current Posts
Chairperson of the Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment
Substitute Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
Substitute Member of the Committee on Economics and Technology
Member of the SPD Executive Committee
Board Member of the German UNESCO Commission
Member of the Board of Trustees of the Max-Planck-Institut Dortmund
Member of the WZB-Board of Trustees (WZB Social Science Research Center Berlin)
Chairperson of the German-Italian Parliamentary Friendship Group
Member of the Board of Trustees of the ISAS Dortmund (Leibniz-Institute for Analytical Science)
ABSTRACT
09:30-11:00 19 NOVEMBER
PLENARY SESSION VI. “PARLIAMENTARY SESSION”
Science today is a globalized system. Finally it becomes acknowledged that scientific curiosity and scientific rigour are universal; academic freedom therefore is a universal objective and there is a connection between academic freedom and political freedom. However, globalized science exerts pressure and limitations to academic freedom in developing countries, because ‘scientific quality’ is defined in Europe and America.
If we want to achieve efficient and effective science systems everywhere to address the dramatic global challenges of today, we need to allow researchers in developing countries to define their research priorities and their research methods themselves. To formulate answers to global challenges which are effective in the long-term, e.g. more effective research capacity in developing countries, is an important task for parliaments.