Education
Our unique educational programmes for industry innovators
Information is the Key to Innovation
We can innovate every day, we just have to decide to. In our knowledge-intensive society, clear information is the foundation for the development of new knowledge, new competencies and resulting innovation.
Yet in an environment saturated with misinformation, disinformation, acronyms and slogans, familiarity is often mistaken for understanding.
What is harder to find is the foundational knowledge that allows original ideas to be examined, tested, and applied appropriately.
Institute Research Lab develops the ability to innovate, making complex ideas clear, structured, and usable, for application within the systems that generate, shape, and use information.
Media Literacy
We foster critical, creative and analytical thinking as we develop fundamental media literacy including concepts of data, information and knowledge. This creates the context required to understand and take full advantage of the shifting emergent AI and assistive technologies landscape.
We develop no nonsense, fundamental concepts and language that enables business to work more efficiently in teams, define goals and develop productive solutions to their own business challenges for themselves or with solution providers.
This happens within a multi-disciplinary environment, in person and online, delivered by experts that understand the challenges of academia and the industry requirement for lifelong learning.
Education versus Training: A Unique Experience
Institute Research Lab. delivers educational rather than training programmes.
Training focuses on teaching specific, practical skills for an immediate job or task, while education focuses on broad theoretical knowledge, reasoning, and critical thinking. Training teaches the "how" through hands-on application. Education teaches the "why" through concepts, theories, and ideas.
Training is narrow and job-specific. Education is comprehensive and applicable to many situations. Training is usually short-term to meet an immediate need. Education is long-term and builds permanent foundations for life.
Training aims to boost tactical productivity and performance. Our education programmes build strategic judgment, reasoning, and understanding- the framework to develop on-going, fit-for-purpose tactical solutions.
Our goal is to future proof our learners as they develop an understanding of technology that will carry them through ongoing technology developments. The objective isn't to make our learners an expert in one technology. It's to make them considerably harder to fool by the next one.
Investigating Technology
Free inquiry is at the heart of the Lab's philosophy. We start by asking: What is the nature of this technology? This is an open ended, technical and philosophical question.
We tackle the technical aspects of technology thoroughly and then examine the implications of it's use. From there, learners are free to investigate, challenge assumptions, follow ideas and reach their own conclusions and their own solutions.
Ultimately, we want learners to be confident enough to question what they are told, curious enough to investigate for themselves, and equipped with the fundamental understanding to keep learning and adapting as technology changes.
Learners develop design and systems thinking as they distinguish evidence from assertion, representation from reality and efficiency from value within their own organisations. They do so, alongside others confronting similar challenge and opportunities afforded by technology.
