Smart power. The role of education and science in public diplomacy

Smart power.
The role of education and
science in public diplomacy.
Katarzyna Rybka-Iwańska
Course on Public Diplomacy 2017

Why do countries fight for the
brightest of the brightests?
 The traditional factors building the power of states (i.e. economy
and military strength) are increasingly interlinked with the level of
science, R&D, technology and the level of education; examples:
Banking systems require multidimensional thinking (watch The Big
Short!)
Building advanced helicopters, drones, tanks requires the best of
the best technologies
Building a modern diplomatic service requires a new, global
education

The technological revolution = the
jobs revolution
Source:
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_FOJ_Executive_Summary_Jobs.pdf

MEGATRENDS: the fourth industrial – or rather technological
revolution.
Automatization
Robots
Artificial intelligence
But: robots and AI will not replace everything. Processes requiring
abstract, creative thinking and building various kinds of relations
(mutual understanding!) will build workplaces for the best
specialists in a variety of sectors.

 The transition from an industry-based to a knowledge-based
economy.
 The increasing focus on knowledge generates new and intensifies
already existing transnational interactions
 Knowledge is more globalised than economy and therefore even
less controllable
 Institutions of higher learning produce national and international
elites for the spheres of policitcs and business
Anna Wojciuk

 In the era of the knowledge-based economy, higher education
becomes more important:
 As something power can draw upon (power as resource)
 As a tool of foreign policy (power as influence)
Cooperation oriented toward mutual benefits
Competition for people, competition of systems
Higher education as a part of international trade
Anna Wojciuk

Cooperation oriented toward mutual
benefits
 Gaining prestige abroad, especially among the present or future
elites of the country foreign students come from
 Building mutual understanding between countries
 Fostering international mobility of students
 Not commercial – does not bring profits to the inviting
country/institution; often subsidised by the inviting
country/institution
 Should aim at limiting the risk of brain drain
Anna Wojciuk

Competition for people, competition
of systems
 When one country is gaining, the other is losing precious resources
in relative terms (brain drain)
 The braindrainers usualy search for people whose real capacities
can be assessed in order to minimize the risk of investing in the
wrong individuals
 The other way: to encourage one’s own citizens who have studied
abroad to come and start working in their home country
(demographic crisis = a shrinking pool of talent)
 Non-English speaking countries face difficulties and have to
undertake special policies to be able to attract the best and
brightest
Anna Wojciuk

Higher education as a part of
international trade
 Export of knowledge becomes a part of international trade and
higher education as a resource that produces wealth
 The host country is not in any way subsidising foreign students –
they are expected to fully cover tuition fees and the costs of living
 The inviting country makes permanent immigration and
employment difficult
Anna Wojciuk

The Global Competitiveness Index
framework Katarzyna Rybka-Iwańska
Source: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GCR2016-
2017/05FullReport/TheGlobalCompetitivenessReport2016-
2017_FINAL.pdf

Alumni of the Fulbright Program
 Butrus Butrus Ghali, former UN SG
 Javier Solana
 Sylvia Plath
 Umberto Eco
 Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, former PM
 Marek Belka, former PM
 Dariusz Rosati, former MFA
 Grzegorz Kołodko, former MF

EU Erasmus – growing mobility of students;
growing support for the EU integration?
Source:
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/repository/education/library/statistics
/erasmus-plus-facts-figures_en.pdf

EU Erasmus – growing mobility of
students; growing support for the EU
integration?
Source:
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/repository/education/library/statistics
/erasmus-plus-facts-figures_en.pdf

EU Erasmus Mundus – EU public
diplomacy towards the third countries
Source:
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/educa
tion_culture/repository/educati
on/library/statistics/erasmus-
plus-facts-figures_en.pdf

International education hubs in Asia
Source:
http://wenr.wes.org/2015/07/
developing-international-
education-hubs-asia

International education hubs in Africa
and the Middle East
Source: http://www.higher-
education-
marketing.com/blog/internati
onal-education-hubs

Shanghai List
But: there are totally 9
universities breaking into the
Top 100 list in 2016, among
which Tsinghua University
(CN), Peking University (CN),
Monash University (AU),
National University of
Singapore, Mayo Medical
School (US) and the University
of Texas M. D. Anderson
Cancer Center make their first
appearance in the Top 100.
This is also the first time for
China and Singapore to have
Top 100 universities in the
world.
Source:
http://www.shanghairanking.com/Academic-
Ranking-of-World-Universities-2016-Press-
Release.html

Student flows – tertiary education
Source: http://pdf.euro.savills.co.uk/residential---other/spotlight-
world-student-housing-2014.pdf

Education diplomacy – a different
perspective
 To uphold education as a human right and essential for the
realization of all other human rights  cross-cultural
communication is key in this respect
 Build consensus around the role and benefits of education in an
increasingly complex world
 Secure the responsibility of governments to provide education in
their nations
 Inform global leaders about the benefits of education
 Enlighten educators and the public about how education
contributes to peace, global security, and sustainability
 Place education at the center of the global development agenda
by bridging education to positive social, economic, health, and
environmental outcomes
Source: http://www.educationdiplomacy.org/overview/

Malala Yousafzai
 A Pakistani activist fighting and
campaigning for education accross the
globe, especially for the access to
education for girls in the least developed
and developing countries
 The youngest laureate of the Peace
Nobel Prize (2014 – 17 yrs old), also a
laureate of the Sakharov Prize, Simone
de Beauvior Prize, the Freedom Award –
and many others
 One of the most influential people in the
world in 2013-2015 (Time magazine)
 Founded the Malala Fund
Source: https://pl.pinterest.com/pin/381680137154029631/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3lyymTRVKw

Human Development Index
Source: http://report.hdr.undp.org/

SDGs
The Sustainable Development Goals were introduced by the
General Assembly of the UN in 2015.
Source:
http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-
development-goals/

Questions for discussion
 In what sense is the education key in enhancing prosperity and
security?
 How do countries compete on the international educational
market? Who are the other stakeholders?
 Is education controversial as a public diplomacy dimension?
 How can education enhance the positive image of a country and
its brand?

Literature
‣ Wojciuk Anna, International Power Dimensions of Higher
Education in the Age of Knowledge, in: Stosunki
Międzynarodowe – International Relations, No 1, vol. 49,
Warsaw University 2014: http://www.pl.ism.uw.edu.pl/wp-
content/uploads/2013/02/SM49-14-Wojciuk.pdf
‣ 2016-2017 Global Competitiveness Report, World Economic
Forum: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GCR2016-
2017/05FullReport/TheGlobalCompetitivenessReport2016-
2017_FINAL.pdf
‣ 2016 Human Development Index http://report.hdr.undp.org/

Thank you very much for your
attention!
Let’s stay in touch:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/katarzyn
a-rybka-iwa%C5%84ska-08856b133/

Smart power. The role of education and science in public diplomacy

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Smart power. The role of education and science in public diplomacy