Harvard Scholar. Only a Few Institutions Worldwide Have Kaunas Universities Capacities
“There is every reason to believe Lithuania could have one or more universities in the top 100 universities of the world. Population size is not the dispositive determinant of quality”, Teodoro Forcht Dagi, a globally renown neurosurgeon, researcher and entrepreneur is convinced. He emphasizes the consolidation of strong institutions of higher education as a way to enhance study and research quality. However, the goal demands the commitment on governmental level.
In the interview below, Dagi, distinguished scholar and professor at Queen’s University Belfast, Harvard Medical School Member of the Academy, Director of Life Sciences at London and a Honorary Doctor of Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) discusses fostering interdiciplinarity, challenges of higher education and the common ground between medicine and engineering.
“Almost every discipline has a particular, and sometimes more-or-less unique way of looking at the world and analyzing questions. However, such uniqueness risks degenerating into a form of provincialism. In English this is called a “silo” mentality, reminiscent of the huge grain storage structures that stand in splendid isolation entirely separated from other silos on the plains”, says Dagi, encouraging deep crossover of various disciplines, involving knowledge and expertise.
8 Nov 2016