CARNET Users Conference titled “On the verge of possible” brought together more than 1,100 principals, teachers and professors, IT experts and businesspeople in the field of information and communication technologies.
During the three days of the conference, more than 140 papers will be presented addressing topics related to the meaningful use of new technologies in education, such as augmented reality in and out of the classroom, educational computer games, open-source technologies, digital tools and applications, interactive content and digital accessibility.
CARNET will present novelties in the e-Schools programme and emphasize on the development of digital competence of teachers and principals through education in the e-Schools programme. Users will have the opportunity to learn the benefits of CARNET sigma – a system for informatisation of school business processes and suggest ideas and expectations from the e-Class Register, an electronic class register.
CARNET’s National CERT will educate participants on the importance of cybersecurity, especially the security of the workplace and work processes, data protection, identification, and protection against malicious content.
CARNET CEO Goran Kezunović emphasized that this year’s conference is called “On the verge of possible” because “we live in a world of rapid changes that require us to make quick adjustments and focus on new challenges. Today we are shaping our digital future and that is why digital transformation must be accompanied by new competences. They will enable us to efficiently and responsibly manage new technologies and build an inclusive and technologically advanced society together.”
On the occasion of the conference opening, the Minister of Science and Education prof. dr. sc. Blaženka Divjak pointed out that CARNET plays a significant role in the digital transformation of schools, education and science, and the e-Schools pilot project, which jumped from 150 schools to 1,300, is a big step. “The initial plan was for 60 per cent of schools to be represented, but we made the decision that the project would be introduced in all schools, and that is the transition from a pilot project to the system,” said Minister Divjak.
Minister of Administration Ivan Malenica pointed out that “cooperation with CARNET is realized through the e-Enrolment project, which will make enrolment in kindergartens and other educational institutions as efficient, fast and simple as possible, and will simplify and standardize enrolment in higher education institutions”.
State Secretary of the Central State Office for the Development of the Digital Society Bernard Gršić said that “digital technology today enriches learning and creates training opportunities that must be available to all”, adding that application of new technologies leads to successful digital transformation of Croatian society.
A lecture held by the world-renowned Croatian scientist Igor Rudan, the first Croat after Ruđer Bošković to become a regular member of the Royal Society of the British Academy of Sciences also marked the opening of the conference.
Not all information that we can collect have equal value for our understanding of the world. Some of them are key pieces of the puzzle, which allow us to understand something completely new and therefore significantly change previous understandings. Other information is less valuable to us because it only further confirms what we already knew, or at least assumed. The brain is slowly “getting used” to information, so it tends to completely ignore all known ones, which are in line with previous knowledge and expectations, and look for that rare information that will deviate from its expectations and modify its understanding of the environment, said the academician Igor Rudan.
CUC 2019 lasts until 8 November, and you can find more about this conference at https://cuc.carnet.hr/2019/. This conference has been held for many years under the patronage of the Ministry of Science and Education and the President of the Republic of Croatia Kolinda Grabar Kitarović.
