PASCAL has five regional offices: based at the University of Johannesburg [1](UJ), University of the Philippines [2] (UP), Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology [3](RMIT), the University of Glasgow [4] and Rutgers University [5] (RU).[MO1] More information about the regional offices, the universities within which they are based, their associated offices elsewhere in their region and the staff involved, please see the contact links beelow.
Each office is led by a Co-Director, and has responsibility for supporting members and associates in a particular geographical territory and leads on particular projects. Co-directors are supported by associate and deputy directors
The territorial responsibility for UJ is Africa, for UP Asia, for RMIT Australasia, for UG Europe, and for RU is the Americas.
For enquires from Africa, please contact Professor Marius Venter [7]at the University of Johannesburg.
To learn more about PASCAL AFRICA [6] and the University of Johannesburg, click the logo to the right!
For enquiries from the Americas, please contact
.edu">Professor Radha Jagannathan [9], Rutgers University.
To learn more about PASCAL AMERICAS [8] and Rutgers University, click the logo to the right!
For enquiries from Asia, Please contact Professor Mario de los Reyos [11] at the University of the Philippines.
To learn more about PASCAL ASIA [10] and the University of the Philippines, click the logo to the right!
For enquires from Asia and Australasia, please contact Professor Robbie Guevara [13] at RMIT.
To learn more about PASCAL AUSTRALASIA [12] and RMIT, click the logo to the right!
For enquires from Europe, please contact Professor Mike Osborne [15] at the University of Glasgow.
To learn more about PASCAL EUROPE [14] and the University of Glasgow, click the logo to the right!
For further details, please also see the PASCAL Centres map and Director profiles... [16]
PASCAL Africa is situated at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) within its Centre for Local Economic Development (CENLED) in its School of Economics.
The University of Johannesburg
The University of Johannesburg (UJ) is a vibrant, multicultural and dynamic university which shares the pace and energy of the cosmopolitan city of Johannesburg, the city whose name it carries. The university maintains its role in actualising the potential through higher education. With a student population of over 50 000 students, of which more than 3000 are international students from 80 countries making UJ one of the largest contact universities in South Africa. The vision of the UJ is to be “an international University of choice, anchored in Africa, dynamically shaping the future”. The mission can be described as follows: “inspiring its community to transform and serve humanity through innovation and the collaborative pursuit of knowledge”.
The School of Economics (SOE) of the University of Johannesburg
The core activity of the School of Economics is to train economists in various fields of Economics (Local Economic Development, Financial Engineering, Industrial Economics and Trade Economics) so that they become the next generation leaders in the field of Economics and valuable assets for any organization. The School of Economics (SOE) consists out of six distinct clusters namely:
UJ CENLED
CENLED plays a role in the development of new career path for economic developers. The success of a community depends upon its ability to adapt to the dynamic local, national and international market economy. Strategically planned sustainable Local Economic Development (SLED) is increasingly used by communities to strengthen the local economic capacity of an area, improve the investment climate, and increase the productivity and competitiveness of local businesses, entrepreneurs and workers.
The ability of communities to improve their quality of life, create new economic opportunities and fight poverty depends upon them being able to understand the processes of SLED, and act strategically in the changing and increasingly competitive market economy.
CENLED has positioned itself nationally, and members of CENLED span a number of key Universities across South Africa. These include the University of Johannesburg, University of Zululand, the University of the Western Cape, Tshwane University of Technology, amongst others.
Directorate of PASCAL
PASCAL Director: Professor Marius Venter
Prof. Marius Venter is the founder and director of the Centre for Local Economic Development (CENLED) based at the University of Johannesburg since 2008. CENLED’s focal areas are economic development, in particular through entrepreneurship in local communities across South Africa. Prof Venter served as the deputy chairperson of the Small Business Development Agency (SEDA) for 9 years. He has been the driving force in establishing a network of academics and practitioners in these fields in all South African universities, leading to the establishment of the professional body, the Economic Development Council of South Africa (EDCSA), which he chairs. Prof Venter has more than 30 years’ hands-on experience in small business development and entrepreneurial activities, mainly in the local government sphere. He serves as the Director: PASCAL Observatory (Africa), a global alliance that works in collaboration with city and regional and leaders to balance economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability. He is a visiting professor at the Philippines Normal University.
PASCAL Co-Director: Professor Peter Baur
Baur is an Associate Professor at the School of Economics in the University of Johannesburg. He holds a Doctoral Degree in Economics from the same University. He has lectured internationally and across South Africa for many different universities. His community engagement has spanned both the private and public sector. His field of research includes cultural, financial, behavioural and development economics. He is a long serving member of the Centre for local Economic Development (CENLED). He sat on an advisory board for the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs. He sits on the research board for the Gauteng Department of Economic Development. He acts as an economic advisor for members of city council and is the co-director for PASCAL Africa. He has published in a number of international journals and has often featured in the both the local and international media, where he is often called upon for commentary and economic analysis. He heads the International Research Unit in Arts and Culture at the School of Economics, a research division for the Arts and Cultural Trust, which is an international cross disciplinary inter university research unit which focuses on the cultural entrepreneurship. He publishes quite extensively in the field of financial economics and cultural entrepreneurship within the arts and cultural sector.
PASCAL Co-Director: Dr Marinda Pretorius
Marinda Pretorius is a senior lecturer in the School of Economics at the University of Johannesburg and a researcher in sovereign credit ratings, subjective well-being, migration and exchange rate forecasting, with a keen interest in African economies. She also coordinates the Masters in Local Economic Development (LED) at the School of Economics. She is frequently involved in projects that investigate and analyse the subjective well-being of labourers (day labourers, car guards) employed in the informal market in South Africa.
Key Projects within PASCAL Africa.
The African Centre of PASCAL recognises the role of economic development within the African context. Global shifts in terms of international trade, political relationships, global warming, forced migration, and the changing nature and role of technology is forcing new attitudes towards key issues of culture and entrepreneurship and cultural development within the African context.
Research generated within universities especially within the developing countries have a crucial role to play in developing distinguished and active academic systems, by making it possible for these developing countries to contribute towards the global knowledge within society through knowledge development in key issues of economic development, social cohesion, political transformation and environmental sustainability. PASCAL Africa recognises the importance of such development in research and maintains a high degree of professional and academic integrity within this process.
Key project highlights underway in 2022/2023 include:
Vision of PASCAL Americas
The PASCAL Americas Center at Rutgers University has as its main focus, STEM learning from cradle to college, and place-based policies that enhance the probability of educational and labor market success for youth. In addition, the Center promotes and showcases research on non-cognitive skills and life-long learning that enhance individuals’ human and social capital. The Center draws from faculty and staff expertise in these areas from the various schools and departments across Rutgers University to bolster its areas of focus and build a network of STEM-centered learning cities and places.
It is envisioned that the Center will raise the profile of Rutgers University and significantly enrich its international reputation by showcasing its research excellence and community engagement. Specifically, the Center:
Collaborations and connections developed through the Center are expected to result in successful joint grant-seeking efforts in Europe, Africa, Australia, Asia and North America with an embedded comparative component.
Anticipated collaborations will take the form of:
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, stands among America’s most renowned and diverse public research universities. The oldest, largest, and top-ranked public university in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area, Rutgers has campuses in three New Jersey cities (New Brunswick, Newark, and Camden), and the Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS) unit is spread across the region. Rutgers is known as an academic, health, and research powerhouse and a university of opportunity.
Rutgers Global is the university-wide office devoted to comprehensive internationalization for the students, faculty, and staff at the University. The mission of Rutgers Global is to strengthen the global impact and reputation of the University by: recruiting and supporting a robust and diverse international student and scholar community; fostering global education at home and abroad that nurtures student success and development ; partnering with leading international institutions to cultivate collaborative academic programs and research that address global grand challenges; and creating opportunities for the broad university community and its alumni to be engaged globally.
Ultimately, Rutgers is committed to preparing our students for global challenges and opportunities by providing them with the tools necessary to develop cultural competencies and lead in the interconnected world in which we live.
The Rutgers Center for PASCAL is housed in Rutgers Global and draws upon the expertise of faculty, staff, practitioners and students across the university to strengthen and grow the Center.
Established and approved by the Rutgers University Board of Governors in 1992, the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy serves as one of the nation’s key centers for the theory and practice of planning and public policy scholarship and analysis. With its graduate urban planning program ranked nationally, an accredited graduate public policy program, the undergraduate public health program ranked 4th nationally, and new research interests in health administration, public administration, and public informatics added more recently, the Bloustein School is committed to a rebirth of the public service ethic in the United States. The ethic focuses on place-based improvements and development of social capital like good civic design in its broadest sense including housing, transportation, workforce development, public health, economic development, ecological balance, social capital and social justice for the disadvantaged.
The Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS) powers the university's robust exploration of sciences. The school is affiliated with Rutgers' New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station [25] and its strong research and community outreach programs across New Jersey and around the world. DAFRE supports society's need for economic analysis and business management in the areas of agriculture, food, resources, and the environment, is strongly related to community outreach and place-based improvements in local businesses, communities and the lives of people in New Jersey and beyond. The Department’s mission includes achievement of scholarly excellence in economic research on emerging issues unique to a urban/suburban environment, provision of continual, strong, high quality support for stakeholders in analyzing, planning and facilitating adjustments to urbanization, and fostering of strong ties with community institutions and stakeholders nationally and internationally.
The Division of Continuing Studies (DoCS) is the sole university-wide unit at Rutgers dedicated to the mission of lifelong learning. DoCS enriches lives and communities by providing lifelong access to progressive, learner-driven education. Grounded by its New Jersey roots and its support for Rutgers faculty and staff, DoCS seeks to meet learners wherever they work and live, both in the classroom and online.
Center Director Radha Jagannathan is a Professor of Statistics in the Urban Planning & Policy Development Program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. Professor Jagannathan received a Ph.D. in Public Affairs from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, in 1999.
Dr. Jagannathan received Fulbright Scholarships to Germany (2010), Hungary (2014) and Finland (2023) to conduct seminars on policy analysis and use of econometrics at the University of Konstanz, Germany and the Central European University, Hungary. She is the recipient of the 2010 Frank R. Breul Memorial Prize from the University of Chicago for her research published in the Social Service Review. She also received a DAAD Fellowship to the University of Konstanz in 2007, and the Jerome G. Rose Distinguished Teaching Excellence Award at Rutgers in 2007, and Excellence in Teaching & Mentoring from the School of Graduate Studies at Rutgers in 2019.
Dr. Jagannathan’s main research interests are in the areas of youth (youth learning and development, school-to-work transition, labor market outcomes, accumulation of social capital) and governmental decision making. Her past research has examined the impact of welfare reform on women’s fertility behavior and their mental health, children’s living arrangements, poverty, and incidence of child abuse and neglect. These investigations have appeared in the Journal of Labor Economics, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Research in Labor Economics, Journal of Marriage and the Family, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, American Journal of Public Health, American Journal of Evaluation, Social Service Review, Child Abuse and Neglect, and Social Science & Medicine. Jagannathan recently completed two books for Oxford University Press, one that attempts to provide a decision making framework for U.S. child services that to make them more effective, and a second book that examines the transmission of values multigenerationally in European, Asian and North American families. Her most recent book for Bristol University Press examines youth labor market policies in Europe and America and provides policy solutions to high rates of youth unemployment in some countries. During her sabbatical year (2023-24) she has plans to complete two books on youth education.
Jagannathan was also one of the principal architects of an EU-funded, 11-country youth unemployment study entitled Cultural Pathways to Economic Self-sufficiency and Entrepreneurship (CUPESSE) conducted in Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and Turkey .
Collaborating with faculty from the School of Environment & Biological Sciences at Rutgers and funded by Johnson & Johnson, Jagannathan has also developed and implemented a nature/science exploration program called Nurture thru Nature (NtN) for New Brunswick elementary school students (ntn.rutgers.edu). The program is designed as a classical experiment and has shown promise in increasing the science, math, and language arts grades of NtN participants relative to non-participating peers.
Dr. Jagannathan’s current evaluation research involves assessment of youth employment programs in several U.S. cities sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Worldwide.
Her teaching interests include courses in statistics, econometrics and research methods and other substantive courses in the area of demography, community and international development, and poverty.
Center Deputy Director: Dr. Michael J. Camasso, Professor of Agricultural Economics, DAFRE, SEBS, Rutgers University (Expertise in social capital, child welfare, public welfare institutions and community development) Email: [email protected] [26]
Michael J. Camasso is a professor of resource economics at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, USA. He is a Fulbright Scholar, a DAAD Fellow, and a Bruel Prize Winner who has written 6 books, over 50 referred journal articles and more than 150 research reports. His clients have included Johnson & Johnson, Beneficial Finance, Dupont, MBNA, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He has taught courses in econometrics, business statistics, welfare-to-work policy, and cultural economics at universities in the U.S. and in Europe. His research has appeared in such journals as Risk Analysis, Journal of Labor Economics, Contemporary Economic Policy, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Research on Economic Inequality, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Research in Labor Economics, Social Service Review, and many others.
He is the co-founder of the Nurture thru Nature program at Rutgers. His current projects include comparative studies of social and cultural capital across Europe and the United States with a focus on youth.
Dr. Ron Quincy, Professor of Professional Practice, Bloustein School, Rutgers (Expertise in place management, governance and third mission) Email: [email protected] [27]
Ronald Quincy is a Professor of Practice at the Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy, and Senior Faculty Fellow, Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Dr. Quincy teaches graduate & undergraduate courses in policy, planning, and management disciplines. He also teaches a popular course on leadership in the School of Arts & Sciences Honors Program. He founded two centers at Rutgers, including the Mandela Washington Fellows Civic Leadership Insitute. Ron has extensive executive level background in government, nonprofit, and higher education. He has served in the Cabinet of two Michigan governors; Special Assistant/White House Fellow, US HUD, and US State Department Foreign Affairs Advisor, (Africa Bureau). He served as Executive Director of the Martin Luther King Center, Atlanta Georgia, and Assoicate Vice President at Harvard University. Ron is a member of several international boards in Sub-Saharan Africa and other regions.
Dr. Quincy's research interests are social and economic justice. He is engaged in field research projects in South Africa, Ghana, Brazil, and Haiti. His most recent research with Rutgers colleagues is a national study on "Workplace Divided." A study sponsored by the Heldirch Center, and supported by the Urban Institute. Preliminary data suggest groundbreaking observations on the depth, breath, and scope of equity and bias in the American workspace. Dr. Quincy is working on a textbook on equity and social justice.
Dr. Andrea Restrepo-Meith, Assistant Professor, Urban Planning & Policy Development, Edward J Bloustein School of Planning & Policy Development, Rutgers University. Email: [email protected] [28]
Dr. Restrepo-Meith joined the Bloustein School in September 2022. She was previously a postdoctoral fellow at Perry World House, University of Pennsylvania, where she worked on urban planning institutions and local climate change adaptation. She is a member of The Ralph W. Voorhees Center for Civic Engagement at Rutgers and the Galápagos Education and Research Alliance (GERA), a multi-institutional and interdisciplinary group of community members and university researchers working in Galápagos. Her research combines insights from urban planning, public policy and political science to examine the emergence and stabilization of urban planning and city management institutions that improve the equitable and sustainable provision of local public goods and basic services in cities in the Global South. She has a regional focus on Latin America and has also worked in Southeast Asia. She holds a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University, a MPP from the Lee Kuan Yew School, National University of Singapore, and a BA in Economics and International Relations from the State University of New York at New Paltz.
Dr. Rich Novak, Vice President, Division of Continuing Studies, Rutgers University (Expertise in lifelong learning and learning regions). Email: [email protected] [29]
Dr. Novak currently serves as Vice President for Continuing Studies and Distance Education at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey and is responsible for executive leadership for the Division of Continuing Studies (DoCS, http://docs.rutgers.edu/ [30]), a complex system of continuing education units, distance learning support and programs, and off-campus learning facilities, offering credit and non-credit educational opportunities across the lifespan in face-to-face and online formats. The Division of Continuing Studies is the only university-wide department devoted to the needs of the lifelong learner.
Novak is also an associate member of the graduate faculty for the Rutgers Graduate School of Education, regularly teaching courses in educational technology and adult education. He is a Past-President of the University Professional and Continuing Education Association [31], the principal US organization for continuing higher education. He currently serves as editor of UPCEA Unbound, the online journal for the association. Novak has won several national awards for his leadership in both distance learning and continuing professional education.
Dr. Novak oversees RutgersOnline [32]. He founded the Center for Online & Hybrid Learning and Instructional Technologies (COHLIT, now Teaching and Learning with Technology-TLT) to support faculty in the design, development and delivery of online and hybrid courses and to support students enrolled in these courses. He founded the Center for Continuing Professional Development (CCPD), dedicated to providing high-quality continuing professional development in a wide variety of formats in a wide range of topical areas for a wide range of diverse audiences.
Dr. Mark Robson, Dean of the Graduate School, Distinguished Professor of Plant Biology and Rutgers Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor (Expertise in global occupational and environmental health) Email: [email protected] [33]
Mark has a BS in Agricultural Science, and an MS and PhD in Plant Science from Rutgers University and an MPH in Occupational Health from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – Robert Wood Johson Medial School. He also was awarded an honorary DrPH from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. His research includes the study of toxic effects pesticide and exposure reduction in New Jersey and globally.
Mark serves on many national and international health committees. Mark has served as the Chair of the Public Health Standing Committee on the NJDEP Science Advisory Board (SAB), and as chair of the NJ Drinking Water Quality Institute. Mark has over 180 peer reviewed papers, numerous book chapters and is the editor of the most widely used textbook in risk assessment for public health. His many honors include a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Fellow of the Collegium Ramazzini and a Fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences. Mark serves as the Editor in Chief of The Journal of Human and Ecological Risk Assessment and is the associate editor of the Mindanao Journal of Science and Technology, the European Journal of Oncology, Occupational and Environmental Health, and the Journal of Higher Education Research Disciplines.
The base for the PASCAL Centre in Asia is the University of the Philippines (UP) within its School of Urban and Regional Planning. The centre has associate centres at Khulna University, Bangladesh, University of Duhok, Iraq and Kerala Institute of Local Administration, India.
The University of the Philippines (UP)
The University of the Philippines (UP) is the country’s national university. This premier institution of higher learning was established in 1908 and is now a university system composed of eight (8) constituent universities spread throughout 17 campuses all over the archipelago.
A UP education seeks to produce graduates imbued with an abiding sense of responsibility to their people and nation, the skills and mindsets to improve human life, and a commitment to the freedom and welfare of all. Aside from mastery of knowledge in their specific disciplines, UP graduates must possess the breadth of mind, strength of character, and generosity of spirit, fostered by a firm grounding in both the arts and sciences and such specialist courses as their programs may require.
UP SURP
UP SURP (School of Urban and Regional Planning) is the Philippines’ premier academic institution for graduate education in the field of urban, regional, and environmental planning and related disciplines. Formerly known as the Institute of Planning and created by virtue of Republic Act 4341 in 1965, the School’s mandate is to strengthen the capability of national and local government agencies, as well as, private organizations, to find solutions to their development problems and improve human settlements and their environments through comprehensive integrated planning. Moreover, it is mandated to develop, hone, and make available a pool of capable professional urban and regional planners. UP SURP continues to uphold its four-fold mandate of quality graduate education, research, training, and extension services.
Directorate at UP
Mario R. Delos Reyes | Co-Director, Asia: University of the Philippines |
Maria Sheila G. Napalang | Deputy Director, Asia: University of the Philippines |
Associate Centres, Associate Directors
Shilpi Roy | Associate Director, Asia: Khulna University, Bangladesh |
Kamal Ketuly | Associate Director, Asia: University of Duhok, Iraq |
Ajith Kaliyath | Associate Director, Asia: Kerala Institute of Local Administration, India |
Centre Director: Mario R. Delos Reyes, UP SURP; & President & CEO, CeNS
Mario is a Professor and former Dean at the University of the Philippines School of Urban and Regional Planning (UP SURP). He was recently appointed by the university as the Co-Director of the PASCAL Asia. He is currently the President & CEO of the Centre for Neighbourhood Studies (CeNS) Philippines, a research and technology organisation committed to the sustainable and resilient transformation of communities and neighbourhoods.
Prof Delos Reyes is the International Co-Investigator and In-Country Lead Investigator for the Philippines of the Centre for Sustainable, Healthy and Learning Cities and Neighbourhoods (SHLC). He is the Principal Investigator of the project titled, Local Challenges, Global Imperatives: Cities at the Forefront to Achieve the Education 2030 Agenda implemented by SHLC and UNESCO International Institute Education Planning (IIEP). Both projects are funded by the UK Research and Innovation through the Global Challenges Research Fund.
His research interests and experiences include environmental and natural resources policy and planning, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction management, public-private partnership for the urban environment, coastal (both marine and freshwater) planning and management, and strategic environmental assessment.
Prof Delos Reyes was awarded the Scientist 3 under the UP Scientific Productivity System for CY 2021-2023 and received the Meritorious Public Service Award in the field of environmental governance both approved by the UP Board of Regents.
Shilpi Roy, Associate Director, Khulna University, Bangladesh
Dr Shilpi Roy an Associate Professor of Urban and Rural Planning Discipline at Khulna University, Bangladesh. Her research interests include planning policy and strategy, equity planning, urban regeneration, urban design and application of various tools for evaluation research.
Shilpi has recently been responsible for coordinating the research, capacity building, management and impact activities in Bangladesh for the Centre for Sustainable, Healthy Cities and Neighbourhoods, as well as investigating urban policies shaping urbanisation as well as planning and development practices concerning sustainable, healthy and learning cities and neighbourhoods in Bangladesh. She has also been exploring the neighbourhood factors, which have an effect on the economic, social and environmental sustainability of neighbourhoods in Khulna and Dhaka and consequence on residents’ health, wellbeing and education/learning experiences.
Shilpi has previously worked for International NGOs such as Action Aid and Practical Action and city development authorities. Her important former works include preparation of a conceptual master plan for the regeneration of a commercial area and a business plan for sustainable sludge management services in a municipality. Her baseline studies and evaluation researches were in the area of improvement of primary health care, environmental health and livelihood opportunities for women and marginalised communities, safe cities for women and justice for children.
Kamal Ketuly, Associate Director: University of Duhok, Iraq
Kamal Ketuly is Professor of Medical Chemistry at College of Medicine, University of Duhok (UoD). In addition to his specialisation, he has conducted research work in various successful collaborative projects with the city of Duhok, with a focus on the development of university policies, especially on issues of health care, environmental pollution and landmines, gender equality and migration. As a result of these various initiatives stimulated by the Strengthening Urban Engagement of Universities in Asia and Africa (SUEUAA), there has developed the widening of collaboration between the university and the city of Duhok. There is continuing the work through Erasmus+ ICM programme between the UoD and the PASCAL Europe base at the University of Glasgow via staff and student exchanges.
Ajith Kaliyath, Associate Director: Kerala Institute of Local Administration, India
Dr. Ajith Kaliyath is Urban Chair Professor at the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA). He is a Human Geographer and Urban and Regional Planner who holds a PhD in Land as a Critical Ecological Resource for Sustainable Cities from Queen’s University Belfast, UK. Considering the transferrable skills acquired by him during his PhD, Dr. Kaliyath had been awarded ‘Researcher Plus’ award by Queen’s University Belfast. He is a recipient of Chevening Scholarship and Overseas Research Scholarship from the Government of UK. He has 19 years of professional experience which include positions in State and Central Pollution Control Boards, Ministry of Environment and Forests, German International Cooperation(GIZ) and in the private sector.
Dr. Kaliyath had earlier served in the elected executive boards of Young Academics of Association of European Planning Schools Association and oikos International. He was the Indian Principal Investigator of UK-India Joint Network on Sustainable Cities coordinated by NIUA and University of Nottingham which secured the runner-up position in the Newton Prize 2017.
During the year 2016-17, Dr. Kaliyath was the Convener of the Institute of Town Planners India (ITPI) Committee for International Cooperation which organised the International Conference on Future of Cities in July 2017. Since 2015, Dr. Kaliyath has been the Regional Studies Association’s Ambassadors for India and led the process of launching the RSA India Division in April 2017.
Prior to his present position he was Professor and Head of the Department within the School of Planning and Development, Sushant University, India.
Relevant Projects at the bases of the Asia Centre and Associated Centres
RMIT University (previously the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) is one of Australia’s original and leading educational institutions, producing graduates who are employed readily in a wide range of industries. As an innovative, global university of design and technology, with its heart in the city of Melbourne, RMIT has an international reputation for excellence in work-relevant education and outstanding applied research, and engagement with the needs of industry and community.
As a dual-sector university, RMIT offers both vocational and higher education programs across a diverse range of disciplines including engineering, health, business, architecture and design, international studies and community services programs, which aim to prepare students to better understand and contribute to addressing the major challenges of our times.
RMIT has adapted the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as its sustainability framework and since 2017 has been embedding the SDGs into its strategies, processes policies and practices including curriculum, research, governance and operations. In 2023, RMIT has been ranked 7th in the world in the Times Higher Education (THE) University SDGs Impact Ranking.
RMIT has been involved with PASCAL from the outset. It was a co-sponsor of the OECD conference on learning regions from which PASCAL was founded, and has relished PASCAL’s efforts to focus on the interests and needs of regional authorities.
The interdisciplinary nature of PASCAL has resulted in links across multiple parts of the University, with most of the current members actively involved with the EU Centre of Excellence Research Network [38], which is situated within the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies (GUSS).
The inter-sectoral nature of PASCAL has organically developed into an extensive network of practitioners and researchers who are themselves situated within local government and civil society networks that regularly organise events linked to themes that are of interest to PASCAL. RMIT has conducted activities together with the cities of Melton and Wyndham, both active and awarded members of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities [39]. RMIT continues to co-organise events and advocates for Lifelong Learning together with civil society networks such as Adult Learning Australia [40] (ALA), the Australian Learning Communities Network [41] (ALCN), Australian Coalition for Education and Development [42] (ACED) and the Women in Adult and Vocational Education [43](WAVE).
Examples of PASCAL at RMIT Projects
The UN SDGS - the EU’s Role in the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in the Asia Pacific.
In 2018, the EU Centre of Excellence at RMIT was awarded a Jean Monnet Network grant on the EU’s Role in the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in the Asia Pacific. It is supported by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.
The Network helped to establish partnerships between researchers, policy think tanks and Non-Government Organisations who shared a primary interest in examining the effective contribution of the EU to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Asia Pacific.
By strengthening collaboration amongst researchers and policy makers, the Network promoted a more effective evidence-base for EU institutions to engage with nations in the Asia- Pacific region to implement the SDGs. This was achieved through a series of workshops on each of the SDGs that helped to connect previously isolated research projects across the university and across Victoria. In addition, the Network promoted a critical approach to working with the SDGs to postgraduate students and Early Career Researchers (ECR) across RMIT. A set of policy briefs on each of the SDGs, and a monograph on engaging with the SDGs through Relating, Learning and Measuring a drafted and presented.
For more information follow this link [44].
Social and Scientific Innovation to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals
In 2021, a second Jean Monnet Research network on Social and Scientific Innovation to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SSISDG) Network was established through the assistance the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.
The Social and Scientific Innovation to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SSISDG) Network has been examining the role of the EU’s Smart Specialisation in linking scientific and social innovation, and how this can help deliver global action to address societal challenges. Experience over the past five years in implementing S3 in EU regions has demonstrated that science and technology innovation (STI) can address societal challenges in regions. Yet the EU has also experienced the limitations of STI and recognised the importance of socio-ecological innovation. This has also become apparent in global efforts to meet societal challenges.
The Network argues that as well as focusing on scientific approaches, greater attention should be paid to social innovation. This brings a more holistic perspective on understanding mission challenges and mobilises more diverse, inclusive voices and expertise, to progress these efforts in new directions.
The SSISDG Network will address this work through a research program considering the links between global action and regional development, and STI and socio-ecological innovation.
For more information follow this link [45].
Regional Policy and Smart Specialisation
During the past decade, the circumstances of ‘regional’ Australia have become much more explicit in Australian public policy. While issues of drought or flood have often drawn attention to the exigencies of farmers and or rural economies, it has been recognition of widespread structural differences, which has prompted the recent attention. Previously, language such as the ‘patchwork economy’ was used to describe the different patterns of activity in mining regions, vis a vis the much slower growth and even decline in non-metropolitan regions in the south-east of Australia. However, more recently, the pattern of continuing disasters and the closure of coal-fired electricity generation, and of logging of native forests, have triggered a different level of concern and priority. Yet policy responses have been typically ad hoc and fragmented, offering limited support to regional communities grappling with the economic, social and environmental implications of climate and global challenges.
By way of contrast, the EU has developed its Regional Policy as a comprehensive program over the past 40 years. Increasingly, its approach has come to emphasise the importance of bringing all EU regions in the Single Market, and has encouraged the development of regional innovation systems. The EU Centre of Excellence is a global leader in comparative regional policy research. The Centre has undertaken research on EU Regional Policy and its implications for Australia and Asian nations since 2010. It has a strong network developed with researchers in Australia, Europe and Asia, and with EU and Australian policy makers.
The EU Centre’s Regional Policy and Smart Specialisation research program asks what Australia and other countries in the Asia Pacific region can learn from the European experience, particularly the ‘Smart Specialisation Strategy’ (S3) methodology pioneered in the EU. It promotes a place-based approach to regional policy and development, and links directly to the Centre’s other research programs on, for example, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) —seeking to understand how a place-based approach pioneered in the EU might enhance possibilities for reaching SDG targets worldwide. Within this context, the circular economy has gained increasing prominence as a tool that presents solutions to some of the world’s most pressing cross-cutting sustainable development challenges.
After 5 years of experience with the application of Smart Specialisation in the context of sustainability transitions in Victoria, the Centre has acquired significant expertise in the adaptation of these processes in an Australian context. The learning is now being shared through its Partnerships in Regional Innovation Community of Practice.
For more information follow this link [46]
Rural/Urban linkages
Much of the project work involves case studies with regions, cities, communities and villages across Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the Pacific. A key theme in the case study analysis is the linkages between places and their broader national and global context, not least the linkages between urban centres and rural peripheries. This approach has facilitated understanding of how the SDGs can have different implications in diverse places.
PASCAL People at RMIT
The PASCAL node at RMIT is currently convened by A/P Jose Roberto ‘Robbie’ Guevara, who is also the President of the International Council for Adult Education (ICAE). He facilitates a team which includes Professor Bruce Wilson, Director of the EU Centre of Excellence.
Dr. Maren Klein, Research Fellow at the EU Centre of Excellence. Dr. Mary Johnson, Research Fellow, who leads the ACIAR funded Livelihood Improvement through Facilitated Extension (LIFE) in the Philippines and Fiji and Dr. Leone Wheeler, Research Associate and the Honorary CEO of the Australian Learning Communities Network (ALCN) who is on the PASCAL Board and actively coordinates the PASCAL Learning Cities Network in Australia.
For a location map and website link details, please see the University of Glasgow PASCAL member entry [49].
The base for the PASCAL Centre in Europe is the University of Glasgow (UoG) within its Centre for Research and Development in Adult and Lifelong Learning (CR&DALL) in its School of Education
The University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is a research-intensive institution established in 1451with a strong local commitment to its city, which suffers from some of the most significant social challenges with regard to health and well-being, and educational attainment in the UK. The university places a premium in shaping research and teaching to address these challenges thorough a strong place-based commitment and through a focus on community-engaged research.
This is reflected in a number of the inter-disciplinary research themes of the College of Social Sciences (Addressing Inequalities, Sustainable Development and Challenges in Changing Cities). These themes are also played out in the university's central Advanced Research Centre (ARC), housed in a new £137m building that concentrates inter-disciplinary research, and which through its Open Lab is creating a space for engagement with local communities, and which also houses a major research theme on Global Sustainable Development.
UoG School of Education
The School of Education at the University of Glasgow is committed to social justice in and through education, and to education research and practice of the highest quality. It aspires to be a world leader in addressing the contemporary educational issues of our times and to making a difference for society’s most vulnerable and educationally disadvantaged. The School over the past 5 years has been ranked on at least one occasion 1st in the UK on three league tables: the Times Good University Guide, the Complete University Guide and by the National Student Survey.
The School of Education is organized through four research and teaching groups (RTGs) and centres and with staff allocated to these on the basis of their research interests. These are:
Highlighted themes of its research are: urban and place-based learning; adult learning and youth transitions; migration and refugee education; collaborative schooling for change; and ethics, religion and values in education.
The RTGs host specialist research centres, networks and hubs, which attract members from across the School and beyond. The Centre for Research and Development in Adult and Lifelong Learning ( [54]CR&DALL), the Robert Owen Centre for Educational Change [55] and the Centre for Computing Science Education [56] promote high-quality, policy-relevant research within their thematic domains. The school is also the locus for the work in education of centres and hubs funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI): Centre for Sustainable, Healthy and Learning Cities and Neighbourhoods (SHLC); [57]Migration for Development and Equality (MIDEQ) (the South-South Migration, Inequality and Development Hub; and Urban Big Data Centre. [58]
Two key university-wide networks draw leadership from the School: the Glasgow Refugee, Asylum and Migration Network [59] (GRAMNet) and Sustainable Futures in Africa [60]. The School also hosts two externally facing networks in addition to the European Centre of PASCAL: the St Andrew’s Foundation for Catholic Teacher Education [61] and the University of Glasgow Educational Assessment Network [62] (UGEAN)/International Educational Assessment Network [63] (IEAN). It also hosts the UNESCO Chair Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts [64].
Directorate at UoG
Professor Michael Osborne |
Co-Director, Europe: University of Glasgow |
Professor Catherine Lido |
Deputy Director, Europe: University of Glasgow |
Centre Associates at UoG
Kasia Borkowska |
Lecturer |
|
Lesley Doyle |
Senior Lecturer |
|
Ria Dunkley |
Senior Lecturer |
|
Ken Gibb |
Professor |
|
Judith James |
Honorary Senior Research Fellow |
|
Rob Mark |
Honorary Senior Research Fellow |
|
James Powell |
Honorary Professor |
|
Russell Rimmer |
Honorary Professor |
|
Michele Schweisfurth |
Professor |
|
Chris Shepherd |
Honorary Senior Research Fellow |
|
John Tibbitt |
Honorary Senior Research Fellow |
|
Tony Townsend |
Emeritus Professor |
|
Oscar Valiente |
Professor |
|
Peter Welsh |
Honorary Research Fellow |
|
Associate Centres, Associate Directors
Roberta Piazza |
Associate Director Europe, University of Catania, Italy |
Balazs Nemeth |
Associate Director Europe, University of Pecs, Hungary |
Ilpo Laitinen |
Associate Director Europe, City of Helsinki, Finland |
Centre Director: Professor Michael Osborne
Michael Osborne is Professor of Adult and Lifelong Learning at the University of Glasgow, and Director of the Centre for Research and Development in Adult and Lifelong Learning [65] within the School of Education. He is also the European Director of the PASCAL Observatory [66] on Place Management, Social Capital and Lifelong Learning and one of the core members of the Lower to Middle Income Countries research group [67] at the university. His main interests in research are: the role of education in international development, urban big data, universities’ engagement with communities, widening participation to higher education, teaching and learning in higher education, the VET/HE interface and the development of learning cities and regions. He is a Co-I within the ESRC funded Urban Big Data Centre [68] within which he has worked on projects concerned with education, place and disadvantage, and on learning city metrics. He has been PI of the British Academy GCRF funded Strengthening Urban Engagement of Universities in Africa and Asia [69] project. He is also Co-I within the UKRI GCRF funded Centre for Sustainable, Healthy Learning Cities and Neighbourhoods [57].
He has worked closely with UNESCO’s Institute for Lifelong Learning [70] (UIL) and its International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP). With UIL he has been an adviser in the development of their Global Network of Learning Cities [71]. He produced the main Briefing Paper for the 2019 4th International Conference on Learning Cities in Medellin and has also produced one of the three Briefing Papers for its 5th conference in Korea in 2021 on Education, Health and Resilience in cites post-COVID-19. With IIEP he is working within a project that considers how education and lifelong learning contributes to urban planning - the Cities and Education 2030: Local challenges, global imperatives [72] programme.
Deputy Director: Professor Catherine Lido
Catherine Lido is Professor of Psychology and Adult Learning, in the School of Education at the University of Glasgow. She is Associate Director at Urban Big Data Centre (UBDC) leading novel research in Educational Disadvantage and Place, with Professor Mike Osborne, which includes expertise in capturing lifewide learning with UNESCO's Learnings Cities metrics. She is a Co-I on UBDC [74] Phase 2 and their data service extension grant, where she helped deliver, and promotes the use of, the integrated Multi-media City Data project open data source (iMCD) data accessible. She is the former Programme Leader for the MSc Psychological Studies, and teaches mainly face to face and online topics, including Psychology of Adult Learning and Cognitive Psychology at the Masters' level.
Catherine has published widely in the area of Learning Cities and Lifewide Learning capture. She has been in involved in many research projects in recent years, including in the area of novel methodologies to address education inequalities, including Co-I on the EPSRC-funded VisNET [75] project and GCRF on Gendered Journeys [76]. Completed projects include the British Council Impact Study and the Eat Well Age Well partnership project on food insecurity in older adults with Food Train [77].
Catherine delivers keynotes around the world, such as to the RSE-Ministry of Science and Technology on Big Data in Taiwan, to UNESCO-UIL expert panel on Learning Cities in Singapore and for the UNESCO Learning Cities conferences (Medellin and Mexico City). Catherine remains an active member of the British Psychological Society, sitting on the board of the Political Section), as well as the European Association of Social Psychologists, delivering a symposia on gendered inequalities.
Catherine maintains a regular media presence on BBC radio, TV and appeared on the June cover of The Psychologist Magazine on Big Data in the Big City [78]
Roberta Piazza, Associate Director Europe, University of Catania, Italy
Roberta Piazza holds a PhD in Education, and is full professor in Education at the University of Catania and Reader in Adult Education. She Associate Director of PASCAL Europe for the Meditteranean countries.
She is director of the University Research Centre on Community Engagement - CURE [79](Community University Research Engagement). She was vice-Rector for continuing education and lifelong learning (2017-2019) and she is member of the board of the Italian University Network on Continuing Education (RUIAP).
She has been associate director in Europe ofthe PASCAL Observatory since 2014. She is also European network coordinator of the Research Network 4 "National Strategies for Lifelong Learning" of the ASEM Education and Research Hub for Lifelong Learning (ASEM LLL Hub [80]), and a member of the scientific committee of UNESCO Lucca Learning City.
She has participated in several EU-funded projects on learning cities, lifelong learning, lifelong guidance, recognition of prior learning, apprenticeship and teacher training.
She has been appointed as quality assurance evaluator on a national level in Italy for undergraduate and post graduate programs by the National Agency of University Evaluation, and she is external expert for the European Commission's Horizon Europe programme. She was external examiner for the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Professional and Vocational programme) (2018-2020, 2020-2022) of the Education University di Hong Kong.
She has been visiting professor at the University of Glasgow, Scotland; University of East China Normal University, China; Normal University of Manila, Philippines; University of Santander, Spain.
Balazs Nemeth, Associate Director Europe, University of Pecs, Hungary
Dr. habil Balázs Németh is a researcher on European adult and lifelong learning policy development and comparative adult education. He is an associate professor and reader in Adult Learning and Education at the University of Pécs and a founding member of the Hungarian Universities Lifelong Learning Network (MELLearN). His other research foci are: Politics and Adult Education; Comparative Adult Education; History of Modern European Adult Education and Learning City-Region Developments in association with the global network of learning cities programme (GNLC) of UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning.
Balázs Németh was a member of Steering Committee ofthe European Universities Continuing Education Network (EUCEN) from 2015 to 2019, being responsible for policy affairs and external presentations, and was its President until 2023. He is Associate Director of PASCAL International Observatory for Central-East Europe, President of MELLearN and the current president of the Adult Education Sub-Commission of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Also, he is member of Executive Boards of EAEA (European Association for the Education of Adults) and of PIMA (Promoting, Interrogating and Mobilising Adult Learning and Education). He is the Senior Advisor of the UNESCO Global Learning City Programme in Pécs, as joint project in between municipality, university and several stakeholders and CSOs. Dr. Németh is the member of the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame (2017-induction).
Dr. Németh has participated several European Erasmus, Grundtvig and recent Erasmus+ projects to deal with the professional development of adult education and provided surveys on adult learning and education in Central-East Europe for the European Commission on Quality in the Adult Learning Sector, Policy Developments in Adult Education. Currently, he is collaborating with EBSN (European Basic Skills Network) in the Professional Development Series for Basic Skills Teachers based on MOOCs.
Ilpo Laitinen, Associate Director Europe, City of Helsinki, Finland
Ilpo Laitinen is Director of Administration, City of Helsinki and an Adjunct professor at the University of Tampere in Finland, and Associate Director of PASCAL Europe for the Nordic countries. He is a senior level director in a city and a researcher and thus shows the capability of working across the boundaries of academia and the business. The work that he undertakes in both of those realms looks for new solutions to improve the quality of the public sector in the city that is among the world leaders in providing service to its people.
He is internationally experienced both in science and management e.g. in public administration and management, smart cities and innovation management. His areas of research cover the reform and evaluation of public administration and management, change management, innovation management, higher education research, and the utilisation of information technology in organisations.
His latest academic publications have been published in Public Management Review, International Journal of Innovation in the Digital Economy, International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development, Journal of Adult and Continuing Education and International Social Work.
Ilpo Laitinen is an Associate at the University of Oxford. His current and on-going research activities focus on Citizen Centric Smart City (Meaningful Cities) and digitalization of services, service innovation and co-creation of novel services and utilization of big data.
The Focus of the European Centre
The European Centre of PASCAL contributes to all aspects of the observatory’s work, but takes a particular leadership role in relation to the themes of Learning Cities and Regions, and the engagement of universities with their communities, within which it has played a leading role in Europe and beyond for two decades. This has been made concrete within a number of projects within which PASCAL directors have been involved, some examples of which are shown below. It oversees PASCAL’s Learning Cities Networks [81].
Relevant Projects at the bases of the European Centre
Links:
[1] https://www.uj.ac.za
[2] https://up.edu.ph
[3] https://www.rmit.edu.au
[4] http://www.glasgow.ac.uk
[5] https://www.rutgers.edu
[6] https://pascalobservatory.org/pascalnow/pascal-africa-university-johannesburg
[7] mailto:[email protected]
[8] https://pascalobservatory.org/pascalnow/pascal-americas-rutgers-university
[9] mailto:[email protected]
[10] https://pascalobservatory.org/pascalnow/pascal-asia-university-philippines
[11] mailto:[email protected]
[12] https://pascalobservatory.org/pascalnow/pascal-australasia-rmit
[13] https://pascalobservatory.org/contact/robbie-guevara
[14] https://pascalobservatory.org/pascalnow/pascal-europe-university-glasgow
[15] https://pascalobservatory.org/contact/mike-osborne
[16] https://pascalobservatory.org/people/pascal-centre-directors-map-directory
[17] http://twitter.com/share
[18] https://pascalobservatory.org/users/marius-venter
[19] https://www.uj.ac.za/
[20] https://www.uj.ac.za/news/uj-idep-launches-exciting-postgraduate-programme-in-industrial-policy/
[21] https://www.uj.ac.za/faculties/college-of-business-and-economics/schools/school-of-management/public-environmental-economics-research-centre/
[22] https://www.competition.org.za/
[23] https://pascalobservatory.org/users/radha-jagannathan
[24] https://www.rutgers.edu/
[25] https://njaes.rutgers.edu/
[26] mailto:[email protected]
[27] mailto:[email protected]
[28] mailto:[email protected]
[29] mailto:[email protected]
[30] http://docs.rutgers.edu/
[31] http://upcea.edu
[32] https://onlinelearning.rutgers.edu/
[33] mailto:[email protected]
[34] https://pascalobservatory.org/users/mario-delos-reyes
[35] https://up.edu.ph/
[36] https://pascalobservatory.org/users/robbie-guevara
[37] https://www.rmit.edu.au/
[38] https://www.rmit.edu.au/about/schools-colleges/global-urban-and-social-studies/research/european-union-centre-of-excellence
[39] https://www.uil.unesco.org/en/learning-cities
[40] https://ala.asn.au
[41] https://alcn.com.au
[42] https://ala.asn.au/australian-coalition-for-education-and-development-aced/#:~:text=ACED%20objectives&text=All%20ACED%20members%20are%20committed,government%20and%20not%20for%20profit.
[43] https://wave.org.au
[44] https://www.rmit.edu.au/about/schools-colleges/global-urban-and-social-studies/research/european-union-centre-of-excellence/projects/eu-role-implementation-sdgs-asiapacific
[45] https://www.rmit.edu.au/about/schools-colleges/global-urban-and-social-studies/research/european-union-centre-of-excellence/projects/ssisdg-network
[46] https://www.rmit.edu.au/about/schools-colleges/global-urban-and-social-studies/research/european-union-centre-of-excellence/projects/coe-smart-specialisation-regional-policy
[47] https://pascalobservatory.org/users/mike-osborne
[48] https://www.gla.ac.uk/
[49] https://pascalobservatory.org/member/university-glasgow
[50] https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/education/research/clip/
[51] https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/education/research/elp/
[52] https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/education/research/ppf/
[53] https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/education/research/ppsc/
[54] http://cradall.org/
[55] https://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/robertowencentre/
[56] https://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/ccse/
[57] http://www.centreforsustainablecities.ac.uk/
[58] https://www.mideq.org/en/
[59] https://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/gramnet/
[60] https://www.sustainablefuturesinafrica.com/
[61] https://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/standrewsfoundation/
[62] https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/education/research/researchcentreshubsnetworks/educationalassessmentnetworks/ugean/
[63] https://www.iean.network/
[64] https://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/unesco/
[65] http://www.gla.ac.uk/centres/cradall/index.shtml
[66] https://pascalobservatory.org/
[67] https://www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/socialsciences/lowandmiddleincomecountriesresearchnetworklmic/
[68] http://ubdc.ac.uk/
[69] http://sueuaa.org/
[70] https://uil.unesco.org/
[71] https://uil.unesco.org/lifelong-learning/learning-cities
[72] https://www.iiep.unesco.org/en/our-expertise/cities-and-education-2030-local-challenges-global-imperatives
[73] https://asemlllhub.org/
[74] http://www.ubdc.ac.uk/
[75] https://www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/scienceengineering/research/visnet/
[76] http://pobs.cc/1wo0a
[77] https://www.thefoodtrain.co.uk/
[78] https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-32/june-2019/big-data-big-city.
[79] https://pascalobservatory.org/%28http%3A/%252Fwww.cure.unict.it
[80] https://pascalobservatory.org/%28http%3A/%252Fasemlllhub.org
[81] https://lcn.pascalobservatory.org/