In a world marked by an unpredictable future, one whose evolutionary path remains uncertain, the significance of education grows in importance as it must constantly adjust to emerging realities. The information we commit to memory, along with the skills we cultivate, embody the knowledge essential for navigating an increasingly digitised world.

At Avenor, within our Strategic Plan (2021-2031), we pursue 8 objectives, one of the most important being to provide transformative education to our students. Transformative education ensures a coherent transition from one learning cycle to another, from Nursery to High School, so that students are in real contact with the surrounding world and nature. Through transformative education, students acquire competencies, understand concepts, and develop their character while preserving their identity and national culture. The ultimate goal is to develop in each student the Avenor Learner Profile, which will enable them to transfer their learning from school to building a better world.

On the occasion of World Teachers’ Day on October 5th, we propose to honour teachers and their role in educating students and, by extension, in the development of society through a conference with the theme “What is Worth Learning?” presented by Prof. Dr. Mircea Miclea, author, psychologist, educator, and entrepreneur, founder of the Cognitive Psychology School in Romania. This event is specially designed for the Avenor community – parents, teachers, and partners.

According to Professor Miclea, if we want to answer the question “What is worth learning?” so that it remains relevant in the world of tomorrow, efficiently exploiting digital technologies, and capitalising data from cognitive neuroscience, the answer is – those knowledge, skills, and attitudes that develop our minds on four dimensions:

Autonomy, the ability to acquire and use knowledge regardless of the functionality of digital technologies or information source manipulation. For example, being able to write correctly without relying on Word’s grammar, navigating without Google Maps, or accurately evaluating fake news. The more knowledge we have, the more autonomous we become.

Self-discipline, as an attitude towards oneself, which comes through internalising discipline and ethical rules. Cognitive science research shows that self-discipline is more important than intelligence in achieving performance.

Design thinking, as a thinking style that identifies relevant questions from a multitude of problems and offers creative solutions that satisfy both environmental constraints and customer expectations. Algorithmic solutions will be taken over by machines; we are left with contextual solutions.

Entrepreneurship as an attitude towards reality, not waiting for solutions but identifying opportunities where others see only collections of data and exploiting them to produce goods (theories, products, services, laws, institutions).

“In summary, I believe that a person who thinks autonomously, has self-discipline, thinks like a designer, and has an entrepreneurial attitude. Such a person will face the future, whatever it may be. And all these things need to be learned from school.” – says Prof. Dr. Mircea Miclea during the 2023 edition of the conference “Despre Lumea în care trăim“.

Our commitment to transformative education, as advocated by UNESCO – ”For education to be of high quality, it must be transformative.”, motivates us to go beyond traditional teaching and learning in silos. Learning should be meaningful, applied, and connected, in accordance with Professor Miclea’s theory.

We know that learning transfers in rich, transdisciplinary contexts and this is why we value disciplines but we go further and offer students transdisciplinary programmes such as Project Based Learning , STEAM, Learning Outside the Classroom connecting them with the real world.

We look forward to the conference on October 5th, an exceptional opportunity to celebrate World Teachers’ Day.

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Mircea Miclea is a university professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences and a doctoral coordinator at the doctoral school of Applied Cognitive Sciences. Prof. Miclea is a senior psychologist with extensive experience as a practitioner and trainer in psychotherapy. He holds various specialized courses at UBB (e.g., Cognitive-Behavioral Modifications, Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy) and is a trainer for other accredited courses by the College of Psychologists in Romania (e.g., Online Methods for Anxiety Prevention and Psychotherapy).

Mircea Miclea is the director of a private research and development center in the field of psychology, called Cognitrom. Here, he has overseen the development of several innovative computerized psychological assessment and intervention platforms for children, adolescents, and adults, which are used nationally in both public and private institutions. Prof. Miclea is an author and co-author of numerous scientific papers published in national and international journals. He is also a founding member of the scientific journal “Cognition, Brain, Behavior: An Interdisciplinary Journal.” Mircea Miclea previously served as the Minister of Education and Research and has contributed to the development of several national education strategies and reports.

Prof. Dr. Mircea Miclea was awarded the Elisabeth Pilkington Rațiu Mental Health Prize in 2017, in recognition of his “contribution to the intensive development and promotion of research in the field of Psychology, supporting the advancement of knowledge and the training of young researchers and specialists.”