Using Knowledge Cafés as a Vehicle for Knowledge Sharing in Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

Knowledge, both tacit and explicit, has become a valuable commodity for any organisation's survival and competitive advantage within the age of the fourth industrial revolution. The organisational culture within HEIs, however, can be quite hierarchical, highly individualistic, and self-directed, with the focus for advancement being the main driver on research and publishing. HE in the UK has undergone a series of transformations over the years, with the duality of HE abolished in 1992, and a single system for Technikons and Universities being introduced. The way in which teaching and research were being evaluated changed to include the REF, and lecturers required to evidence being able to teach by undertaking a PGCE recognised by the HEA. The administrators were advised to treat students as “customers,” contentious words, as student satisfaction became another measure to evaluate higher education institutions. This chapter introduces knowledge cafés as vehicles for knowledge sharing among academics.