Latest news with #Socrates'
CairoScene
14-08-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
Cairo Design Week Returns With 3rd Edition This November
Come for the installations. Stay for the conversations. Leave seeing the city – and yourself – a little differently. From November 20th to 29th, 2025, Cairo will once again swap traffic horns for conversations about material textures, architectural lines, and the role of design in everyday life. Key districts – Heliopolis, Downtown Cairo, and Zamalek – will each host their own programme of exhibitions, installations, talks, and experiences, from monumental showcases in restored heritage spaces to contemporary interventions in cultural venues. Visitors can plot a full-day trail across the map or simply drop into whatever sparks their curiosity along the way. Cairo Design Week (CDW) is where Egypt's creative pulse goes public. Once a year, the city's streets, villas, courtyards, and historic landmarks are taken over by design. It's about sparking conversations, inspiring the next generation, and proving that design can shape how we live, think, and connect. Since launching in 2022, CDW has evolved from a daring neighbourhood experiment in Heliopolis to one of the region's most talked-about cultural events — and now, a proud member of the World Design Weeks network. It has put Egypt's design scene on the international map, created opportunities for emerging talents to stand alongside established names, and drawn thousands of visitors who might never have stepped inside a gallery before. Along the way, it has helped shift perceptions of design from a niche profession to a civic and cultural force. The first edition transformed Heliopolis into an open-air design district. The second built on that momentum, stretching across Downtown Cairo's Belle Époque landmarks and the historic Citadel, while sending ripples through Maadi and Zamalek. Both years proved what the organisers suspected from the start: Cairo Design Week isn't just for designers – it's for everyone. Families strolled through heritage villas, students sketched installations on café napkins, and curious passersby found themselves in deep discussions about the curve of a chair leg or the way a colour changes in natural light. The 2025 edition launches CDW's first official campaign: Design, So I Can See You . Borrowing from Socrates' words, the theme redefines design not as decoration, but as a way of revealing identity, intention, and thought. It's about how a space can make someone feel seen, how a garment carries a story, how a well-crafted object quietly changes the way we move and interact with the world. As Founder Hisham Mahdy puts it, 'We want people to have conversations about what it means to be a designer. Design is in everything around us, whether it's a building or a bag – we design to spread happiness.' Whether you're an established studio, an emerging creative, a curious visitor, or a brand looking to align with Egypt's biggest design moment, participation is open via the 'Be Part' section on the official Cairo Design Week website. Many events are open to the public; others require pre-registration – but all are designed to spark interaction, conversation, and that wonderful feeling of seeing (and being seen) through design. Cairo Design Week 2025 is an ongoing dialogue between a city and its creators. Come for the installations. Stay for the conversations. Leave seeing the city – and yourself – a little differently.
The Star
22-06-2025
- General
- The Star
Liberal arts meet vocational ed
Education fulfils many objectives, including vocational training; social and language skills; knowledge of social norms and value systems; cultural fulfilment and enrichment; and the satisfaction of personal curiosity. Within these multitudes of objectives lie two general education philosophies: the liberal arts approach and the vocational or professional approach. Liberal arts approach The liberal arts approach traces its lineage to the ancient Greek philosophers. Socrates' famous dictum 'the unexamined life is not worth living' exhorts us to assume nothing and question everything while Plato's 'parable of the cave' encourages everyone to step out of our comfort zones and embrace new knowledge and experiences. The liberal arts approach gives prominence to breadth of education. The idea is 'to draw forth' the innate capabilities and talents of individuals, best facilitated by having breadth. Pedagogically, discussions and debates are preferred over lectures and coursework assignments over exams. The strength of this approach is the strong development of critical thinking and rational thought, sharpening of intellectual capabilities, and fostering of creativity and diverse problem-solving skills. Vocational approach This approach was brought about by the industrial revolution. The earliest societies consisted of hunter-gatherers and horticulturalists living off the land. Subsequently, agriculture developed, towns sprang up linking disparate individuals into a distinct economy. The industrial revolution modernised the economy into a complex, monetary-based and global construct. Specialisation, particularly in terms of job skills, became the order of the day. The vocational approach caters to this by giving prominence to depth in a specific field or discipline to provide specific, relevant and technical information, knowledge and skills for a particular job or career. Pedagogically, instructions, practical training and competency assessments are preferred. Knowledge philosophies: The liberal arts and vocational approaches underpin the objectives of education. — Convergence These two approaches are not exclusive and can be complementary. Most current education systems incorporate both. The American tertiary education system, including those devoted to specific vocations such as military academies and technical institutes strive for a holistic combination of breadth and depth. Subscription to the liberal arts approach is evident in the breadth of education requirement where one must take subjects from different academic disciplines such as social science, humanities, fine arts and language. Depth requirement requires one to select a major (specialisation) in a specific discipline such as anthropology, biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering and psychology. The education system of British-influenced Common-wealth nations emphasises depth over breadth. Subscription to the vocational approach, which dovetails with the British historical-cultural emphasis of creating well-trained workers and professionals to administer former colonies, is present from high school where students are screened, with those academically inclined proceeding to pre-university studies and the rest to trade schools or the working world. Those that complete pre-university studies then enrol into a specific university programme such as accountancy, engineering, medicine, law, literature, performing arts, and philosophy. There are steps taken to converge these two approaches. Canada has shifted towards the liberal arts approach and her education system is closely aligned with that of America. Australia offers graduate medical school entry that resembles that of America. Many universities in Commonwealth countries now provide students a choice of 'elective' subjects for a semblance of breadth of education. Malaysia adopts the Commonwealth system in schools and universities but our National Education Philosophy adopts a liberal arts approach. Ideally, we can blend both philosophies to produce quality education suited to our local culture. Dr Wong Teik Aun, a principal lecturer at the Centre of Australian Degree Programmes at INTI International College Penang, enjoys writing on subjects close to his heart and has published Penang People 2: Diaspora, Hippies and Other Shenanigans and A Backpacker's Requiem. He has also contributed numerous academic articles to internationally ranked journals. The views expressed here are the writer's own.
Irish Independent
23-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Sligo software firm celebrating 20 years working with healthcare practices
The anniversary brought together Socrates' Sligo-based team members to reflect on their 20-year history of innovation and pioneering new ways of advancing digital healthcare. Part of healthcare technology group Clanwilliam, Socrates was founded in Sligo in 2004 with the aim of streamlining the daily operations of healthcare practices. Socrates has grown into a trusted name in practice management, with the team providing exceptional customer service and support to healthcare professionals across Ireland. Since its early days, the team behind Socrates has been dedicated to developing intuitive, reliable systems which assist General Practitioners and other healthcare professionals in managing their daily operations. Over the past 20 years, the Socrates team has built lasting relationships with customers, taking the time to listen, understand and provide solutions to customer problems. In 2024, the Socrates team handled over 31,500 calls and over 12,000 emails from customers in Ireland, reflecting a very successful year in meeting the evolving needs of healthcare professionals across the country. Speaking about Socrates and the Sligo team's contribution to practice management over the past 20 years, David Spellman, Socrates Customer Support Manager, said: 'The focus of our team in Sligo continues to be on the delivery of innovative, easy-to-use systems which improve efficiencies in healthcare practices and enhance patient care. "Our support team in Sligo is instrumental in helping practices make the most of our software and the team ensures that every practice is equipped to optimise the Socrates system, boost productivity and increase patient satisfaction.' With all software development experts and customer service agents operating from Sligo, Socrates is committed to and proud of its local roots. Socrates has developed strong links to local educational institutes, including ATU Sligo, and has built a team of over 30 skilled employees, with the team collectively reaching over 100 years of service. Acknowledging Socrates' milestone, Eileen Byrne, Managing Director of Clanwilliam Ireland said: 'From appointments and patient records to billing and regulatory compliance, Socrates has enabled solutions which ultimately lead to improved care of patients. Above all, the Socrates team based in Sligo has provided exceptional service to customers and helped transform how healthcare practitioners handle everyday tasks. Our team in Sligo has laid strong foundations for future innovation in the practice management space.'
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
More Natural Gas-Fired Plants Planned to Support Ohio Data Centers
An Ohio town known as a hub for the burgeoning data center industry may soon have one or more new natural gas-fired power plants to support the area's need for energy. City officials in New Albany said they have been notified about plans for multiple natural gas power projects. The facilities would be located in Licking County, in the New Albany International Business Park. Three of the projects have been publicly identified, including the PowerConneX New Albany Energy Center, along with the Socrates North and South Power Generation Facility Projects. EdgeConneX, based in Herndon, Virginia, said the proposed PowerConneX New Albany Energy Center facility would have as much as 120 MW of generation capacity. EdgeConneX said the facility would serve as the primary source of electricity for a colocated data center. A public information meeting about the project is scheduled for March 26. The company said it expects construction will begin later this year, with commercial operation in 2026. EdgeConneX said the project, which would add to the data center sector's footprint in the Columbus, Ohio, metro area, would mean local utility AEP would not be responsible for infrastructure to serve the complex. Local officials have said they expect other corporate entities could consider supporting similar natural gas-fired power projects in the future. AEP Ohio officials have been working with state officials to determine a rate structure for energy use from the data center industry. EdgeConneX officials have said the company has developed more than 80 data centers in more than 50 markets across more than 20 countries. The proposed New Albany site would be its first in Ohio, though it has developed at least 28 data centers for customers in North America. Want to learn more about how power demand from data centers is impacting the power generation sector? Register to attend event in Denver, Colorado, on Oct. 28. The summit is associated with event in Denver scheduled Oct. 28-31. The central Ohio region is home to at least 105 data centers, according to government data. The Socrates' projects are two separate gas-fired power plants, each with 200 MW of generation capacity, being developed by Williams. Alan Armstrong, the company's chief executive, in an interview last year with CNBC noted that construction of more natural gas-fired power plants would be needed to keep up with growing demand for electricity from artificial intelligence and data centers. "A tremendous amount of demand has been building up," Armstrong said. "We're seeing people contacting us directly, wanting to get natural gas off of our big systems to fuel new power generation in what they call behind the meter. So rather than going through the utilities, they're actually wanting to install their own power generation and not have to deal with the long queues that exist in a lot of places right now to get connected to the grid." The Socrates' power stations have a target in-service date in the second half of 2026. —Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.
