The Nature of Constructionist Learning

Speaker's Biography:

Dr. Eduardo Doryan
Special Representative to the United Nations
The World Bank Group

Effective September 1, 2001, Dr. Eduardo Doryan, a Costa Rican national, assumed the position of Special Representative to the United Nations. Dr. Doryan will be charged with advancing the new agenda of the World Bank, building common ground with the United Nations and other key partners to advance the global development agenda.

Dr. Doryan brings to his new position a broad knowledge of human development issues. Most recently he served as Vice President for Human Development where he was responsible for overseeing the Bank's operations in education, health, nutrition, population and social protection (pensions, unemployment and other social assistance). Dr. Doryan also brings to us his extensive pre-Bank experience, including that as Minister of Education in the Government of Costa Rica from 1994-1998. During that time, among some of the important initiatives implemented were those to establish technical education programs to upgrade the skills of the country's workforce, widespread use of computers in primary and secondary schools, the extension of the school year, and the introduction of more challenging curricula to the classroom. Dr. Doryan played a significant role in the efforts to reform Costa Rica's pension system with an emphasis on financial and equity aspects. Prior to this, he served as his country's Deputy Minister for Science and Technology, where he developed a program to increase the number of students pursuing master's and doctoral-level studies in leading North American and European universities.

Immediately prior to joining the Bank, Dr. Doryan was Director of the Latin American Center for Competitiveness and Sustainable Development at INCAE (Instituto Centroamericano de Administración de Empresas). In that capacity, he provided intellectual and managerial oversight to a team of professionals collaborating with the Central American presidents to develop and implement a strategic framework for peace and sustainable development in the region.

Dr. Doryan received his BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Costa Rica, after which he attended the Graduate Program, Power Systems Engineering, University of Strathclyde in Scotland. He then went on to Harvard University, where he received his MPA from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, and his PhD in Political Economy and Government.