|
 Ingredient #4: An
Entrepreneurial Spirit
Academia must learn to be responsive to societal
needs and must continually ask itself if its
curriculum is indeed in line with the requirements of
the workplace and the demands of a continually
changing and evolving economy. Too often university
faculty rest on the traditions imparted to them in
graduate school, and on their long-standing
perceptions of what it is important to know.
Many would argue that certain fields and certain
contents have an inalienable right to be a part of
the curriculum of a university, and that no force or
budgetary analysis or student opinion shall ever be
able to alter this. Unfortunately, this attitude is
not in line with today's fiscal realities, and
neither German departments nor electrical engineering
departments, to take two examples, will necessarily
survive in the absence of students, or in the absence
of good programming.
Faculty, therefore, must look at themselves and their
programs critically, and ask to what extent they are
meeting their students' and their constituencies'
needs, and to what extent they are competitive when
compared with neighboring higher education
institutions. Yes, technology is important; yes,
languages and the humanities are important. But,
neither has the right to remain, if not responsive to
the needs of students and society.
International engineering, as an interdisciplinary
response to the demands of today's global workplace,
is a good example of academic entrepreneurialism.
From an idealistic level, IEP students receive a
broader and more liberal education, and yet, from a
practical perspective IEP students are also more
competitive in the world marketplace. The German
program at URI, as an example, is doing well today
not by any inalienable right, but because its faculty
adapted their program to the needs of their
institution and the needs of its regional and
national constituencies.
Back | Next
Rationale | Fast Facts | Dissemination Efforts | What's Where? | What Makes It Happen? | What does Industry Say? | Publications |
