Sustainable Futures

1. WIT 2011 Colloquium Boston, MA January 11, 2011 Sustainable Futures Wayne C. Johnson

2. Today's Challenges in Education Unprecedented economic ups and downs can result in unstable employment situations Engineers must adapt in real-time Globalized economy is moving jobs across national boundaries for cost-effective operations Pool of job seekers is bigger, diverse and more competitive Newer technologies are entering the marketplace at a faster pace Current qualifications become obsolete very quickly Global challenges such as global and energy security, climate change and public health often require an interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary approach Engineers can no longer afford to be a one trick pony

3. The practice of Innovation is changing… * National Academy of Engineering Report, 2001. …from Multidisciplinary to Interdisciplinary* • Innovations in S&T are frequently occurring at the interfaces of scientific and engineering disciplines • Case for ‘science-based’ engineering We are all angels with only one wing, we can only fly while embracing each other. — Luciano de Crescenzo, 20th Century Italian poet

4. ~ The State of the World ~ ~ The State of Business ~ ~ State of Education ~ Perspectives that Matter

5. The State of the World • Standards of Living • Economic Performance • Educational Success Globalization is here to stay, Driving Changes of Equilibrium in…

6. The State of BusinessIndustry Adapts to Globalization • Explosive Growth (some regions) • Shrinking (others) • Rebalancing • Offshoring • Onshoring • Outsourcing • Insourcing • Downsizing • Rightsizing + = Unrelenting Change

7. Mobility is key to enhancing SKAs, transferring good practices and employability Harvard Business Review, January 2003.

8. We Have a Lot to Learn

9. Student Achievement and Economic Impact –The Role of Education in Global Development

10. World Bank – The Four Pillars of The Knowledge Economy • Education & TrainingAn educated and skilled population is needed to create, share and use knowledge. • Information InfrastructureA dynamic information infrastructure-ranging from radio to the internet-is required to facilitate the effective communication, dissemination and processing of information. • Economic Incentive & Institutional RegimeA regulatory and economic environment that enables the free flow of knowledge, supports investment in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and encourages entrepreneurship is central to the knowledge economy. • Innovation SystemsA network of research centers, universities, think tanks, private enterprises and community groups is necessary to tap into the growing stock of global knowledge, assimilate and adapt it to local needs,and create new knowledge.

11. What is going on around the world? Developing nations are making significant investments in S&T and innovation for economic development

12. Transformation of Singapore’s Economy Science & Technology Plan 2010 (2006-2010) S$13.9 billion GDP 1960 US$0.7 bil 2009 US$178 bil (254X) GERD 1978 S$37 mil 2008 S$7.1 bil (192X) GERD/ 1978 0.2% GDP % 2008 2.7% 2015 3.5% RSEs / 1990 27.7 10K FTE 2008 87.6 (3.2X) Science & Technology Plan 2005 (2001-2005) S$6 billion National Science & Technology Plan (1996-2000) S$4 billion GERD / GDP % National Technology Plan (1991-1995) S$2 billion Knowledge Based / Innovation Driven Labour intensive Skill intensive Capital intensive Technology Intensive

13. Partnerships in Singapore Government Universities/Institutions Industry

14. Singapore as a global S&T hub

15. Partnerships in Talent DevelopmentMultiple Career Opportunities 13,000 papers published to date (FY2006-2010) 950 primary patents applications filed to date (FY2006-2010) 850 RSEs spun out to industry, including 150 RSEs to 100 SMEs through T-Up to date (FY2006 – 2010) Research Industry Start Ups Awarded President’s Science and Technology Medal in 2009 PhD RSEs at A*STAR A*STAR-Academia Pathway, University Joint appointments,Adjunct appointmentsSecondment Academia Research Leadership

16. Critical Success Factors A clear, shared vision between partners Sustained commitment to mutual goals Investment in talent development and infrastructure Policies that support R&D Respect for intellectual property rights Fluency in English Ability to integrate across borders and disciplines Trends and Issues

17. The U.S. Education Challenge

18. The world’s most valuable commodity – well-educated students - is getting harder to find • Nobody disputes the idea that the demand for talent-intensive skills is rising • The value of ‘intangible’ assets (skilled workforce, patents, know-how) has increased from 20% of the value for S&P 500 companies to 70% today • Two things are making it hard for companies to adjust • Loyalty (HC reduction, cut off in layers of management, high turnover) • Mismatch between what schools are producing and what companies need (numbers and skill sets) Economist, October 7th 2006

19. We Must Build Strong Foundations

20. The search for talented people • Educated workforce • Attracting • Acquiring • Developing • Retaining

21. Attributes of the Engineer of 2020*- evolution from MD to ID to TD • Strong grounding in the fundamentals and analytical skills • Creativity, practical ingenuity • Agility, flexibility • Professionalism and high ethical standards • Global competence, transnational mobility • Leadership • Understanding the principles of business and management • Lifelong learning * National Academy of Engineering Report, 2004

22. The Changing Roles of Engineers • Globalizationof industry and engineering practice • The shift of engineering employment from large companies to small and medium-sized companies, and the growing emphasis on entrepreneurialism • The growing share of engineeringemployment in non-traditional, less-technical engineering work (e.g., management, finance, marketing, policy) • The shift to a knowledge-based “services” economy • Increasing opportunity for using technology in the education and work of the engineer

23. Engineer of 2020 as a Whole Person SHe will have the --- ingenuity of Lillian Gilbreth (Mother of Ergonomics) problem solving capabilities of Gordon Moore (Intel) scientific insight of Albert Einstein creativity of Pablo Picaso determination of the Wright Brothers leadership abilities of Bill Gates conscience of Eleanor Roosevelt vision of Martin Luther King and the curiosity of a child

24. Assessment and Impact

25. The Transition of Engineering to Outcomes-Based Assessment • Engineering education has made the transition to outcomes assessment through Engineering Criteria 2000 (EC2000) • Focus on what is learned rather than what is taught • Continuous improvement process informed by the specific mission and goals of individual institutions and programs • Encourages new assessment processes and subsequent program improvement • Has impacted: curriculum, university and departmental governance, soft skills, etc. • Has created tighter bonds between the university-industry partners • Has raised the bar for skill levels and improved competitiveness of graduates

26. Thought Leadership in Quality and Accreditation • Quality matters because it has business impact. • Since EC2000, Industry has noticed improved abilities and capabilities of graduates. • Outcomes-based assessment is key to establishing quality and ensuring a culture of continuous quality improvement • Achievement of key learning outcomes • Incorporates real-life experiences • Engage with industry • A well-educated society is necessary for all companies to compete in a global economy.

28. LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes Beginning in school, and continuing at successively higher levels across their college studies, students should prepare for twenty-first-century challenges by gaining: Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World • Through study in the sciences and mathematics, social sciences, humanities, histories, • languages, and the arts Focused by engagement with big questions, both contemporary and enduring (Liberal Education and America's Promise)

29. LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes Intellectual and Practical Skills, including • Inquiry and analysis • Critical and creative thinking • Written and oral communication • Quantitative literacy • Information literacy • Teamwork and problem solving Practiced extensively, across the curriculum, in the context of progressively more challenging problems, projects, and standards for performance

30. LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes Personal and Social Responsibility, including • Civic knowledge and engagement—local and global • Intercultural knowledge and competence • Ethical reasoning and action • Foundations and skills for lifelong learning Anchored through active involvement with diverse communities and real-world challenges

31. LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes Integrative and Applied Learning, including • Synthesis and advanced accomplishment across general and specialized studies Demonstrated through the application of knowledge, skills, and responsibilities to new settings and complex problems

32. Olin College Campus Needham, MA

33. Educating Engineers Beyond Technology: The Need for Liberal Education for Engineers • Minimizing Unintended Consequences • Systems Architects of Complex Systems with Technical, Economic, Political, Social, even Religious Dimensions • Conceiving, Creating, and Managing the Technologies of the Grand Challenges • Engineering Innovators Who Make a Positive Difference in the World Form the Ground Up: Rethinking Engineering Education for the 21st Century

34. Feasibility Viability Business and Economics Engineering and Science INNOVATION Psychology, Arts, Humanities, etc. Desirability

35. Creativity & Cognition …and on YOUTUBE: Sir Ken Robinson from TED 2006

36. What We Teach vs. What They Need to Know • Engineering alumni report that engineering science is not as useful in their careers as design, communication, teamwork, and entrepreneurial thinking (Kristen Wolfe, “Understanding the Careers of the Alumni of the MIT Mechanical Engineering Department,” SB Thesis, June, 2004, MIT (supervised by Prof. Warren Seering)). • Prof. Woodie Flowers, “Man Who Waits for Roast Duck to Fly Into Mouth Must Wait a Very Long Time,” Engineer of the Future 2.0, Olin College, April 1, 2009. YouTube: Prof. Woodie Flowers on Education Reform

37. Reflections Overall, Greatly Exceeded Our Expectations Positives • very successful alumni • intense student engagement • increased motivation and autonomy • strong leadership potential • entrepreneurial “disease” • very high levels of teamwork • faculty commitment to lead change in education • students ability to “stand and deliver,” manage projects, and work with ill-structured problems • strong engagement with Wellesley and Babson Colleges Negatives • possible diminished student interest in purely theoretical subjects • alumni preference for small start-up companies • growing resistance to change(!) • concerns about balance: design vs. advanced theory, qualitative vs. quantitative design, etc. • assessment challenges: metrics? • scalability?

38. Educators Must Respond -Partnerships for the Future

42. Refueling the U.S Innovation Economy - ITIF • Fresh Approaches to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education • The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank at the cutting edge of designing innovation policies and exploring how advances in information technology will create new economic opportunities to improve the quality of life. Nonprofit, and nonpartisan, ITIF

43. Time for a New Approach to STEM Education? • Prevailing approaches to solving the STEM challenge so widely agreed upon are quite limited • Prevailing view = some STEM Ed K-20 all the time • Educational institutions, either at the K–12 level or the undergraduate and graduate level have little incentive to produce more and better graduates (esp skills needed by industry)

44. Time for a New Approach to STEM Education? • The “All STEM for Some” framework suggests a different approach • Actively recruit those students who are most interested in and capable • Provide them with the kind of educational experience they need • A more effective route: produce the 5 percent or so of workers who have the skills needed to be STEM workers • Embrace a system where student interests and passion for STEM are what drive curricula

45. Why STEM Education? • Science- and technology-based innovation is impossible without a workforce educated in science, technology, engineering and math. • Just as we would be unable to expand industry if we lacked the natural resource materials to build the factories (e.g., cement), or energy to power the plants, we cannot expand our technology economy without the needed human resources, in this case high-quality STEM graduates.

46. The Failure of the Prevailing “Some STEMfor All” Approaches to STEM Policy • Getting 5 percent of the workforce to be STEM- proficient does not require STEM education for everyone • Focusing on fewer individuals allows an Emphasis on the development of innovation-era (rather than production-era) skill sets, and frequent industry engagement • We need a system where students have more flexibility about what and how they learn.

47. Teaching STEM Skills, Not STEM Facts • Assumption is that all students will know all subjects • Success is defined as scoring well on tests for that knowledge, most involving testing for discrete, right-or-wrong answers • Expand project-based learning, undergraduate research, game-based learning, discussion-style classrooms and other interactive techniques – it’s not about pedagogy

48. Creating STEM InterdisciplinaryConnectors in College • Industry-led organizations (IRI,BHEF) take on the task of generating the metrics and weights by which academic departments’ students would be evaluated

49. Enlightened Self-Interest Academia Sabato’s Triangle Ecosystem Development Industry Government National System of Innovation Creating the Next Innovation Ecosystem

50. “A Whole New Mind”by Daniel Pink • Historically, knowledge workers were noted for their ability to acquire and apply theoretical and analytic knowledge. • Their linear, logical, analytical abilities measured by SATs were sufficient. • Today, those capabilities are still necessary but no longer sufficient. The abilities that are emerging in importance are artistry, empathy, seeing the big picture, and pursuing the transcendent. • “We’ve progressed from a society of farmers to a society of factory workers to a society of knowledge workers. And now we’re progressing yet again – to a society of creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers, and meaning makers.”