How do you nurture students to be not just skilled technicians in their field but also creative problem-solvers ready to confront the global challenges of our time?
That was one of the key questions tackled by thought leaders from Duke Kunshan University as they laid out their vision for the future of education and offered strategies for inspiring innovation at two influential events this month.
Dean for Academic Strategy and Learning Innovation Noah Pickus, Director for Executive Education and Government Programs Liang Yu, and Associate Vice Chancellor for Graduate Studies and Research Xin Li spoke at the Times Higher Education (THE) Innovation and Impact Summit in Shenzhen on Nov. 7-8.
Pickus then gave a speech at the Center for China and Globalization in Beijing on Nov. 13 themed “The New Global Universities: Reinventing Education in the 21st Century”, which is also the title of his new book, before taking part in a question-and-answer session led by Pan Qingzhong, executive dean of Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University.
Asked how to develop students into real-world problem-solvers, Pickus, a public policy professor, said one proven approach is “when you get thrown into a problem and you don’t know how to swim.
“Maybe you have to build the pulse oximeter or propose a solution to climate change but you don’t know anything, so you’re immediately thrown back on yourself.
“That helps you develop agency but also helps you develop the recognition of why knowledge is important, instead of going to class and wondering why the teacher is telling me this because ‘oh I guess it’s on the exam’.”
He said adopting this experiential approach at the start of the undergraduate journey makes students “hungry” to solve the problem in front of them, and should be reinforced by teaching that critically analyzes what happens to a theory when implemented in practice.
“There’s a feedback loop that’s constantly going throughout your education, not just during your undergraduate years but lifelong,” Pickus added.
Pickus, Yu and Li, who are leaders in learning innovation, executive education and research respectively, were representing the newly established Duke Kunshan Institute of Global Higher Education at the THE summit.
Together they ran an active-learning lab on the structures and practices enabling a new generation of global universities to produce creative entrepreneurs and thoughtful leaders.
Pickus also took part in a fireside chat with Wen Hai, vice chairman of the Peking University Council.
Under the theme of “ensuring a culture of constant innovation and curiosity”, they explored how to cultivate environments that celebrate experimentation and embrace change, while looking at the role of lifelong learning in promoting innovation.
Yu said the conference held at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen drew peers and participants from around the world.
“Everyone seems excited about innovation in higher education, yet people also know innovation in higher education is intrinsically difficult,” he said.
“That is the question our Institute of Global Higher Education is trying to answer: How do we know that DKU can effectively prepare students to solve complex problems for the future, and how can we contribute to higher education innovation in China and beyond?
“I am very excited to join this journey!”
