This is a noticeable point but it is important to consider that all these facilities that universities are providing are paid by students. In other words, they are selling these facilities in addition to the knowledge to students.

Wow! It’s fascinating that some colleges are able to include the direct input of the professors in forming their vision for the institution. I feel that the larger an institution becomes, the harder it is to include the opinions of faculty, especially when it has so many departments and colleges (such as at VT). I am happy with the amount of input we are afforded in my specific department, however.

Thanks for your blog post. I think that it’s a positive side of university life for students that services such as leisures and mental/physical health providers on campus. Many students who attend universities in the US have moved far away from their parents, and not all of them have cars. Students are also at times young and/or inexperienced, so having important services at their fingertips like this is crucial for their growth as an contributing member of society and in their transition into adulthood.

Thanks for the post. I was recently reading a post regarding the shift in the purpose of higher education in the past. Most of the universities focus on providing knowledge catering to the job market. But, it is not only about JOBS. Are the universities not responsible for developing other skills like critical thinking, communication skills, diverse background etc?

I definitely agree that the humanities should in no way be treated as tool to advance the sciences. I think at the very least that we can just take some notes from how humanities courses are framed differently to prioritize innovation when we develop engineering curriculum. Collaboration between the two fields would also be great, and I think that it would be super beneficial to those in the sciences to pursue some humanities.

LikeLike

A powerful connecting the dots example Khushboo! And I think one needs to collect the dots before they can be connected. What dots did you collect prior to the connecting?

LikeLike

Godin makes very important points indeed. However, much as it is important to connect the dots, it is only those dots that have been collected that may be connected. The traditional approaches of schooling might still be instrumental in how one collects the dots for connecting later

I also found that article very interesting and enlightening. It would be particularly interesting how the humanities would be blended with the sciences. However, it is important to point out that the humanities must not be viewed just as a tool for the advancement of the sciences. It appears to me that a reasonable way to tap from the best of these two words would be through collaboration. But then, this collaboration would require the establishment of adequate common ground – thus those in the sciences would be required to pursue a bit of the humanities and vise versa.

LikeLike

Right! I don’t necessarily think that interdisciplinary studies have to look like taking engineering classes and humanities classes separately. I think it would be extremely valuable to just incorporate aspects of humanities classes that encourage innovation into core engineering coursework from the start.

LikeLike

Thank you for sharing. I think I have also learned many things regarding pedagogy and also different ways to illustrate examples, share knowledge and be considerate of students and how they acquire knowledge. Overall I think it is important to light a fire for each student that can self propel their curiosity and desire to learn. At the end of the day, only the students that want to learn and make the decision to learn and grow independently will obtain the greatest benefit out of their academic experience.

LikeLike