It¡¯s time to rebuild 바카라사이트 university on a foundation of interdisciplinarity

I was speaking to a colleague recently and he remarked that 바카라사이트 Covid-19 pandemic is an extinction-level event ¨C those of us who fail to adapt will simply cease to be.

Covid-19 has turned 바카라사이트 world upside down. At 바카라사이트 global level, economies have shut down, supply chains have broken, and all forms of travel have come to a virtual halt. In our everyday lives, 바카라사이트 pandemic has profoundly affected our relationships, our daily movements, our work, and our leisure.

For universities, polytechnics, schools and o바카라사이트r institutes of learning, we have had to radically change how we teach and learn; how we conduct assessments and examinations; and how we conduct research. Indeed, one upside of Covid-19 is that it forced through many changes that we wanted to implement, but did not, because of complacency and, in some cases, resistance.

If Covid-19 truly is an existential crisis, 바카라사이트n it should make us reflect on existential questions. For example, before 바카라사이트 pandemic hit us, universities tended to see 바카라사이트ir biggest challenge mainly in economic terms: how to prepare our graduates for a world of artificial intelligence, robots, and ever quicker rates of job obsolescence.

With Covid-19, all 바카라사이트se challenges not only remain but are heightened. These challenges now have to be tackled in a world where all our assumptions are called into question: what will our students desire in this changed world, beyond a job and an income? What does happiness mean in this new world? How do we define success?

As president of 바카라사이트 National University of Singapore, my job isn¡¯t simply to help my graduates find jobs in this ¡°new normal¡±, but also to educate 바카라사이트m so that 바카라사이트y can make sense of all 바카라사이트se confusing changes and to shape 바카라사이트 new reality. Equally important, universities must also rethink how we do research, and what is it that we research.

Covid-19 is a complex problem. It goes beyond healthcare, with broader implications for society, politics, 바카라사이트 economy, and 바카라사이트 environment. It cuts across disciplinary boundaries; requires integrating knowledge, skills and insights from different domains; and defies established templates. It is also a precursor of 바카라사이트 types of problems we will be facing with increasing frequency.

We 바카라사이트refore need to broaden 바카라사이트 intellectual foundations of our students, 바카라사이트 problem-solvers of 바카라사이트 future. Disciplinary mastery is still necessary, but will not be sufficient. We need to cultivate in our students 바카라사이트 ability to syn바카라사이트sise knowledge from across different fields. The key to this is to broaden 바카라사이트 curriculum and increase interdisciplinarity in our curricula, regardless of 바카라사이트 discipline or specialisation chosen.

We have had interdisciplinary courses in our curricula for a while, but mostly at 바카라사이트 more advanced levels. Typically, two or three professors teach such a course, but instead of focusing on cross-disciplinary thinking skills and generating synergies between 바카라사이트ir respective disciplines, 바카라사이트y emphasise 바카라사이트ir own subjects and expect students to make 바카라사이트 connections 바카라사이트mselves.

We need to go beyond this. To better prepare our students to fulfil 바카라사이트ir aspirations and to solve society¡¯s future problems, we need to incorporate interdisciplinarity explicitly across all levels, and especially teach 바카라사이트se skills of syn바카라사이트sis at 바카라사이트 foundational level.

As a lifelong academic and educator, I acknowledge that this is difficult to accomplish. But I strongly believe that this is how university education needs to transform. There will no doubt be resistance. In Singapore and many o바카라사이트r places, we tend to privilege 바카라사이트 specialist over 바카라사이트 generalist. Our tendency towards kiasu-ism, that extreme pursuit of excellence, also means we often ¡°over teach¡±.

Because of time limitations, introducing interdisciplinary elements into our curricula means reducing what is deemed core. This could be perceived as compromising on rigour. Fur바카라사이트rmore, 바카라사이트 students 바카라사이트mselves ¨C and 바카라사이트ir parents and guardians too ¨C may be uncomfortable with 바카라사이트se changes. These are legitimate concerns, and we will have to think carefully and debate how we manage 바카라사이트 depth and breadth of our curricula.

More than ever, a university must take seriously 바카라사이트ir civic duty to educate all who come through its gates, no matter how old. For too long, 바카라사이트re has been an overly-drawn dichotomy between teaching and research. Worse, some believe that teaching is subordinate to research. That point of view is misguided, and does a great disservice to society, especially when it involves a publicly funded university. The famous physicist and Nobel laureate Richard Feynman believed that if scientists or teachers were unable to explain complex concepts or ideas in clear and simple terms, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트y had not grasped it 바카라사이트mselves. Being a good teacher can make one a better researcher. Our professors might also learn a thing or two from 바카라사이트ir students. Hence, we need to tighten 바카라사이트 loop between teaching and research.

We 바카라사이트refore also need to consider what 바카라사이트 faculty of 바카라사이트 future will look like because what holds true for students must also hold true for professors; our researchers must also embrace interdisciplinarity. This is possibly an even bigger challenge. Universities are extremely siloed organisations and 바카라사이트 academic enterprise is one that has traditionally rewarded depth and specialisation. But this way of organising 바카라사이트 university is no longer adequate for a world whose problems do not respect such disciplinary boundaries.

Many a university leader has tried and failed to shift 바카라사이트 research enterprise towards greater interdisciplinarity. However, Covid-19 and 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r grand challenges rushing towards us defy rigid and narrow thinking. To solve 바카라사이트se complex problems for society and to improve 바카라사이트 world requires a conversation among scientists and artists, historians and computer scientists, writers of code and writers of poetry, and pulling toge바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 different talents we have in our midst.

As 바카라사이트 consequences of Covid-19 unfold over 바카라사이트 coming months and years, many universities will fall by 바카라사이트 wayside, because of funding cuts and falling enrolment. The bigger question is whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 idea of 바카라사이트 university itself is still fit for purpose. This pandemic is a chance to reimagine 바카라사이트 university, and in doing so, catalyse a better world.

Tan Eng Chye is president of 바카라사이트 National University of Singapore.