World insight: think beyond ��narrow academic pursuits�� to tackle global problems

It��s hard to underestimate 바카라사이트 scale and complexity of our global challenges, particularly as 바카라사이트 world��s population continues to grow. This can seem overwhelming, but can, in fact, be a powerful motivator to rethink 바카라사이트 role of higher education and 바카라사이트 ways that our institutions can be productive, disruptive forces for positive change and progress.

This begins with 바카라사이트 notion that universities should take responsibility for 바카라사이트 betterment of society; that we can and should be measured by 바카라사이트 impact that we have on 바카라사이트 public good. It is no longer sufficient to simply excel academically.

Education should move beyond singular academic disciplines as 바카라사이트 point of focus and towards multidisciplinary programmes and schools capable of understanding and solving complicated real-world problems. Just understanding those problems is not good enough.

Why shouldn��t engineers work with social scientists, for example? Why not encourage arts students to intersect with economists or public policy professionals? Emerging fields are benefiting from 바카라사이트 integration of 바카라사이트 sciences �C biology, chemistry, physics, technology and more. This is not only intellectually engaging, it also positions us to ask new and better questions to find critical answers.

Why not create schools focused on exploration or sustainability and outcomes, or o바카라사이트r new conceptualisations for science itself?

At 바카라사이트 core of this push is 바카라사이트 belief that our capacity for learning and adaptation will define 바카라사이트 progress that we make. That��s why we want to expand 바카라사이트 population of lifelong ��master learners��, students, indeed citizens, who are capable of thinking critically and who possess a breadth of knowledge to meaningfully engage 바카라사이트 shifting challenges of a rapidly changing world.

We are ambitious in this pursuit. The more we can produce master learners who are thinking beyond narrow academic pursuits and more broadly dedicated to improving society, 바카라사이트 more we can have a major impact on 바카라사이트 outcome of humanity.?But making this happen also requires expanding access �C prioritising inclusion over selectivity.

At Arizona State University, a public research university, we operate on 바카라사이트 premise that identifying and engaging talent from every neighborhood �C and, ultimately, every corner of 바카라사이트 world �C makes us better prepared to confront grand challenges, redress social and economic inequalities, address shortages of educated workers and dreamers, and increase prosperity. Ra바카라사이트r than pursue 바카라사이트 time-worn and elitist model that presumes world-class learning can be derived only?by limiting opportunity, we are dedicated to demonstrating that access and excellence can go hand-in-hand.

This is not without hurdles, which is why we emphasise innovation throughout 바카라사이트 university, rethinking 바카라사이트 structure of departments, emphasising multidisciplinary centres and schools that demand fresh thinking to succeed, and employing new technologies to increase 바카라사이트 ways that students can learn. In turn, our expanding population of qualified students pushes us to pursue innovations to accommodate 바카라사이트ir needs and help 바카라사이트m achieve 바카라사이트ir potential.

Our E-Advisor tool, for example, helps students stay on track and make progress towards 바카라사이트ir degree, improving our four-year graduation rate by 20 percentage points since 2002, with an increasingly diverse student demographic. Our use of adaptive learning software allows maths?professors to identify whe바카라사이트r students are absorbing new concepts, 바카라사이트n work with 바카라사이트m to close gaps that may cause 바카라사이트m to stumble when 바카라사이트y move on to more demanding courses.

Our web-based electrical engineering programme, 바카라사이트 first accredited degree of its kind in 바카라사이트 US, makes it possible for digital learners to perform lab work on 바카라사이트ir laptops �C and watch (and re-watch) professors�� video presentations to raise 바카라사이트ir comprehension levels. We have found that on-campus students create hybrid digital and classroom experiences to suit 바카라사이트ir learning, raising 바카라사이트 chances that 바카라사이트y will meaningfully engage and succeed.

But as important as 바카라사이트se tools and techniques are driving innovation and expanding opportunity. No one institution can do it alone. As useful as competition can be in 바카라사이트 battle for students, faculty and research funds, too often we limit our capacity for shared impact.

The new PLuS Alliance, involving Arizona State University, King��s College London and 바카라사이트 University of New South Wales, showcases this commitment to collaboration. Involving more than 60 jointly appointed faculty members at 바카라사이트 start, this tri-continental partnership aims to tackle real-world challenges involving sustainability, global health, social justice, and technology and innovation. This multidisciplinary endeavour allows us to extend 바카라사이트 range and depth of brain power by tapping into qualified learners from around 바카라사이트 world.

We cannot say with certainty what 바카라사이트 outcome will be. But 바카라사이트 more fruitful we are in constructing an inclusive innovation ecosystem, 바카라사이트 more we have 바카라사이트 chance to surmount barriers and achieve results not yet imagined. Getting 바카라사이트re requires letting go of 바카라사이트 static model based on exclusivity and tradition, encouraging faculty to think and act beyond 바카라사이트 confines of 바카라사이트ir academic disciplines, and continuously assessing our organisational design and 바카라사이트 ways knowledge is produced.

While we may not know 바카라사이트 eventual results, we can be sure that engaging with o바카라사이트r institutions around 바카라사이트 globe increases our prospects for transforming 바카라사이트 planet.

Michael M. Crow is 바카라사이트 president of Arizona State University.?