There has been some really interesting discussion on what it takes to create innovative leaders in information technology. The traditional argument has been to ensure students focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). I am a strong proponent of Math. Sadly, as much as I do not like to admit it, Math on its own does little to create innovators, least of all global citizens. No discipline holds the monopoly. It seems like there is an emerging set of voices that suggest that we need to focus our attention on the liberal arts. For me personally, I am less interested in the traditional “garden variety liberal arts” or what many folks like to think of the traditional liberal arts disciplines (literature, language, philosophy, history math and science), but more on new, disruptive models of teaching in the liberal arts. When I read Vivek Wadhwa’s “ article about liberal arts and Sim’s follow-up, I began reflecting on principles of the award winning Global Social Entrepreneurship (Global SE) program.
Michael Neumann from the Goshen College Record
The more I thought about it, the more I came around to the idea that we are executing a transformative educational experience that will create global citizens. It already has. Real innovators are created when we structure, execute and deliver educational experiences that nurture our students to imagine, research, learn, act, experiment in multidimensional-experientially rich settings. Here are the organizing principles of Global SE.
- An emphasis on the liberal arts and learning. Global SE recognizes that students have much to learn from each other and that disciplinary boundaries tend to “lock” people into cognitive modes that are susceptible to group think. It becomes hard to “imagine” a reality that is different when everyone speaks the same disciplinary language. Whats worse, is that students are told they are successful when they regurgitate what was “spoonfed” to them. This is why our program recruits students from ALL majors. It asks them to confront problems that have ambigous and complex answers, if at all. It asks them to LEAD academic discussions for a whole semester that can be used to understand the problem we work on in the field experience. The program also insists on rigorous writing, research and collaboration in academic as well as real-world settings. It maintains high expectations throughout.
- The program follows a Montessori philosophy. Learning and inquiry is led by students and faculty alike. The Montessori learning method, founded by Maria Montessori, emphasizes self-directed learning, tinkering, and discovery. “In an extensive, six-year study about the way creative business executives think, Professors Jeffrey Dyer of Brigham Young University and Hal Gregersen of INSEAD, surveyed over three thousand executives and interviewed five hundred people who had either started innovative companies or invented new products. They found several “discovery skills” that distinguished the innovators from the non-innovators, including experimenting, observing, questioning, and networking with people from diverse backgrounds. As Gregersen summed up their findings: “You might summarize all of the skills we’ve noted in one word: ‘inquisitiveness.’” (Peter Sims, Tech Cruch Blog, emphasis mine.. see next point)
- Innovative ideas come from a flat world. Participants need to recognize that the “developing world” is home to innovators that are implementing disruptive business practices. Growth opportunities are legion in the BRICs. Participants need to be able to work-side-by-side next to (and not solve problems for) international social entrepreneurs in a non-colonial way. Working side-by-side, in diverse and intergenerational teams we hope encourages innovative tendencies.
- Long term engagement. How do you design programs that allow students to work with organizations within the context of their academic program, but also maintain a long term engagement? Global SE’s solution is to engage with a small group of social entrepreneurs and begin to understand the ecosystem that these entrepreneurs work in. Student engagement is limited to six weeks, but intensive post-experience advising and reflection ensures that students return for more longer term engagement with the same culture.
- “Glocal” Networks. When we think about globalization, much is said about how global forces are transforming local spaces. Local spaces become marginalized. Global SE seeks to empower individuals who live and work in disparate local spaces, using global networks. These are working networks of “like-minded” individuals and institutions that are engaged in achieving the same social goals.
