I think there is nothing more important to the future of this nation than the education of its citizens. The world continues to change rapidly, and it is the ability of our nation’s citizens to adapt to those changes that will determine our future welfare and the position that this nation occupies in the world. The information age has led to rapid globalization, and the changes that have resulted have upset the lives of many Americans. And so, we hear calls for renegotiating free trade agreements and for tightening our borders to keep foreigners out.
Throughout history technological and economic change has always met resistance. In early 19th century England, the Luddites smashed textile machines as the industrial revolution threatened their jobs. Just imagine where England would be today if those machines had never been replaced. In 1880 49% of American workers were farmers. One hundred years later, in 1980, only 3.4% of the workforce was needed to feed the nation as technological innovations in farming reduced the demand for labor. The number today is less than 2%. This transition was indeed painful to many farmers, but think about what freeing more than 47 percent of the labor force to produce other goods and services has done for our standard of living. Where would we be today if we still needed to deploy half the work force to feed the nation?
In retrospect, opposition to these changes seems silly. But at the time, many people shared that opposition, just as many people today oppose globalization and the changes that it is bringing. But these forces of economic change are very powerful because they raise our standard of living by reducing prices. Those who focus on maintaining the status quo will flounder in the new economy, while those who embrace change and figure out how to take advantage of it will prosper.
While change has always been with us, it has never been as rapid as it is today. And so, our ability to respond to change is more important than ever, and the type of education students receive will help shape their ability to adapt to whatever changes occur.
In an earlier Blog I wrote about the need for a broad based undergraduate education with a strong liberal arts foundation, like the one offered at the VCU School of Business. Here I focus on a new innovative program that is the result of collaboration among the Schools of Business, Engineering, and the Arts. This program is being offered through what we are calling the da Vinci Center, and is an opportunity for students to further broaden their education.
The da Vinci Center is about innovation and new product development. Small teams of students from the three schools work with faculty and executives from client companies to create new products or processes for the firms. They work in a laboratory setting with rapid prototype machines and high end graphic equipment.
These are not make-work projects, but projects that lead to outcomes that the firms hope to implement. Think about how an experience like this will serve students after they graduate. The students learn to work with colleagues who have very different perspectives than they have, just what they will have to do in the work place. Business students and engineers come to respect all that the design students bring to the table. The business and art students come to respect the technical skills of the engineers, and the engineers and art students learn that technology and design have little value unless what has been designed and built can be commercialized. In addition to learning from one another, the students also learn from faculty and executives. It is a broadening experience, and one that will help them cope with change in later years.
Technical skills are important and you need to acquire them, but they can be commoditized. It is much harder to replace those who know how to innovate and commercialize discoveries. By combining technical skills with creativity and strong interpersonal and communication skills, you will help insulate yourself from the downside of globalization.
