The Changing Role of the University in the 21st Century

A rapidly changing economic environment is pushing U.S. universities to provide career-focused training over a broad, liberal arts education at the undergraduate level. On December 6, 2012, a discussion at the German Center for Research and Innovation (GCRI) will address the role of university education in preparing students as future employees and active citizens. Follow live on Twitter @gcri_ny (hashtag #highered).

NEW YORK (November 29, 2012) – Currently there is a great deal of concern regarding the ideals of an undergraduate education. In a few countries, such as the U.S., universities have traditionally provided students with a broad, general education in the liberal arts and sciences. The selection of a major area of concentration has occurred late in the course of study. Germany, on the other hand, has adopted a strategy of specialized training from the beginning of undergraduate study.

Recently, there have been increased discussions on the role of a general, liberal arts-based education. A 2012 issue of Science, for example, reported that in China directives from the Education Ministry called upon the educational establishment to turn out more well-rounded graduates in order to increase China’s “capacity for innovation.” Yet, in the U.S., there has been a push to provide training at the undergraduate level to enable graduates to immediately enter the work force. The question remains: Does a general liberal arts curriculum provide students with the foundation to grow and develop in a work environment in which the necessary skills to accomplish career demands are frequently changing?

As part of GCRI’s higher education series, Prof. Jutta Allmendinger and Prof. Philip Altbach will discuss the changing relationship between a traditional university education and the university degree as preparation for a career.

Prof. Allmendinger will present on German university landscape changes as they relate to the move from elite to mass education and international benchmarks fostering tertiary education. Her talk will address tensions between vocational and tertiary education, teaching and research, and the role of non-university institutes. Jutta Allmendinger is President of the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB, Social Science Research Center Berlin) and Professor of Educational Sociology and Labor Market Research at the Humboldt University Berlin. She is also a member of the European Commission’s high-level economic expert group “Innovation for Growth.”

Prof. Altbach will speak on the key global higher education trends of the first half of the 21st century, in particular, massification. Philip G. Altbach is Monan University Professor and Director of the Center of International Higher Education at the Lynch School of Education at Boston College.

The event will take place on Thursday, December 6, 2012, from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m., at the German House New York (871 United Nations Plaza, First Avenue, btw. 48th & 49th Streets). To RSVP by December 4, click here: http://form.jotformpro.com/form/23124379274960

The discussion will be moderated by GCRI Director, Dr. Joann Halpern.

Follow @gcri_ny and the hashtag #highered for live tweets.

Unable to attend? A video recording will be available on www.germaninnovation.org shortly after the event.

The German Center for Research and Innovation provides information and support for the realization of cooperative and collaborative projects between North America and Germany. With the goal of enhancing communication on the critical challenges of the 21st century, GCRI hosts a wide range of events from lectures and exhibitions to workshops and science dinners. Opened in February 2010, GCRI was created as a cornerstone of the German government’s initiative to internationalize science and research and is one of five centers worldwide.

Andrea Deierlein, Communications Officer
Deierlein@GermanInnovation.org
(212) 339 8606, ext. 302

German Center for Research and Innovation
871 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017
USA

www.GermanInnovation.org

This release was published on openPR.