EDUCAUSE Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference
January 13, 2004
IMPLEMENTING THE“CONVERGING TECHNOLOGIES” PARADIGM AT UNION COLLEGE”
Robert T. BalmerDean of Engineering
Union College, Schenectady, NY
WHAT IS IT?
• “Converging Technologies” (CT) refers to the
continuous melding of concurrent technical,
scientific, and cultural phenomena
• At Union CT will integrate engineering and the
liberal arts to define innovative interdisciplinary
curricula for the 21st century
The concept of technological “Convergence” comes from the rapid evolution of pocket PCs that now contain: Mobile phone, Email, Web browser, Ebooks, Games, Music, Movies, Photography, Spreadsheets, etc., etc., etc.
CONVERGING TECHNOLOGIES
• In recent years the most significant
technological advances have occurred at the
interfaces of the liberal arts and engineering
• These advances often produce unimagined
technologies
• They are, by their nature, multidisciplinary
WHY?
Converging Technologiesfor a Changing World
Emerging TechnologiesIn a Changing
World
At Union College we see …
becoming
Computer Eng.Electrical Eng.Mechanical Eng.Computer ScienceBiologyChemistryPhysicsSocial Sciences,
etc.
Nanotechnology
Bioengineering
Mechatronics
MEMS and NEMS
Pervasive Computing
and many othersChanging
World
Existing Programs MustLead to New Opportunities
"Students who do not understand how the new and
converging technologies work, how they construct
meaning, how they can be used, and how the
evidence they present can be weighed and
evaluated are, in contemporary cultures,
considerably disadvantaged and disempowered."
Abbott & Masterman "Working Paper No. 2",Centre for Literacy, 1997.
See:
http://www.media-awareness.ca/eng/med/class/andersen.htm)
WHY ELSE?
The strategic elements of organizational change in higher education are complex and varied. The following list was recently developed by Dr. Joseph Zolner, Director, Harvard Institutes for Higher Education.
How Do You Do This?
The Psychology of Change in Higher
Education
1. Loss of Control - Change is exciting when it is done by the faculty and is of concern when done to the faculty.
2. Too Much Uncertainty - Almost by definition, a decision to pursue something new means one cannot be absolutely certain what will happen or what new outcomes the change will produce. Significant uncertainty can spell doom for administrators seeking to introduce new ideas to their institutions.
3. Surprise, Surprise - There are some who (falsely) believe that the best way to implement change is to “sneak up” on faculty/staff/students and inform them of a change at the moment of implementation.
Zolner’s Tenets of Change
4. The “McDonalds Factor” - Familiarity and consistent application of standards breed comfort. To the extent possible, build on recognized institutional strengths – items that faculty know, understand, and appreciate about their program, department, or institution.
5. Ripple Effects - Inevitably, changes send ripples beyond their intended impact.
6. Loss of Face - For many, accepting a change implies repudiation of what was done prior to the change. This could mean admitting (either implicitly or explicitly) that someone’s past actions or prior leadership were “wrong,” or at least ill-conceived.
7. Concerns About Competence - Change inevitably raises disconcerting questions about an individual’s ability to get a new job done. Am I up to the challenge presented by this change?
8. More Work - One entirely understandable reason people resist doing something new or different is that it often requires more work. In addition to managing “routine” duties, people must often add new demands imposed by change to an already-full agenda.
9. Past Resentments - While this reason for resisting change is “negative,” it is also completely understandable. Cobwebs from the past (or skeletons in assorted departmental closets) can easily impede future progress.
10. Sometimes the Threat is Real - Sometimes, a threat posed by change is a legitimate source of concern and reason to embrace the status quo. Despite all efforts to the contrary, change sometimes creates winners and losers.
So, How Do YouImplement Change?
Administrators often see change as an opportunity for progress and innovation, whereas faculty typically view the same elements of change as disruptive and intrusive. For academic institutions, there are five steps to implementing significant change:
1. Create a compelling vision that establishes a sense of urgency for change
2. Communicate the vision and the urgency to the faculty3. Empower faculty to contribute to and act on the vision4. Create a strategy to produce a series of short-term
successes5. Institutionalize the results by implementing the vision
First: We created acompelling vision that established a
sense of urgency for change
If 21st century technology is being generated at theinterfaces of engineering and the liberal arts, then amodern postmodern educational model shouldemulate this through a similar convergence ofacademic disciplines.
Liberal Arts College Enrollments
40
24
16
5.8
26
7.64.4
05
1015202530354045
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Year
Per
cen
tag
e
% All Inst. % All Students
Second: We communicated the vision and the urgency to the faculty
The faculty and the deans spent a great deal of time at retreats (four over two years) and faculty meetings discussing the vision of the Converging Technologies initiative. In the fall of 2002 there was a college-wide faculty retreat to discuss these same issues (complete with a SWOT analysis and a list of goals).
Also, the President and the Board of Trustees were very enthusiastic about CT, and wanted it to move forward as fast as possible. The future of engineering at a liberal arts college had been discussed for several years without any conclusion. Consequently, it was quite clear to most of the faculty that there was an urgency to at least investigate the feasibility of CT at Union.
Third: We empowered the faculty tocontribute to and act on the vision
We accomplished this by establishing
interdisciplinary faculty committees composed of
faculty willing to engage the new ideas. To
facilitate faculty participation we provided
released time and summer stipends to develop the
necessary materials.
Fourth: We then created a strategy toproduce a series of short-term successes
We have done this by having faculty introduce CT related
segments or modules into their existing classes and by
supporting student research in the CT areas. Success
then comes from administrative kudos and the recognition
of faculty peers at their annual performance review.
We have also developed a very effective CT web site on
the Campus web site to highlight faculty and student CT
activity (see www.union.edu/ct). This also provides a good
recruiting tool to attract top high school students to these
new fields.
Fifth: We institutionalized the results byimplementing the vision
The CT vision became implemented via the
creation of new courses and programs
1) Develop new introductory CT courses and possibly minors in CT areas
2) Integrate CT concepts into existing courses and develop
upper level CT courses
3) Developstudent CT
projects with RPI,SUNY, GE, IBM, etc.
4) Expand faculty research and
scholarship into CT areas
Implementing the Converging
Technologies Paradigm at Union
College
• Nanotechnology
• Bioengineering
• Mechatronics
• Pervasive Computing
• Neurotechnology
The Five
Converging Technologies
Areas Adopted At Union
NANOTECHNOLOGY - The Convergence of Engineering,
Chemistry, Physics, and Biology
Biology Chemistry
Physics
Engineering
Nanotechnology
BIOENGINEERING - The Convergence of Engineering,
Biology, and Computer Science
Biology
Engineering
BioengineeringComputerScience
MECHATRONICS - The convergence of Mechanical and
Electrical Engineering with Computer Science
Mechatronics ComputerScience
ElectricalEngineering
MechanicalEngineering
PERVASIVE COMPUTING - The integration of the computer into all forms of human interaction
This includes engineering, computerscience and all of the liberal arts
NEUROTECHNOLOGY - The integration neuroscience,
engineering, and computer science
Neuroscience
EngineeringComputer
Science
Neurotechnology
• The freshman “Introduction to Engineering and Mechatronics” is now a GenEd course open to all students on campus
• A $1 million CT gift from IBM provided SEM and AFM equipment
• Our Computer Engineering Program represents a convergence of electrical engineering and computer science
WHAT HAVE WE DONE SO FAR?
• EE senior projects and summer interns students at UAlbany Nanoelectronics Center
• EE Faculty sabbatical the the GE GRC nanotechnology facility
• Four new course in the pervasive computing area developed
• Three new Mechatronics courses developed by ME and EE faculty
• Faculty from EE and Biology engaged in neural network research
• Biomechanics and Introduction to Bioengineering courses developed
• Several senior bioengineering projects
• ME and Biology faculty now working on bioengineering research
• Aero-gel project with ME and Chemistry professors led to NSF proposal for an aero-gel fabrication facility
• Hired a new faculty applying nanotechnology to energy conversion processes
•Hired a new faculty and staff with Atomic Force Microscope expertise
•New course - “Frontiers of Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials” developed with ME, Physics, and Chemistry faculty
•Three new Mechatronics course developed by ME and EE faculty
•Pilot laptop program in engineering includes students constructing and programming a functional mechatronics interface for data acquisition and process control
Converging Technologies Board
Robert T. Balmer, Union CollegeWalter H. Berninger, General Electric R&DPaul Burton '82, Plug PowerGary Cohen '78, IBMJohn Corey '76, Clever Fellows ConsortiumDennis Deeb '82, General Mechanical GroupRichard Delaney '80, PepsiCoMatthew Fronk '79, General MotorsAbdallah Itani '80, General ElectricAmy Johnson '80, Capstone Inc.Catherine Keim '83, IBMJ.R. Spicehandler, '70, Schering-PloughDavid Usher '86, D.A. Usher Associates
• Hire a Bioengineer for the Union College Center for CT
• Develop more General Education CT courses collaboratively with liberal arts faculty
• Continue student and faculty projects with UAlbany, GE GRC, IBM, KAPL, and RPI
• Submit NSF/DOE/SRC/… proposals for undergraduate research in various CT areas
• Publish student/faculty research in CT areas
• Renovate or build a facility for the Center for converging Technologies at Union College
• Continue to recruit new students interested in CT areas.
In 2003-2004
CONCLUSIONS
• Technology is rapidly changing, and engineering education will have to adapt by embracing a
broader intellectual basis at the undergraduate level.
• Since much of the new technology is occurring at the interfaces of engineering and the liberal arts, the traditional disciplines, or educational “silos,” will have to merge and become more
interdisciplinary.
• Union’s concept of “Converging Technologies” is our way of beginning to address these changes.
Top Related