Peter Thiel – founder of the New York-based hedge fund
Clarium Capital, co-founder of PayPal, and an early investor in Facebook – has
established a foundation to give 20 $100,000 grants to teenagers who would drop
out of high school and pursue an ambition of becoming world visionary
entrepreneurs.
To Thiel, and other contemporary thinkers concerned that economic progress is
impeded by the lack of innovation, college in the 21st century has become
outdated, its institutional thinking sclerotic. Education’s relevance to
economic and social demands is viewed through 20th, if not 19th century, lenses
by many of the higher-ed institutions that were founded in those centuries.
Consider Mark Zuckerberg. When he started Facebook in his Harvard University
dorm, the school immediately shut down the site because the response to it
overwhelmed the university’s server (not to mention complaints from students
about their photos being used without permission). Clearly, an institution
founded in the 17th century didn’t know how to handle a 21st century
entrepreneur and his invention.
While it may be possible to find 20 teenagers who are smart enough, ambitious
enough and disciplined enough to create new businesses that bring positive
change, they would be a rare breed, and even if they were not, ultimately they
would still benefit from a post-secondary education.
For all its faults, the post-secondary credential remains critical to the
nation’s as well as an individual’s growth and prosperity. Geniuses, young or
old, can’t work through problems and discover solutions from inside a bubble,
even if it is a $100,000 bubble. Before publishing his theory of relativity,
which enriched physics and astronomy in the 20th century, Albert Einstein
earned a four-year degree to teach mathematics, helping launching his career as
a theoretical physicist.
Thiel is correct that colleges have become moribund in how they prepare
students for today’s high-tech economy that has seen great innovations and
promises more. We agree with him that the nation needs different models for
higher education. As computer technology advances, rapidly and with no end in
sight, in the last half century it has created a different world with societies
and people connected at work and play and daily living. And it does so in a
multitude of ways unimagined just 15 years ago. It is time for higher education
to advance and adapt to reflect this new order.
Institutions like Harrisburg University of Science and Technology are being
built with these realities in mind. They design curricula intended to gird and
inspire students entering the technologically advanced economy emerging in the
world today. Founded in 2001, Harrisburg University focuses laser-like on
science, technology, engineering and math – the STEM subjects – through
classroom experience and experiential learning, the philosophy of learning by
doing.
However, Thiel is incorrect in his assumption that the nation needs only a
group of genius entrepreneurs. It also needs skilled gold-collar workers to
build, operate, maintain and repair those technological innovations. And at the
core of educating and training those workers are STEM-focused institutions such
as Harrisburg University.
To understand why the STEM subjects are critical for future entrepreneurs with
world visions, consider Gordon Moore, Intel’s co-founder. In 1965, he noticed
that the number of transistors placed on a computer’s integrated circuit had
doubled every two years since the invention of the integrated circuit in 1958.
Moore predicted this would continue for “at least another 10 years.” However,
that trend continues today, unabated, and Moore’s prediction has become
“Moore’s Law.” Computer technology gets smaller and faster with each passing
year. Its capabilities seem unlimited, but we need educated and trained workers
and entrepreneurs to capitalize on those new capabilities.
Harrisburg University also is unique in that it turned to local industries and
businesses to help map out its academic programs. These businesses are reliant
on a future workforce possessing the skill set acquired through STEM curricula
so there is integration between academics and industry.
The classroom links with internships, co-ops and job sharing to provide real
world experience long before entering the workforce. Students apply classroom
learning in the field. HU assigns students to a local company in their field of
study – from biotech laboratories to hospitals to manufacturers to breweries. A
business mentors program pair students with professionals in their career
field. Mentors introduce and guide their protégés through the professions they
are pursuing in study. The employment rate for HU students upon graduation is
92 percent. That’s the kind of education program that drives the economy and
spurs innovation.
STEM curricula through 21st century institutions such as Harrisburg University
will not only provide the gold-collar technical worker for our economy, but
also the entrepreneur. And it won’t cost $100,000.
Dr. Mel Schiavelli is president of Harrisburg University of Science and
Technology in PA. Founded in 2001, Harrisburg University is the only
private non-profit STEM-focused comprehensive university between Philadelphia
and Pittsburgh, PA.
Contact:
Steve Infanti
AVP Communications
Harrisburg University of Science and Technology
326 Market Street
Harrisburg, PA 17101
717.901.5146
