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On Transformative Shifts: David E. Goldberg Leads the Change for Higher Education in the Digital Age

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Higher education is facing multiple crises, grappling with issues like enrollment cliffs and the overwhelming advancement of technology. The decline in the number of students enrolling in colleges and universities could be attributed to various factors, such as demographic shifts, changes in birth rates, shifting attitudes toward academic pursuits beyond high school, and even external events like pandemics or economic crises.

Read the full article on Business Insider

Six Continents of Change: Reflections of a Peripatetic Change Facilitator

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On September 27, 2023, Dave led a webinar for IFEES entitled Six Continents of Change: Reflections of a Peripatetic Change Facilitator. You can watch the full webinar below.

ABSTRACT:

Ten years after my initial appointment as an assistant professor in engineering mechanics (Alabama), I wrote a whitepaper questioning the research uber alles culture of my then university (UIUC) and other R1s (Goldberg, 1994).  That whitepaper turned into an ASEE Journal of Engineering Education paper (and award winner), thereby launching a 30-year interest in the loci, processes, and products of change in engineering education.  The establishment of the iFoundry change initiative (Illinois) and the formation of the Olin-Illinois Partnership in 2007 and 2008 (Goldberg & Somerville, 2014), respectively, saw that interest rise to the level of a major research thrust, whereupon I resigned my tenure and distinguished professorship (2010) to go out into the world and try to make practical change in schools around the world.  13 years and six continents later, I sat down and captured what I had learned about higher educational change-making practice in the new book, A Field Manual for A Whole New Education: Rebooting Higher Education for Human Connection and Insight in a Digital World (Goldberg, 2023).

This webinar takes a continent-by-continent tour of some of the biggest lessons of this journey by (1) articulating one key lesson per continent, (2) recounting a key story associated with the lesson, and (3) discussing a tool, mindset shift, or process improvement that can help realize practical change back home. The webinar concludes by challenging participants to reflect on which lessons are most relevant to their experiences and school.

fPET 2023 Call for Abstracts

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Call for Papers for

fPET 2023 

2023 Forum on Philosophy, Engineering, and Technology 

19-21 April 2023 (Wednesday to Friday) @ TUDelft, Delft, The Netherlands

with a Special Track on Changing Values, Changing Technologies

fpet2023.org

The 2023 Forum on Philosophy, Engineering, and Technology (fPET 2023) will be held at the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands from 19-21 April 2023 (Wednesday to Friday). The conference will bring together engineers and philosophers to address the challenges of engineering in a changing world.

fPET 2023 will provide the opportunity to meet like-minded researchers and present and discuss research on the intersection of engineering and philosophy, addressing the broad theme of technology and engineering in a changing world. You can now submit abstracts and panel proposals at www.fpet2023.org.

Topics
We invite abstracts and panel proposals on the following (broad) topics:

  • Philosophy of technology and engineering
  • Ethics, social and political philosophy, and values in technology and engineering
  • Philosophy and ethics in engineering and technology education
  • Interdisciplinary studies of technology and engineering, particularly (but not limited to) responsible innovation and value-sensitive design
  • Practitioners’ reflections on engineering and technology

We particularly invite practicing engineers and technological practitioners & researchers to submit abstracts and present reflections based on their hands-on experience in engineering or technological research.

Special track on value change
The conference will feature a special track on Changing Values, Changing Technologies (see www.valuechange.eu). This track will introduce a novel perspective on value change. We will discuss the nature of value change and illuminate the implications for the practice of, research on and teaching in engineering. For this track we invite papers that present recent research on the theme of value change and technology. If you want to submit to this special track, you can so indicate during submission.

Keynote speakers
The following keynote speakers have confirmed their presence:

  • Guru Madhavan (National Academy of Engineering, US)
  • Samantha Kleinberg (Stevens Institute of Technology, US)
  • Sarah Spiekermann (WU Vienna, Austria)

Timeline
January 15, 2023: Deadline for abstract submission
February 15: Decision about acceptance
March 15: Confirmation of participation for chosen presenters
April 19-21: Conference

Location
We plan to hold the conference in Delft as an in-person event. If the situation should change due to Corona measures, we will update our plans accordingly. Currently there are no COVID-19 related restrictions for travelling to the Netherlands. The most recent information can be found here: https://www.government.nl/topics/coronavirus-covid-19/visiting-the netherlands-from-abroad

Submission detail
Please submit your abstract via our website: www.fpet2023.org
Abstracts must not exceed 500 words, including notes and references.
Please direct any queries related to the conference to fpet2023@valuechange.eu

We welcome submissions addressing new or underexplored topics, the reflective submissions of engineers or other technology practitioners, and submissions of an interdisciplinary nature.

Conference organizers

  • Co-Chairs: Ibo van de Poel (TUDelft) & David E. Goldberg (Illinois & ThreeJoy)
  • Program Chair: Neelke Doorn (TUDelft)
  • Local Arrangements: Lotte Asveld, Michael Klenk & Nathalie van den Heuvel (TU Delft)

3 Tips: Rip Van Winkle Looks for a Job

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“The last time I personally looked for a job was some 29 years ago when in 1990 I applied to a dozen universities for a tenured faculty position in engineering…I recall this history, because that 1990 search was of a different era. A few of the applications were sent by email, but many of them were submitted through the Post Office (!!?) as printed documents, and it was largely a person-to-person old-fashioned kind of search that was common decades ago. Thus, it was with some trepidation last week that I volunteered to work with a close relative (call her Andrea) to help her find a job in the age of online applications (Monster, Indeed, ZipRecruiter, etc.).”

Explore the 21st century job search landscape in a new blog post by Dave Goldberg here.

 

Deep Shift #1: Obedience to Courage

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“A shift is a small change to something we already do well that gives great power to effect change in ourselves and/or others.

And in this definition lies the blessing and the curse of shifts. Shifts are changes to things we already do reasonably well. For example, our ability to listen can be shifted to give us much greater power in conversation, but when you ask someone to consider making a change to how they listen, it can be difficult to even get their attention. “Oh yes, listening,” they’ll say, “I’m already a great listener,” and the person turns off to the very idea that there is something to learn here.”

Learn more about the first key Shift in a new blog post by Dave Goldberg here.

5+1 Shifts to the Deep Missing Basics

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“Some of the earliest learning of the iFoundry adventure led to a key insight of what’s missing in education today. Other insights have come from coaching, training, and consulting interactions. All were combinations of theory and practical insight. Here we use the term shift to denote a small change to something we believe we already do quite well. ”

Discover the 5 + 1 shifts in a new blog post by Dave Goldberg, here. 

The Web & Returns to Expertise

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“Expert this and expert that. If you listen to modern advertising copy and the media (and to university professors) the most important thing in the world is to become an expert, but something funny happened on the way to the expertise forum…”

Delve into the modern world of expertise in a new blog post by Dave Goldberg here.

NPR’s Jazzed About Work: “Educators Should Create Change” with Dave Goldberg

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Dave Goldberg was recently interviewed on NPR’s Jazzed About Work hosted by Beverly Jones produced by WOUB Public Media.

“It’s time for university leaders to get serious about changing the way they teach students, says higher education thought leader Dave Goldberg, in this episode. Dave says it’s time to change higher education from the inside out. He says that, in preparing students for their careers, educators should help students shift their focus away from obedience to authority, and, instead, guide them towards the development of human values. The change in the teaching of students should resemble the way that the job of leadership is changing…”

-Beverly Jones

Listen to Dave’s interview here.