Singularity University’s founding Executive Director Salim Ismail is interviewed by TechCrunch’s Andrew Keen on the future of the 21st century university. Ismail proposes Singularity University (SU) as an alternative to the traditional model of 20th century higher education. He describes the conventional university model as academics pushing content at students from the top, and disciplines being dangerously stuck in narrow research silos. This method of learning is quite opposite from the organic process that is encouraged at SU. Students are empowered to search for and apply exponential technologies, future thinking, and forecasting to humanity’s most pressing problems. Participants are encouraged to share experiences, learn from each other, and connect their disparate fields of thought. Through this interdisciplinary mingling, the hope is that they will find breakthrough solutions for an increasingly complex world.
