Don et al,
I think a significant feature of the 'problem' of university education in,
say, design or engineering, is the conflation of teaching and research,
especially where no particular certification in teaching is needed, in
contrast to having a PhD to 'certify' research skills.
A doctorate is pretty handy if you're doing research.
A doctorate is only helpful in teaching if its a doctorate in a discipline
that directly impacts one's teaching - which does not appear to be the case.
Perhaps an answer is to let academics decide whether they want to teach or
to do research (or do both) and to have less of a requirement that a
'professor' do both.
In that case, one may develop different hiring qualifications for
professors who will teach.
I know this sort of thing happens in *some* universities, but IMHO, it
should be far more widespread.
\V/_ /fas
*Prof. Filippo A. Salustri, Ph.D., P.Eng.*
Email: [log in to unmask]
http://deseng.ryerson.ca/~fil/
On 5 January 2016 at 12:42, Don Norman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Just a quick note to point out that the divide and difference between
> practitioners and academic scholars pervades many fields.
>
> Consider engineering. Any branch, but I'll use Computer Science as an
> example.
>
> For computer scientists wishing to work in industry, the MS is
> the terminal degree. Moreover, in the US, there are two paths: Information
> Technology (IT) degrees and Computer Science (CS) degrees. Those with IT
> degrees are far better equipped to run a complex computer center (or server
> farm or manage security or ...). Note that many CS folks look down upon IT
> folks. Academic snobbishness. The CS folks know more theory, but they
> couldn't run a server farm straight out of school.)
>
> Those who wish to study issues deeply get the PhD and work either in
> Universities or in Industrial Research Labs. (Working for a company's
> research group is more similar to the university than working in the same
> company's product groups. I find that people in product groups often laugh
> at the people from their company's research groups, saying they have no
> real understanding of their needs.)
>
> I always laugh when people at Microsoft research tell me they understand
> industry because they work for an industrial company. Nope. They
> are academics, moreover free from the continual fight for funds.)
>
>
> The same is true in design.
>
> Many academic teachers of design have no understanding of the
> practical issues facing practitioners because they have themselves never
> practiced in a competitive environment. This is more likely to be true of
> the PhDs than of the MfAs or MDESs.
>
> Same with teachers of engineering or business. Most professors in business
> schools have never worked in a business.
>
> As a result, a lot of what the pure academics teach is deep and wonderful,
> but completely irrelevant to the real world. Similarly, what goes on in the
> real world of practice is often far behind the modern approaches
> and findings from academia. True in engineering, true in business, true in
> design.
>
> Requiring a PhD to be a professor is therefore also depriving students of
> exposure to real world experience and issues.
>
> This is not unique to design.
> ---
> Note that there are also many people who thrive in both worlds and
> therefore can bring the best of both together, both in practice and in
> the university. So it is not either/or.
>
> [I'm an example. I once was one of those academics who knew nothing
> of practice in the real world. Many years in industry taught me
> the difference. I now go back and forth, finding each to have its own
> rewards and blessing, and also finding that the lessons of practice are
> valuable to academics, exposing the holes and inconsistencies in their
> knowledge. Similarly, the lessons from academia are valuable for practice,
> providing advanced, sophisticated ways of moving forward. (I am tempted to
> say, understanding how to use evidence, but i dare not go near there.)]
>
>
> So yes, there are differences. Yes, it is wrong for academics to restrict
> themselves to people with PhDs and no experience in the world. And wrong
> for practitioners to think that the academics all have their heads up in
> the clouds. We need a blend.
>
> Don
>
>
>
>
> Don Norman
> Prof. and Director, DesignLab, UC San Diego
> [log in to unmask] designlab.ucsd.edu/ www.jnd.org <http://www.jnd.org/>
>
>
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