@work on the economy:

 

 

 

More Hands-On Learning, Business Leaders Say  

 

UNC General Administration and UNC campuses across the state have concluded their eight regional “listening sessions” and heard from business and community leaders who weighed in on how universities can do a better job helping NC continue to develop in areas of strategic importance—while simultaneously preparing the workforce and leaders of the future to innovate in those sectors. They had some strong opinions.  

 

 

Ease the transition from the university to the workplace: UNC needs to work with business leaders to integrate the skills, culture and competencies of the business world into the classroom. Beyond the classroom, co-ops, internships and “real” business cases and research projects can go a long way in preparing students for life after college. As one Northeastern Region participant put it: “It’s great to be book smart, but we need to get people experience so that they know what they are doing when they graduate.”

 

Translate technology to the community: The University needs to make intellectual property and tech transfer agreements more transparent so innovations in the lab can be translated into products on the shelves. Triangle businesses are hungry for more viable intellectual property, said one Triangle business leader: “Universities have got to be more aggressive in technology transfer on behalf of the region and not just looking out for what is good for my university.”

 

Help create jobs in key regional development priority areas: Participants noted that emerging industries and research areas such as green energy, supply chain and big data are a far cry from the bedrock tobacco, textile and furniture industries of the past. To continue advancing in these priority areas, business leaders asked UNC to focus on applying its research and expertise to research on these regional priorities-- using cutting-edge R&D and streamlined tech transfer processes to promote the growth of key regional industry clusters.  As one Charlotte participant noted, “You’ve got to have a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem around our larger companies so that they can get a constant churn of ideas to minimize the product development risk…universities need to help with that.”

 

Train a “T-Shaped” workforce: Participants expressed a clear desire for a “T-shaped” workforce, with deep knowledge of key areas as well as an adaptable foundational skill set that will give them an edge in an ever-changing global economy. At the Advantage West meeting, one of the participants observed that young graduates have more responsibility than their predecessors in the global economy: “Universities have to figure out a way that they can teach people about innovation. With the speed that the world is changing, we all need to be able to be our own CEO’s.” 

 

Many participants wanted University to increase the number of graduates with a deeper knowledge of hard skills in areas relevant to the state’s priority growth sectors, while simultaneously breaking down the silos between disciplines. A comment from a Charlotte corporate leader was typical of this sentiment: “Universities need to have skills in more than just ‘their’ field. A polymer scientist needs to understand how a biologist thinks.” More graduates in with skill in biology, chemistry, computer science, finance, healthcare and agriculture are needed to complement the demand in these key sectors across the state.

 

In addition for the need for more hard skills, business leaders also see a compelling need for greater focus on building out foundational soft skills. By far the biggest area of emphasis amongst participants was written and oral communication; given the current generation’s (over)reliance on technology to communicate, many business leaders find the next generation ill-equipped to communicate effectively. Similarly, linkages between counties across NC and the rest of the world mean that graduates need to be culturally (if not linguistically) literate to help NC businesses remain competitive.  An entrepreneurial mindset, team work, problem solving were also key points of emphasis and speak to the need to train agile, creative, and social problem solvers who can leverage their expertise and the expertise of those around them to the task at hand.

 

The priorities outlined by business and community leaders across the state helps illuminate a path forward where UNC, government and the industry can work together to advance key growth sectors, building the future of North Carolina, one graduate at a time.  

 

@work in the community:

 

 

 Blur Some Boundaries, Participants Say 

 

What do North Carolina’s communities need from the UNC system to be successful?

 

Through a series of eight listening sessions in eight locations across North Carolina, including Asheville, Charlotte, Edenton, Greensboro, Greenville, Hickory, RTP, and Wilmington, business and community leaders weighed in on that question, providing input that will inform the recommendations of the UNC Strategic Directions Committee on how UNC can better serve the people, communities, and businesses of North Carolina.

 

The takeaways? UNC needs to blur the boundaries between the classrooms, laboratories, communities and the workplace—bringing UNC’s resources and expertise to bear on problems facing communities across the state.

 

Some key themes emerged from the listening sessions:

 

The University needs to be a resource for lifelong learning. In an ever-changing economy, Universities need to be accessible to people of all ages within the workforce, and figure out a way to turn workplace experience into classroom credit. “Universities need to be able to help employees upgrade their skills and make access to higher education more flexible,”said one Eastern Region participant.

 

The University needs to do a better job communicating what resources are available to the communities that they serve. As one Triad participant put it, “You may think outside people know about what you are doing as universities, but trust me we don’t. You’ve gotta  figure out a way to do that.” Communities—rural communities especially—rely on their universities to improve the quality of life in their area, support small businesses, and attract the kind of workforce and economic investment that they need to move forward.  Universities have a big role to play in solving this problem but need to do more to make their resources transparent and accessible.

 

The University needs to form deeper relationships with the communities that it serves. As key layers in the economic and community development equation, universities need to focus on building partnerships with business, non-profits and governments. Establishing multi-year relationships and bringing leaders into the classroom, could create valuable opportunities for students and community members alike—opportunities like internships and experiential learning that, in the words of one business leader, “could be a big win-win for us and universities.” The question is how both sides could work together to build a comprehensive internship program.

 

The University needs to focus on application of research and resources to address community problems. The UNC system conducts $1.3 billion dollars of research annually. Business leaders asked that UNC look for ways to apply more of that funding to solving problems in small businesses and the community at large. The responsibility to address community problems shouldn’t just fall to the big research universities: as one Eastern Region participant put it, “We gotta emphasize that regional universities need to serve regional businesses and help the regional economies; we can’t expect Triangle universities to serve the entire state.”

 

These meetings highlight the important role that UNC plays in regions across the state and the work that remains to be done to create a brighter future for all of North Carolina. The challenge for university planner will be to address a meaningful set of strategies to address those concerns. 

@work in the world:

 

 

 

Western Carolina University Named College of Distinction

 

 

What does it take to be a “college of distinction”?  Well, a lot of things, but according to the “Public Colleges of Distinction e-guidebook,” it helps to have faculty and students who are engaged in language, study abroad and service opportunities across campus and around the world.

 

Western Carolina University is one of 11 colleges and universities in the South that have been listed as a “college of distinction” in an online educational guidebook.

 

Set to be released in January, the guidebook is designed for prospective students, their parents and high school counselors. Schools listed on the website are judged in four areas: engaged students, great teaching, vibrant communities and successful outcomes.

 

One of the things that helped Western to make the list were the opportunities for student engagement within its language and study abroad offerings, and its reputation for blurring the boundaries between the classroom, the community and the world.  Students  at Western can take Cherokee, French, German, Spanish and Japanese—and travel and study everywhere from Auckland to Zurich.

 

Western also offers students the opportunity to learn from engaged international service without leaving campus. Just ask Winford Gordon, assistant professor of psychology, who is working with students at WCU to raise $50,000 to build a school in Pakistan.

 

“Beyond the project itself, which will change lives in Pakistan, everyone who works with us will connect their Western Carolina experience with a world and a culture far beyond our campus,” said Gordon. “Everyone learns. Everyone benefits. Isn’t that the best of all worlds?”

 

A total of 294 schools throughout North America were designated “colleges of distinction” for the latest edition, including schools like Sewanee, Hofstra, and Fordham University.

Fact of the Month

 

A survey of employers and community leaders at the eight regional UNC listening sessions (based on the work of the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)“Leadership Insights Survey”) found employers and community leaders valued several “competencies” most highly when they looked for future leaders of their organizations. The most highly rated competencies were: Effective Communication (89%), Integrity and Trust (76%), Self-motivation/Discipline (73%), Collaboration (64%), Customer Focus (53%) and Adaptability/Versatility (43%). Both NC business leaders and the respondents to the national CCL survey rated effective communication and self-motivation/discipline in the top three, illustrating the need for these skills both regionally and nationally. 

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