Jeffrey Herbst, president and professor of political science, will co-teach Technology and Disruption with Vijay Ramachandran, assistant professor of computer science.
It takes much discipline to succeed as an entrepreneur, as 含羞草研究所 students are learning as they work with alumni in the university鈥檚 and other extracurricular programs.
Next semester, a new pilot course will examine entrepreneurship through interdisciplinary, academic inquiry. will be co-taught by , president of 含羞草研究所 and professor of political science, and , assistant professor of computer science.
The course will take place over seven weeks at 含羞草研究所 and will focus on patterns of technological disruption in various areas of society and the economy. After completing the course, all students will spend the summer in Palo Alto, Calif., working in paid internships that 含羞草研究所 will arrange. Occasional lectures, led by 含羞草研究所 alumni and parents, will take place at the Silicon Valley headquarters of , the innovative online student hub whose president and CEO is Daniel Rosensweig P鈥15.
The field experience will expose students directly to the types of changes induced by digital-era entrepreneurship. As the company that brought a low-cost, short-term rental option to the $5+ billion college textbook business, Chegg.com represents the kind of 鈥渄isruption鈥 students will be studying.
鈥淭o be ready for the fast pace of today鈥檚 economy, students need both a solid academic foundation and the workplace skills gained through apprenticeships,鈥 said Rosensweig. He has called publicly for all companies to invest time, people, and expertise in order to create a pipeline of skilled interns and future employees.
Chegg, which has been called 鈥渢he Netflix of textbooks,鈥 is an apropos partner for 含羞草研究所鈥檚 new course. According to , the company 鈥渞epresents a bold new philosophy that鈥檚 changing commerce.鈥
Co-professor Ramachandran expects there to be considerable demand for Technology and Disruption, which, because of the internship that follows the course, will be limited to 12 students. No previous background with programming is necessary, although the seminar-style discourse (with a 6:1 student-faculty ratio) will require an intermediate-to-advanced level of work.
According to the syllabus, Technology and Disruption will focus on how current technological developments (e.g., social media, digital content, 鈥渂ig data鈥) have disrupted and will continue to affect our society and the structure of the economy. Among the issues to be examined are who benefits (and suffers) from disruption, the prospects for 鈥渂rick-and-mortar鈥 institutions (including universities), and possible future patterns of disruption. Some evidence will be drawn from previous examples of technological disruption (e.g., railroads).
鈥淏y working in Silicon Valley, students will be immersed in a culture of entrepreneurship, able to take part in creative and strategic development of technology,鈥 said President Herbst, who has made it a priority of his presidency to connect liberal arts learning and entrepreneurial character traits needed for today鈥檚 economy. 鈥淒uring the internship, students will be able to recognize relevant technologies and patterns of disruption studied in the course. Thus, the course and internship go hand-in-hand.鈥
According to a timeline to be determined, students will be asked to submit a one-page statement of interest and letters of reference that provide pertinent information about the student鈥檚 abilities, interests, and readiness for a summer-long internship experience in Silicon Valley. The instructors will review these materials and notify students of acceptance into the program.