How Can We Raise Future Innovators?

In "Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World," Harvard Innovation Lab Expert in Residence Tony Wagner describes parents’ educational policies and the roles fulfilled by universities. It is a good book.

Wagner advocates the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education. He presents a policy of cultivating critical thinking ability, creativity, communication, and collaboration.

The book scathingly judges US university innovative education quality as low. One ponders his consideration of Japanese universities.

Wagner says university reform is essential. He states that, as the impact of “MOOC” (Massive Open Online Courses) implies, the value of knowledge and information is close to zero. I too gave lectures on the MOOC, but in my view existing instruction is not the value of university. We are asked whether we must hasten the formation of universities as models of creation and opportunity, or if we must try to protect past models.

The MIT Media Lab is given as an example. It gives no grades, classes can be taken freely, and there are no required subjects: it is enough to simply create. Lessons are rich in immediacy and utility, and directly connected to business, social conduct, etc. I also like that vision and put my efforts into the media lab. I want to create such an environment in Japan as well.

When David Kelley made the Stanford University d. school (Institute of Design), it seems that instructors with business experience held a lower position than academics, which caused trouble, but the school was completed with the contributions of SAP’s Hasso Plattner. When attempting to break through a large wall, the finishing move (fundraising in this case) means victory or defeat. This appears to be the same everywhere.

Creator education is filled with unconventional mentors. Rather than teaching, they create opportunities, make students act, and play a supportive role. When I was at MIT and at Stanford University, my time was spent on research (or rather, project creation) rather than direct training. Now I am finally also engaged in teaching at Japanese universities, but the learning style is that students are given industry-academic project opportunities and learn in the midst of actual performance.

My thoughts align with this book, I am not achieving its concepts. I think this is because I lack the politically strategic mindset of training innovators. Rather than training, I am preparing to train. So something is lacking. Yet such is my situation; I feel that it is easy to merely devise project ideas.