大學(xué)很燒錢，卻學(xué)不到技能

Getting a university degree has never seemed more important:college graduates earn more money,live longer,and are happier.But college degrees are expensive(especially in the US),narrowly focused(especially in the UK),and often fail to build the skills employers want(true in most countries).

大學(xué)學(xué)位似乎從來不曾像現(xiàn)在這樣重要：大學(xué)畢業(yè)生收入更高、壽命更長，也更幸福。但是大學(xué)學(xué)位很燒錢(尤其在美國)，教學(xué)范圍太狹窄(尤其在英國)，經(jīng)常不能培養(yǎng)出雇主想要的技能(在多數(shù)國家都是如此)。

A new university in the UK wants to change that.

英國的一所新大學(xué)想要改變這一現(xiàn)狀。

The London Interdisciplinary School(LIS),which will launch in 2021 with a target of 100 students,will scrap traditional academic subjects and offer a three-year bachelor of arts and sciences degree designed to tackle real-world issues.The curriculum is built around interdisciplinary problems—knife crime,childhood obesity,palm oil in supply chains,plastic pollution—as well as quantitative and qualitative research skills.Employers like the Met Police,Innocent,and Virgin will provide project ideas and offer five-week work experience for students.

將于2021年成立的倫敦跨學(xué)科學(xué)院(LIS)將招收100名學(xué)生，該學(xué)院將摒棄傳統(tǒng)的學(xué)科，提供三年制文科和理科學(xué)士學(xué)位，以解決現(xiàn)實世界的問題為目標，圍繞持刀犯罪、兒童肥胖、棕櫚油供應(yīng)鏈、塑料污染等跨學(xué)科問題以及定量和定性研究技能來設(shè)置課程。倫敦警察廳、天真飲料公司和維珍集團等雇主將為學(xué)生提供項目創(chuàng)意以及五周的實習(xí)機會。

The idea is similar to a US liberal arts degree(a rarity in the UK)but also more explicitly focused on“interdisciplinarity,”or drawing on multiple subjects—economics,psychology,sociology,statistics—to solve complex problems like childhood obesity.In other words,the problem,not the subject,sits at the center of the curriculum.The skills students develop,the founders hope,will more closely align with what an AI-infused,automated world demands:collaboration between people and machines,critical thinking,speaking and writing skills,and data management,to name just a few things.

該學(xué)院的理念類似于美國的人文科學(xué)學(xué)位(在英國很罕見)，但顯然更注重“跨學(xué)科”，或利用多個學(xué)科——經(jīng)濟學(xué)、心理學(xué)、社會學(xué)、統(tǒng)計學(xué)——的內(nèi)容來解決兒童肥胖這樣的復(fù)雜問題。換言之，問題，而非學(xué)科，在課程設(shè)置中占據(jù)中心地位。創(chuàng)辦者希望，學(xué)生們發(fā)展的技能——人和機器的協(xié)作、批判性的思考、說話和寫作技能、數(shù)據(jù)管理等等——將能和一個充斥著人工智能的自動化世界的需求接軌。

Students will tackle problems through various disciplines:knife crime,for example,by understanding cultural and socioeconomic factors in different neighborhoods,data science,statistics,publicly available data,an economics or psychology lens.

學(xué)生們將利用多個學(xué)科的知識來解決問題。以持刀犯罪為例，通過理解不同社區(qū)的文化和社會經(jīng)濟因素，利用公開數(shù)據(jù)，從數(shù)據(jù)科學(xué)、統(tǒng)計學(xué)、經(jīng)濟學(xué)或心理學(xué)的角度來分析。

In the UK,students apply through a central clearinghouse,and exam results are paramount.At LIS,students will instead apply directly and all will be invited to a“selection day”which will include a face-to-face interview so that LIS can understand a student’s background,motivations,and passions.Interviews will be conducted by a panel to minimize bias.Conditional offers will be granted based on personal background,circumstances and,also,grades.

在英國，學(xué)生們通過招生服務(wù)中心申請大學(xué)，考試成績至關(guān)重要。在倫敦跨學(xué)科學(xué)院，學(xué)生可以直接申請，所有學(xué)生都會受邀在一個“選拔日”參加現(xiàn)場面試，學(xué)院借此來了解一個學(xué)生的背景、動機和愛好。面試將由專門小組進行，以將個人偏見的影響降到最低。學(xué)院將會基于學(xué)生的背景、情況以及分數(shù)進行擇優(yōu)錄取。