Mai, 2010

Mai, 2010

How to prepare for the hitherto unknown challenges of tomorrow's societies?

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg SteinbachTrondheim, 15. October 2010

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Technische Universität Berlin

Profile

The Technische Universität Berlin regards itself as an international well reputated university placed at the German capital in the center of Europe:

Third largest Institute of Technology in Germany

Research and Education conducted in combination of natural sciences, engineering and humanities

Fundamental and applied research:• Fundamental research in its classical meaning

• applied research centred on problems relevant to society today and in the future

Regional, national and international networking

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Technische Universität Berlin

Facts and figures

Students 29.234 female (ca. 34%) 9.967 coming from abroad (ca. 20%) 5.923

Professors/Chairs 323

incl. Visiting Professors etc. 396Scientific Assistants 2.246General staff 4.379

Doctorates (2009) 376Habilitations (2009) 24

Budget:State funding (2009) 251,1 Mio. €Third party funding (2009) 125,2 Mio. €

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Technische Universität Berlin

Is really everything hitherto unknown about future challenges ?

A positive perspective for our future can only be anticipated if the following challenges are met successfully: climate change urbanisation infrastructure resource management, intelligent handling of

• water, the gold of the future• energy (efficiency)• food• health in an aging society

These fields not only require inventions and innovations but also sufficient finances

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Technische Universität Berlin

Is really everything hitherto unknown about future challenges ?

What we do not know:• a comprehensive list of all the sub-problems• the regional placing of the problems• additional pivotal problems not listed yet

(surprises)

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Technische Universität Berlin

Deficits in our current organisations to face the challenges

Education• New, scientifically „deep drilling“ but narrow

curricula • Missing balance between mono-disciplinarity,

interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity

• killing student creativity• missing personality development

Research• Hype-research• financial efficiency as guiding principle• applied research regarded as second class

science• not enough young scientists

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Technische Universität Berlin

Deficits in our current organisations to face the challenges

Setup organisation of universities

The average time constant for a „professor´s life“ at a university is too long (25-30 years) to respond structurally fast enough to new challenges

Politically induced financial constraints limit the number of doctorates in an irresponsible way

The structures to support entrepreneural activities are not adequately developed at all instutes of technology

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Technische Universität Berlin

How to prepare for the future

Education Place „methodolical skills“ based on a sound

basis of fundamentals in to the centre of Bachelor curriculum development

This way generalists are trained with a high ability to transfer their skills to quite different problem

areas almost instantaneously

Place Master curricula preferable on the interface of two disciplines , but keep them broad and away from hype-topic

Try to focus on system´s approach in order to balance specialisation for a following doctorate and generalisation enough to keep the graduates placable in different disciplines

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Technische Universität Berlin

How to prepare for the future

Education• Ensure and promote student creativity

e.g. student formula 1

• Contact the schools and tackle the “maturity problem” of our first year students together

Beware of “producing robotics”; nuture constructive criticism and self-confidence even it becomes less cosy for us lectureres

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Technische Universität Berlin

Deficits in our current organisations to face the challenges

Research Introduce „problem based research“

Faculties and schools are not adequate structures for future research. Research today is done in

interdisciplinary teams sometimes forming even new transdisciplinary sciences.

Combine researchers project wise from all relevant faculties and provide them with their own budget

Apply the picture of an american bureau with movable view shields placed individually according to each project´s requirement

Cultivate „risky research“

15% of the budget of a university should not be subject to financial efficiency assessment.

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Technische Universität Berlin

How to prepare for the future

Setup organisation of universities

Make the university structure more flexible and support young scientists at the same time:

• 50% of chairs are defined monodisciplinary to cultivate the mono-disciplines on the Bachelor level

• 20% of chairs are defined interdisciplinary and 5% as „seed chairs“

• 25% of all chairs are time limited assignments for young scientists to respond to structural project needs