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the primary purpose of a university?
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I believe a great teacher, and education in general, should teach students to ask questions, form hypotheses, seek answers, and master content through exploration and dialogue with their peers, professors and professionals within the discipline being studied. In other words, it should be the goal of education to equip students with the necessary tools to be active learners and critical thinkers, in that they do not accept the ideas, beliefs, or concepts which others may place upon them, without seeking to discover for themselves whether these notions have any worth or validity. This to me is the primary purpose of education (regardless of the level) vs. making students good citizens.
The definition of 'good citizens' has changed over time and so has the overall role of university. Earlier it was to create wow knowledge seekers & creators, now its that and also wow value creators and disruptive solutions to challenges faced by business, societies and nations. From national to global, from academics to business & technology, this education priorities' shift is creating tech savvy, business prudent & socially sensitive scholars. These scholars are no longer working in their academic silos but are now business value driven. This helps them to integrate their research better with evolving social, business & technology problems/challenges faced by the world. Hence I would say that university education is now more adaptive, tech savvy and socially useful and its students are more globally aware and business connected. This bottom-line driven shift is good for everyone as it gives a definite direction to education and research.
