Author Linda Jacobson article from EducationDIVE looks into how "going cross-curricular helps students develop solutions to real-world problems".
In a section of the article, University of Michigan professor Andrew J. Hoffman suggests at a time when society continues to question whether a college education is worth the investment, multidisciplinary centers that connect faculty and students across subject areas might even "represent a possible future for universities." Hoffman is the co-author of a study released this month that explores the characteristics, activities, challenges and opportunities for sustainability institutes.
Below is an excerpt from the article where IBES Environmental Studies & Sciences alumna Sophie Purdom provides her perspective:
For Sophie Purdom, a 2016 graduate of Brown University, that real-world application included traveling to Warsaw, Poland and Lima, Peru to participate in U.N. climate talks as part of the Climate and Development Lab in the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society.
"The students in this lab become real experts," says Purdom, who now sits on the institute's advisory board and is especially interested in the connections between policy, economics, and the environment. "My niche was really to be able to communicate business solutions to climate change that really resonated with folks. I needed to learn how to speak the language of the oil and gas representatives."