The EvoLLLution (Evo): What was the impetus behind launching Real World?
David Hollander (DH): The future of higher education—particularly applied professional higher education—is not so much about degrees that pile on content for a specific field relating to specific careers. Fields and careers of today will likely be obsolete or completely different tomorrow.
We must prepare students for jobs that haven’t been invented yet. Learning about a profession helps a little, but learning how to learn prepares you for everything to come.
The only way you get that is by being thrown into real-world projects, with real people and real consequences. In the real world, there is no answer key. In the real world, so-called soft skills—cross-collaboration, leadership, interpersonal communication abilities, empathy, problem-solving skills, critical thinking, strategic thinking, a multidisciplinary approach and the ability to learn new things—are what lead to success and leadership.
