This is the seventh in a series of opinion pieces from leaders around campus on the role that Michigan Tech innovators will play to define the world’s emerging needs.
Today’s students are growing up in an increasingly curated world, where algorithms and smart systems shape their interactions, experiences, and even their understanding of success. The personalized social media feeds and individualized learning platforms students engage with have been meticulously designed to minimize friction and maximize comfort. Instant feedback, tailored experiences and on-demand solutions dominate their daily lives, offering an illusion of control and predictability. While these curated experiences offer undeniable benefits in terms of access and convenience, they also come with significant trade-offs, especially in developing the skills needed to succeed in the dynamic, ambiguous work environments of tomorrow.
As Michigan Tech looks ahead to 2035, it’s clear that the demands of the workplace will be radically different. The rapid pace of technological advancement will require a workforce that can navigate complexity, adapt quickly and tackle unforeseen challenges.
In contrast to the highly curated environments in which students have spent their formative years, the professional world will value adaptability, resilience, creativity and problem-solving skills — traits that are cultivated through exposure to discomfort, uncertainty, risk and failure.
This evolving landscape presents both an urgent challenge and an exciting opportunity for Michigan Tech. As a public research university with a mission to create solutions for the state’s industry, Michigan Tech has developed a strong reputation for preparing students for the workforce, and we are well positioned to continue to serve the needs of both the state and our students. To do so, the University’s long-standing commitment to building a talent pipeline for Michigan's technology, engineering and manufacturing sectors will require an intentional response to the shifting dynamics of the workplace.
How will Michigan Tech prepare students to become comfortable with failure and learn to navigate ambiguity in the real world?
In a quickly evolving job market, the most successful workers will be those who can experiment, adapt quickly and make decisions in the face of incomplete or ambiguous information. The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2020 identifies critical thinking, analysis and problem-solving as top skills expected to grow in prominence by 2025. Additionally, skills in self-management — such as active learning, resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility — are highlighted as increasingly important.
This is where Michigan Tech can play a pivotal role in shaping the next generation of innovators and problem-solvers. The University’s hands-on approach to learning, including its focus on co-op programs, student-led research and industry partnerships, will be instrumental in providing students with real-world challenges where failure is not only expected but also valued as part of the learning process. Michigan Tech’s long-standing emphasis on experiential learning will become even more crucial in ensuring that students graduate with the confidence and resilience needed to tackle problems without predefined solutions.
How will Michigan Tech prepare students with the emotional resiliency needed to succeed?
In a world that increasingly values creativity, collaboration and entrepreneurial thinking, the development of technical expertise is paramount. Equally important, however, is the development of emotional intelligence and self-regulation — skills that are essential for maintaining performance under pressure and bouncing back from setbacks. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2023 added emotional intelligence to the list of top skills expected to be demanded by employers in the coming decade.
One of the unintended consequences of growing up in a curated environment is that many students are less accustomed to engaging with perspectives that challenge their own. Algorithms tend to reinforce existing beliefs and isolate individuals from opposing viewpoints, creating an echo chamber that limits intellectual growth and critical thinking. As the workplace becomes more globalized and interdisciplinary, students will need to engage with a multitude of perspectives and collaborate across boundaries of all kinds. Students who are comfortable working in teams, who can manage stress and who can demonstrate leadership and empathy in the face of uncertainty will be better positioned for success.
Michigan Tech’s role in cultivating these skills in our graduates will be critical. While many students may enter college with strong technical skills, few are prepared to engage with the emotional challenges of leadership, failure or interdisciplinary collaboration. The University’s residential experience, with its emphasis on the collaborative effort and camaraderie needed to thrive in remote locations like the Keweenaw, offers a unique opportunity to foster these competencies. By integrating into the curriculum opportunities for students to develop skills in conflict resolution, communication and adaptability, Michigan Tech can ensure that our graduates are not only capable engineers, scientists, communicators and business people, but also resilient, emotionally intelligent leaders ready to succeed in an unpredictable world.
How can we foster a culture of innovation and risk-taking that prepares students to thrive in the less curated, more unpredictable work environments they will face in their careers?
In the next 10 years, it is crucial for our institution to address the gap between the curated world students have grown up in and the unpredictable, high-pressure environments they will encounter in their careers. Research has shown that students today are increasingly shielded from failure, a phenomenon that diminishes their ability to cope with the complexities of real-world scenarios. A 2023 report from Strada Education Network found that many students are entering the workforce with skills suited for highly structured environments, but lacking the resilience and problem-solving abilities needed to thrive in dynamic, fast-changing industries.
To embrace failure as a learning tool, to innovate, to take calculated risks — these will be the essential attitudes and competencies needed to succeed in the future.
Companies will seek out employees who can work with minimal direction, experiment with new ideas and think creatively in the face of ambiguity. The University has a long-standing reputation for fostering entrepreneurial thinking, with our strong focus on STEM education and industrial partnerships. For Michigan Tech, continuing to prepare students to be innovators capable of working in dynamic, unstructured environments will be essential to meeting the needs of Michigan’s industrial sectors, which are themselves undergoing rapid transformation.
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As the landscape of higher education continues to shift, Michigan Tech will need to ensure that our programs evolve to provide even more opportunities for entrepreneurship, creativity and hands-on problem-solving. Providing innovative curricula and challenging extracurricular experiences will be necessary to support a learning environment in which students can discover their authentic selves and be fully prepared to meet the needs of tomorrow. Programs that encourage students to experiment, collaborate and learn from failure will be critical in ensuring that Michigan Tech continues to produce the next generation of leaders who can thrive in the complex, rapidly changing environments of 2035.
Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to nearly 7,500 students from more than 60 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.
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