Page 72 - Innovation Delaware 2018

BY LARRY NAGENGAST
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EDUCATION/
RESEARCH
RIvory Towers Give Way to Work Readiness and Hands-on Learning
emember the ivy-covered walls of academia off campus. Like other private schools in Delaware, Tower where tenured professors ruled supreme, Hill is also embracing service learning, recognizing it as or the days when rote repetition ruled an important character-building tool that will help shape classrooms? That’s not the look of education the leaders of tomorrow. To further hone its offerings, in Delaware today. Tower Hill has hired a chief innovation officer, who is
Once-closed doors have opened wide and two-way tasked with advancing the school’s use of technology and
movement prevails, with nonprofits and private businesses appearing frequently on campus and more students now exploring the world beyond their classrooms. It’s an increasingly crucial development as employers look for schools and universities to turn out creative thinkers who can help them prevail in an innovative economy.
The Summer Learning Collaborative, a nonprofit partnership embraced by nearly two dozen community organizations, is demonstrating success in combating “summer learning loss,” a century-old phenomenon that contributes significantly to poor kids falling farther behind their middle-class peers. As a result, the next generation of Delaware’s most qualified workers is set to be more diverse — providing employers with the wide set of perspectives a 21st-century economy demands.
ProStart, a training program sponsored by the Delaware Restaurant Association, exemplifies Delaware’s new emphasis on career pathways, combining in-school work that meets industry standards with challenging on-the-job experiences. Tower Term, a new weeklong program at Wilmington’s Tower Hill School, tests teamwork in demanding projects, many of them executed
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challenging its curriculum to evolve continuously.
In higher education, Wilmington University’s certificate programs help workers secure valued credentials without having to earn a degree, thus providing a valuable, speedy talent supply for employers. Wesley College has received a National Science Foundation grant to support a STEM-focused scholarship program. The program, known as Cannon Scholars, will recruit talented students in biological chemistry, biology, environmental science and mathematics who are in need of financial aid. A key goal of Cannon Scholars is to increase the number of skilled employees in technical areas of regional and national
need.
At Delaware State University, researchers have been
enlisted by the Department of Defense to develop a laser system that can detect chemical and biological weapons. Meanwhile, the University of Delaware’s STAR Campus is developing into a collaborative space that blends academics, research, private enterprise and public service on the site of an abandoned auto assembly
plant. ID