Where have the universities gone? [LWN.net]

Where have the universities gone?

Posted Jul 26, 2007 18:39 UTC (Thu) by PaulMcKenney (subscriber, #9624)
In reply to: Where have the universities gone? by flewellyn
Parent article: Where have the universities gone?

I saw the same thing several decades ago. Most people wanted to do the minimum necessary to get their degree, preferably with a decent GPA. A very few were interested in really honing their skills beyond what the curriculum required. This was the case both in Computer Science and in Mechanical Engineering, and I suspect that this has always been the case in almost all fields of study.

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Where have the universities gone?

Posted Jul 26, 2007 19:59 UTC (Thu) by flewellyn (subscriber, #5047) [Link]

Tragic, but what can you do except try to advocate the alternative by example?

Where have the universities gone?

Posted Jul 26, 2007 20:13 UTC (Thu) by PaulMcKenney (subscriber, #9624) [Link]

(1) As you say, lead by example.

(2) When people ask you what they need to do to be successful, tell them that they need to not merely learn about their field, but to also become fluent in the practice of their field. In other words, you need to have mastered the basics to the point where it just flows. Typing, working the editor, producing the code, ...

People who are in a position to hire or otherwise select contributors have other tools at their disposal.

(Full disclosure: I split the difference, going quite a ways beyond the curriculum in computer science, but not so much so in mechanical engineering.)