Work Study University
From Zanecorpwiki
A four year program in business and software development work-study program in which students create, build, and market products under the tutelage of faculty advisers.
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Notes
- Not all classes nor all time need be spent on the product or business. Different incarnation possible. My guess is that the top-tier institutions would offer a curriculum that was effectively very similar to that of a traditional, top-tier four year university. We can debate what's useful and what isn't, but I think the base assumption has to be that there are good reasons why the market prefers a broad educational foundation and this is an aspect we would expect to naturally see repeated.
- An alternate domain focus certainly are possible.
- In preferred embodiment, projects would compete, students could be hired away, switched, etc.
- Integrate with outside investment. These are real startups. In preferred embodiment, students that believe in their idea would be free to pursue if they can fund it. School provides base resources that would be sufficient for many web-companies. Also okay if some ideas just don't get off the ground. A chip company that doesn't get the funding it needs would be dissolved in this example.
Pros
- Bring down tuition by becoming self-subsidizing.
- Would probably provide a more relevant education.
- Graduates would have four years work experience.
Cons
- Capture by economic interests.
- If the education gets pulled to far towards the industry, might end up spending too much time on fads and details and lose the appropriate focus on fundamentals.
- Culture effects seem like they might be negative. Would need to be careful to keep free thinking and risk taking alive. It should still be a college experience, not simply a "first job".
Summary
This is something that would be best to offer as an alternative. Within the school, the teams should have healthy competition, but ultimately the system should be structured so that all students and faculty work towards the good of the institution. The incentive is for the larger group to do well and teams should regularly cross-collaborate.
