TU3 - The University of Unknown Unknowns

 

Universities are very good at teaching the Known Knowns -- the accumulated knowledge of disciplines such as literature, mathematics, science, engineering and management. Increasingly, they also try to prepare students for the Known Unknowns: AI, climate change, sustainability, geopolitics and other challenges that we can already see approaching. But what about the Unknown Unknowns — the changes that we cannot anticipate because we do not yet know what they are?

That question led me to TU3 -- The University of Unknown Unknowns, a thought experiment in curriculum design. Instead of trying to predict tomorrow's subjects, TU3 asks whether students can be equipped with capabilities that remain useful whatever tomorrow brings: to THINK critically, COMPREHEND deeply, and CONSTRUCT physically. These three abilities form the TU3 Tripod, a common core around which conventional undergraduate disciplines can be built. The university may be imaginary; the question behind it is quite real.

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