The Impact of Changing Technology on Academia

Change is inevitable! As technology students are exposed to changes, the need to change the teaching approach is becoming stronger. That’s because you want a teaching method that harnesses the skills students are gaining from their interactions with the latest technology.  On the other hand, competition in the industry has forced companies to embrace technology. However, the shortage of personnel who are passionate about technology has been a big challenge. Academia is thus well-positioned to bridge the gap between the many tech-passionate students and the tech-starved industry. In this episode, Dora Smith interviews Tim Simpson, a Paul Morrow Professor of Engineering Design and Manufacturing at the Pennsylvania State University. Tim and his students have worked with a diversified list of hundreds of companies on up to 600 projects. More recent work has ranged from finding ways to preserve the aviation ecosystem. In This Episode, You Will Learn: How evolving technology has changed academia (03:08) What Tim does to stay connected to the industry while in academia (04:08) How academia matches the industry’s quick pace (06:29) Tim's experience collaborating with industry (10:03) Tim’s current work with NASA (16:53) Tim's experience working in academia during the height of the pandemic (23:28) Connect with Tim: LinkedIn PennState