Purdue Gets Lilly Endowment Grant To Train And Educate Students For Careers in Emerging Industries
Job training and education are important. and the market is constantly shifting to meet the demands of developing technology. As new industries emerge and old ones adapt, it’s more important than ever to ensure that there is an educationally sound, skilled workforce. Workforce development is a topic that is constantly discussed as a pathway to success in these areas but what happens when those jobs don’t even exist yet but will be incredibly critical?
Education and training can be crucial, and experts are key. And now, a grant awarded from Lilly Endowment will help Purdue University students to compete.
Can Students Be Trained For Careers That Don’t Exist Yet?
Firstly, let me tell you just a little bit about why Lilly Endowment that provided this grant award.
Lilly Endowment is a private philanthropic foundation, based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The foundation was started by J.K. Lilly, Sr. and his sons – Eli and J.K. Jr, and is focused on supporting causes in the areas of community development, education, and faith.
And now, this foundation has awarded a 5 million grant to Purdue University to create “Innovation College.” Innovation College is set to become a virtual hub for developing and spreading innovative and new educational practices that will be used all throughout Purdue’s many colleges. That includes Purdue’s Colleges of Engineering, Pharmacy, Education, Agriculture, and so many others.
Here’s what so cool about this education-based initiative:
Educators will be encouraged to move outside traditional fields of study and to create transdisciplinary courses, and learning programs.
Instructors will also be given increased support to experiment with innovative teaching methods and encouragement to propose and implement new ideas.
How Innovation College Came To Be:
Innovation College as an idea is part of Charting the Future for Indiana’s Colleges and Universities, a $108.2 million initiative. Which is a larger commitment by Lily Endowment aimed at helping Indiana Universities to prepare for the future.
Here’s what’s gone on so far:
$6.2 million in planning grants in phase I, and 62 million in implementation grants under phase II. Phase III grants will be announced in 2021. All of these grants will be awarded to help these educational institutions to fulfill their academic missions and transform the impact of higher education in Indiana.
Here’s what Jay Akridge, Purdue’s provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity, had to say about Innovation College’s educational impact:
For us, there’s no better way to look toward the future than to cultivate an innovation mindset today,” he said. “We don’t know what higher education will look like in a decade, but if we have a culture of innovation in place here that’s driving new, high-impact ideas, we’ll lead that future.”
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