Mid-term Faculty Retreat

Organised by the the Vice Presidency for Academic Affairs, the event was addressed by Professor Eric Mazur, Harvard University, globally renowned for his work in developing new teaching methods in university science education. “Education is not just information transfer”, he said, “it is really, at a minimum, a two-step process. One is information transfer. I think we all agree that if there is no information transferred there is no education. But it is not enough. You need to make sense of that information. You need to connect it to your own models that you’ve developed. You need to construct models that allow you to apply what you have learned into a new context… This second step is not something that can be done for the learner. It has to be done by the learner. You have to learn by doing, not by listening. Learning is not a spectator sport”.

You have to learn by doing, not by listening. Learning is not a spectator sport

The centrepiece of the event was an opportunity for those who gathered to provide their inputs on projected future directions of education at EPFL. In discussion groups, EPFL teachers responded both to the issues raised at the faculty retreat discussions on ‘the Future of EPFL Education’and to the way s’EPanouir – FLourish project responds to those issues. The goal of the s’EPanouir-FLourish project is to facilitate a process for the EPFL community to reimagine education at EPFL in a changing world. The project envisages the revisions of Bachelor study plans to ensure we can provide an education which enables students to draw on a deep understanding of basic sciences to work with others to solve complex scientific and engineering problems.

Future community events will be held regularly by the s’EPanouir-FLourish initiative to ensure teachers and students have ongoing opportunities to contribute ideas and give feedback on proposals as they emerge.