tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208433616422614307.post686536320664569798..comments2023-10-17T00:48:19.556-07:00Comments on Tworque: Singularity University's Graduate Student Program: FAQsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208433616422614307.post-22566353382498433922012-11-09T14:47:08.930-08:002012-11-09T14:47:08.930-08:00Great comments and insights - I do hope these get ...Great comments and insights - I do hope these get implemented to improve this nascent organization with so much potential, especially the chest-beating comments in particular! Lol--a point only minorities and women in particular would even notice! The others will wonder what are you talking about!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208433616422614307.post-50745909271202594382012-10-23T12:51:58.529-07:002012-10-23T12:51:58.529-07:00@Yara, I thought your comments were spot-on, actua...@Yara, I thought your comments were spot-on, actually. Our class' biggest feedback this year was the lack of time/space devoted to peer-to-peer learning, which were for me the highlights. I would also agree that the side projects were the ones that did the best. In cases where those turned into team projects, there was much greater success...but this was rare for a few reasons: there was no time for a lot of unstructured discussion, and it was hard finding the right students to collaborate with (again a time issue).<br /><br />Even though I am an American and a Californian, I also had significant culture shock at SU. The alpha-male/female mentality was overwhelming and very off-putting. Several of my classmates felt the same way. And this was MOST obvious during the team projects stage...when many teams broke up constantly and reformed. I know several people who got very stressed during that time. In general, the program did a poor job of managing the alpha personalities...who were very disruptive in class and averse to group collaboration.<br /><br />Food was also a significant problem for those with dietary restrictions, particularly anyone who ate kosher, halal, vegetarian or vegan food. Hopefully they will be a bit more mindful as they start to let in more international students from Asia, the Middle East and Africa.<br /><br />And I would agree that they did a poor job of taking care of their international students. I do think they have tried in some ways to mitigate that: they now have a mandatory sexual harassment and cultural training session, and they have culture nights. I also think that "Launch Week" helped address questions of immigration and such. But beyond that, in the everyday culture of the program, there is a lack of cultural sensitivity: in terms of food (see previous paragraph) and drink (heavy emphasis on drinking alcohol), a curriculum that centers almost entirely on the history and developments within Europe and North America, and a lack of acceptance of religious or cultural philosophies that weren't western.pragzzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17253181117038860656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208433616422614307.post-56241956986626682602012-10-23T12:24:14.971-07:002012-10-23T12:24:14.971-07:00@Luke, thanks for your comments. I would agree wit...@Luke, thanks for your comments. I would agree with you on everything you've written...pragzzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17253181117038860656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208433616422614307.post-3113808053635339882012-10-23T11:31:53.250-07:002012-10-23T11:31:53.250-07:00I also wanted to share a part of my personal exper...I also wanted to share a part of my personal experience as a comment on your post, but since it is too long to post here I made this link: http://bit.ly/RT7YF4Yara Shabannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208433616422614307.post-59323932322552893432012-10-19T23:17:50.048-07:002012-10-19T23:17:50.048-07:00My own short summary (as an SU GSP alum), in case ...My own short summary (as an SU GSP alum), in case it is helpful to somebody: SU has very little to do with Ray Kurzweil's ideas or the "coming technological singularity" per se, and much more to do with (1) the interdisciplinary study of technologies that progress at exponential rates, (2) scaling those technologies to an exponentially wide scale in order to solve global grand challenges, (3) developing your knowledge and skills as an entrepreneur, and (most importantly, possibly) (4) building your network of connections with movers and shakers / game-changers in many different fields. By the end of SU you won't be an expert in every one of the ten or so fields covered, but you will be conversant in a lot more of them, and able to work collaboratively with people who are experts in other fields out of the ten than the ones you are already an expert in. Highly recommended, and probably life-changing if you give it 110%. (N.B.: You won't sleep much for about 10 weeks, and you might come out of SU running a startup unexpectedly.)Luke Hutchisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07119186060702104432noreply@blogger.com