John Seely Brown Talks Tech With GU President

Georgetown welcomed author, scientist and teacher John Seely Brown to campus on Oct. 20 to deliver the annual Fall Faculty Convocation address on “Aims of Education” in light of technology’s influence on culture.

Brown -- widely known for his insights on teaching and innovation -- is the independent co-chair of the Deloitte Center for the Edge, which helps senior executives make sense of and profit from emerging opportunities on the edge of business and technology.

He is also an advisor to the provost and a visiting scholar at the University of Southern California. His most recent book -- The Power of Pull: How Smart Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion (Basic Books, 2010) -- is a collaboration with John Hagel III and Lang Davison that explores the paradigm shift in business brought about by innovations in communication technology.

During the Convocation, Brown talked about how the ongoing “big shift” in technology will have a profound impact on approaches to teaching, learning and the role of universities.

Prior to Brown’s remarks, he sat down with Georgetown President John J. DeGioia to talk more about the ways in which universities such as Georgetown can respond to the new challenges of educating in a technology-driven global society.