Future Work and Learning

Realizing the Digital Enterprise

Technological advances like artificial intelligence, automation, and digitalization are changing the work landscape and displacing workers at all levels. Organizations are critically suffering from the lack of employees who possess competencies needed to excel in a rapidly changing workplace while increasing numbers of unemployed or underemployed individuals cannot adequately support themselves. Neither decision-makers nor researchers fully understand the interconnected factors or solutions that will enable society to successfully take advantage of these technological advances. Therefore, we will scientifically study the intersection between work, learning, and technology to enable an inclusive and cutting-edge workplace of the future through participation, engagement and lifelong learning.

Projects   Faculty   Faculty Mentored Student Research

Senior Research Fellows   RIA Annual Report

Current Projects

Undergraduate and graduate students in Purdue University’s Polytechnic Institute recently presented posters summarizing their 2021-2022 research projects at Stewart Center.

Undergraduate and graduate students in Purdue University’s Polytechnic Institute presented posters summarizing their 2021-2022 research projects. Student research projects affiliated with the Polytechnic’s Future Work and Learning research impact area are summarized here.

Alejandra Magana (standing), collaborating with graduate research assistants.

Alejandra J. Magana, the W.C. Furnas Professor in Enterprise Excellence, and a multidisciplinary team of researchers evaluated the effectiveness of multiple teaching strategies used during the pandemic.

New Approaches to Improving Graphic Design Education

The creative and ill-structured nature of graphic design tasks creates difficulty in terms of assessment validity and reliability. Further, best practices in teaching and assessment are hampered by issues around scalability and efficiency. Finally, increasingly validated indications that good design(s) may be a function of a group consensus rather than the opinions of a few extensively trained individuals, have all led to an increased emphasis on researching new approaches to improving graphic design education.

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Involved Faculty Expertise

  • Computational Thinking & Cyberlearning
  • STEM Education Research
  • Design
  • User Experience
  • Organization and Leadership
  • Workforce Development

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Reference Documents

Faculty Fellows

Asunda Paul Asunda
associate professor of technology leadership and innovation

Debs Luciana de Cresce El Debs
assistant professor of construction management technology

“It is critical to study future work and learning and their implications so that we can rigorously explore potential directions and identify effective practices to harness our human potential and contribute to our nation's competitiveness.”

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