The new reality: Thinkers or Makers? - Invited Commentary on the paper Architects or builders; scaffolding or duck tape?

The goal of academic undergraduate programs is to disseminate disciplinary ‘know-how’ and teach students to engage in professional practice once they have completed their studies. However, technological and scientific progress contribute continuously to a significant increase of knowledge. In consequence, theoretical information keeps augmenting, while time for assimilation and application exercises diminishes. The duration of an undergraduate program remained the same, while class sizes have increased. To update, to equip and to run programs require resources that many schools are lacking. This indeed leads us to the question: How to incorporate new content in the already crammed curricula, and how to assure the assimilation of that knowledge?