Searching for Future STEM Leaders to Address the World's Greatest Challenges

On Episode 7 of "Practical History" I chat with Nick Cohen of the philanthropic organization Schmidt Futures. Nick's graduate training in history has helped him run the company's programs designed to identify and support the world's top talent in science and tech, and to harness their superpowers for the public good. Nick shares how he has translated the insights from his MA thesis to design and evaluate the international programs he manages, why he sees science and culture as inseparable, and what he found most exciting—and surprising—about working on a team that helped the journalist Fareed Zakaria research his forthcoming book, The Age of Revolutions. We also talk about why history departments should go beyond acknowledging non-academic career pathways for their students and celebrate those pathways instead.
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On Episode 7 of "Practical History" I chat with Nick Cohen of the philanthropic organization Schmidt Futures. Nick's graduate training in history has helped him run the company's programs designed to identify and support the world's top talent in science and tech, and to harness their superpowers for the public good. Nick shares how he has translated the insights from his MA thesis to design and evaluate the international programs he manages, why he sees science and culture as inseparable, and what he found most exciting—and surprising—about working on a team that helped the journalist Fareed Zakaria research his forthcoming book, The Age of Revolutions. We also talk about why history departments should go beyond acknowledging non-academic career pathways for their students and celebrate those pathways instead.

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