Higher Education’s New Value Proposition: Knowledge You Can Put to Work

Eric Baumgartner, President - Milwaukee School of Engineering

Part 2

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Higher education faces a difficult equation: fewer traditional students, intensifying competition, and rising questions about the value of a four-year degree, even as industry struggles to find technical talent. For Dr. Eric Baumgartner, the challenge is to preserve what works while building an institution capable of responding to technologies and workforce needs that are still taking shape.

In Part 2 of this conversation, Baumgartner, president of the Milwaukee School of Engineering, explains how MSOE is approaching that responsibility with an applied, industry-driven strategy. The goal is not to treat AI as a standalone specialty, but to combine it with the engineering, nursing, business and construction knowledge required to solve real problems.

The conversation also examines what colleges provide when information itself has become a commodity. Baumgartner argues that subject-matter expertise is not enough without strong teaching practices, hands-on application and learning environments that require students to think, collaborate and test ideas.

Listen to Learn:

  • Why higher education must rethink its value proposition
  • How MSOE is integrating AI into technical disciplines
  • Why applying knowledge matters as much as acquiring it
  • Why access to information is changing the value of subject-matter expertise
  • What separates strong teaching from simply delivering information in a classroom

Watch the Full Episode on YouTube

3 Big Takeaways

1. The value of higher education increasingly depends on what students can do with what they know. Access to information alone is no longer enough to distinguish a college education. At MSOE, that means creating learning experiences where students apply what they know through hands-on and work-based learning.
2. AI becomes more valuable when it is paired with domain expertise. Rather than separating AI from the rest of the curriculum, MSOE is integrating it with fields such as engineering, nursing, business and construction. The technology becomes a tool students can apply within a discipline, while technical knowledge gives them the context to determine when and how to use it.
3. Subject-matter expertise alone does not make someone an effective teacher. As access to information becomes easier, the value of an educator increasingly comes from how that knowledge is taught and applied. For Eric Baumgartner, that meant creating an environment where students are challenged to think, collaborate and test ideas rather than simply receive information.

 Resources in this Episode:

Other resources mentioned:

Connect with our guest online:

Dr. Eric Baumgartner - LinkedIn  |  LinkedIn  |  Facebook  |  Vimeo |  Instagram |  X  |  YouTube

 

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