Urban development is occurring today at a scope and scale that has never been seen before. Major sustainability issues exist regarding water, sewer, housing stock, transportation, energy supply and consumption, etc. Moreover, the information age is upon us. The urban infrastructure must be prepared for a density of information exchange that is unprecedented in history. In addition, due to the pervasiveness of mass media, societal expectations for development standards are very high.

Our goal is to create an educational program that will produce fresh new professionals, equipped to lead world development in the new millenium. The program will involve advanced education for mature students, using team-based case studies as its centerpiece. It will focus on world-class design practice and represent a partnership with both private developers and governmental agencies. Its hallmark will be graduates who 1) have a flair for imagination and creativity, 2) can be responsive to local societal needs, 3) possess distinctive, practical cross-disciplinary skills, and 4) understand how to achieve seamless integration of information technology into the development process.

In a global partnership, three bases of operation will be created. At Rensselaer will be the activities related to new tool development, and research. At Tongji University in Shanghai will be educational activities, especially classes and studios. Shanghai will also be the site of some of the case study teams as they work with developers and state agencies on development problems. The third site of activities will be in Guangzhou. Under the watchful tutelage of developers from throughout the Pearl River delta, case study teams will focus on development projects currently under contract for design and construction.

The program will have four main hallmarks:

• Team-based, year-long case studies emphasizing
  • Real world problem solving
  • Work with developers and governmental agencies
  • Practical experience in using skills
  • Mentoring by practitioners and professors
• Societal immersion
  • Sensitivity to social context
  • Cultural and language skill enhancement
• Course and studio work
  • Existing skill enhancement
  • New skill acquisition
• Knowledge exchange through forum

The heart of the program will be the year-long, team-based case studies. They will reinforce the application of tools and techniques learned through the formal coursework, provide a practice-focused experience in which the students hone their skills, and provide a cross-disciplinary teamwork experience. The case studies will be structured to motivate intellectual growth, geared toward training the world's future leaders in development work, and be the main mechanism by which the new knowledge base grows.

The practice-based experience will be supplemented by classes and studio work. State-of-the-art visualization and simulation will be stressed, as will program-wide information sharing among the participants on a regular basis.

Another hallmark will be flexibility in participation. People will be given opportunities for becoming involved in formal degree programs, certificate programs, or other engagement arrangements.

Activity blocks will be focused around the typical academic format of fall, spring, and summer semesters. Plans of study, from short engagements through certificates and graduate degree programs, organized around these activity blocks. Always, there will be an intertwining of professors and practitioners in the educational activities, and opportunities will be provided for multi-university participation.

It is anticipated that students who are part of a pilot implementation will begin their plans of study in the Fall, 1999. The first complete offering should commence in Fall, 2000.