Harvard’s hand in shaping education
HONG KONG — On the first day of a weeklong visit to Asia, Harvard President Drew Faust on Monday called knowledge “the most important currency of the 21st century,” highlighting faculty research, student engagement, and online learning as central to Harvard’s global strategy. Faust met with alumni and business leaders in Hong Kong to discuss Harvard’s online learning initiative, HarvardX, and the edX platform developed in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “This is a moment of transformation for education, and we want to be able to lead in a way that allows us to enhance our outreach to the world, even as it helps us understand new ways to teach our students on campus,” said Faust. Of more than 700,000 enrollments through edX, about 60 percent come from outside the United States. “The hunger for knowledge is so strong around the world,” said Faust. “I feel [HarvardX] is a magnificent opportunity, but...