New Executive Director Appointed for the Center for Innovation and Professional Studies at Felician University!

Jennifer Fischer brings to Felician more than three decades of corporate experience, including global executive roles with a Big 4 Management Consulting firm and Fortune 50 companies.

She headed complex organizations in IT, strategy and transformation, and risk, with oversight across 700 offices worldwide, earning more than $29 billion annually. Jennifer served on the Boards of Directors for multiple professional associations, leading their certification programs and doubling credential revenue growth. She is one of only ten experts chosen worldwide to develop the first industry certification program for Ethical AI & Data Science and is a frequent speaker on this topic. She has taught in accredited higher education and corporate university programs—across the U.S. and abroad.

Jennifer Fischer

The Center no longer resides within the School of Business and Information Sciences. It is an independent and centralized resource which will work collaboratively with the University’s four Schools to develop and deliver innovation-based learning specific to their disciplines.

Exec. Dir. Fischer says whether preparing traditional or attracting adult students, readiness for the future of work is the name of the game. She says this requires a multidisciplinary learning approach such as is offered at The Center for Innovation & Professional Studies. “We think about how intelligent automation will impact and transform industries and business models. No one is immune—some jobs will be lost, others created, and all changed.” That means every job and industry will be reshaped by data, intelligent automation, and the increased use of robotics. And every student will need future skills.

Exec. Dir. Fischer says that one of her goals for the Center is to provide programs which enable students to stand out, and better differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive labor market. Knowing how to write code is, of course, an important skill for students to learn, but Exec. Dir. Fischer says it is just as important to teach students how to do so responsibly and ethically. “Deloitte* found that 73% of global executives say AI is important to their business success. Yet it also found that 56% are slowing their adoption because of ethical risks and are worried about a backlash by the public about AI. Gaps such as this present us with a clear opportunity to design learning experiences for differentiation and employability.” (*Deloitte’s 2020 State of Enterprise AI survey)

This is especially relevant now—philosophically, politically, and socially. “Digital citizenship is another area of focus for the Center,” says Exec. Dir. Fischer, adding, “when we talk about digital rights and liberties, civic discourse, the types of behavior that we find acceptable in a digital environment, our freedoms, and how important they are in physical as well as a virtual worlds and online—digital citizenship encompasses all of those things.”

Such issues are particularly important in terms of programming for healthcare innovation and AI-augmented criminal justice. “Some of the controversial issues regarding contact tracing and data privacy for example, or algorithmic bias—these are the types of things that from ethical, legal and economic perspectives, as well as a human perspective, that we want to illuminate and explore.”

The Center will expand the workforce-ready certificates, industry certifications and accredited Continuing Education solutions that Felician offers, making sure they align to industry expectations. Exec. Dir. Fischer says, “We are engaging C-level leaders across industries to inform our programs and better position our learners with skills based on real-world, employer trends.”

The Center just launched its Micro-Learning platform, an online marketplace for professional development and lifelong learning. “Our micro-courses are fully online, self-paced and optimized for busy professionals.” The Center invites professionals who are recognized leaders in their fields to become micro-course instructors. Exec. Dir. Fischer says, “Empowering micro-course participants with access to world-class leaders is another differentiator for Felician and for the value we provide to our students.”

Exec. Dir. Fischer has responsibility for developing value-driven University partnerships with industry, government, academia, and nonprofit sectors, which advance the Center’s portfolio of offerings. Exec. Dir. Fischer says, “We partnered with DevOps Institute to introduce an industry certification exam, professional training and stackable credentials for degree students to Felician.” The Center incorporates workplace-relevant curricula to help students become more invested in their academic careers, because programs will align directly with their job pathways—thus improving student retention and persistence.

Additionally, Exec. Dir. Fischer says, “We are thrilled to be engaged in a research project with Osler Health, and supported by generous funding from Horizon BCBSNJ. We have more potential partnerships in the works, including a cyber training/upskilling program, which we are very excited about.”

In the time of COVID-19, collaborations around the shared space of the Lenke Family Innovation Lab, will continue in a virtual format. The Center will continue to offer programs which help students gain entrepreneurial mindsets, solve complex problems, and launch new ventures. It will expand its focus to advance social entrepreneurship, or solutions which drive collective social impact. Exec. Dir. Fischer says, “We look at entrepreneurship through the lens of Franciscan Values—being able to have that social impact and make a difference.”