Courage, expertise and the power of thinking like a fox

By Dr. Justin Bull, Academic Director of the MEL and MHLP

There’s a fragment from a Greek poem that states “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.” Many students are like the hedgehog when they arrive on the UBC Vancouver to pursue the Master of Engineering Leadership (MEL) or Master of Health Leadership and Policy (MHLP). They’ve built strong technical skills and are working in well-defined environments where they are valued for their expertise. What they’ve recognized is that outside of those familiar environments, they might need a new set of skills to adapt, thrive and excel.

That’s where the fox comes in. The fox is one of nature’s great generalists, able to thrive in a wide variety of ecosystems. They adapt and integrate. And when you look at the challenges facing our world, it’s clear that foxes are required.

Our starkest problems are intersectional. Climate change is not just an engineering problem, a built environment challenge or a public health issue. It is all of these at once. Or consider artificial intelligence (AI). Like climate, the responsible development and integration of AI requires people who can think across disciplines and synthesize diverse perspectives.

We still need hedgehogs – people with deep technical grounding. But we also need hedgehogs who want to work across disciplinary lines, and become a bit more fox-like themselves.

This is why the MEL and MHLP focus on helping you think more like a fox. We have students work together across unexpected disciplinary lines. There’s a magic that happens when you partner an ICU nurse with an oil and gas engineer – people from totally different backgrounds and training, thinking about common problems from different perspectives. What emerges is powerful: experiencing first hand how the hard work of collaboration can generate new insights about risk and resilience.

What's unique about the MEL and MHLP ecosystem is the breadth of disciplines involved and their integration into a business curriculum. As far as we can tell, there are very few programs that bring together an engineering school and a business school. And we do not know of any programs that involve schools of engineering, planning, architecture, nursing and business.

More than 10 years in, we know this model works. Students collaborate on case studies and projects with peers from entirely different professional backgrounds. It’s not always easy. But it is productive, helping learners build their skills as leaders who can navigate disciplinary boundaries, manage change and make decisions in complex situations. We see our graduates confidently stepping into new roles – people with backgrounds in the built environment working for health authorities, and clinicians leading technology transformation initiatives.

There is a strong values alignment among our students and alumni. They have a deep sense of responsibility and concern for the public good. Their work makes our world better – through dependable infrastructure, healthy and well-functioning cities, reliable health care environments and more. They understand that profits are not an end in themselves but are an enabler that builds better communities, technical innovations and health-care outcomes. They are using their skills and talents to create something better than the status quo.

If this resonates with you, the MEL or MHLP could be your next step.

Choosing to take a bet on yourself can pay dividends for both you and the communities you serve. There is no better place to take that leap than UBC. Vancouver is a welcoming and safe city that is home to people from around the world. And Canada remains steadfast in its commitments to being a good partner and ally.

In the end, the choice to pursue the MEL or MHLP is a choice to evolve and grow – to maintain the niche strengths of the hedgehog while embracing the agility and resilience of the fox. Our world needs professionals who can draw on what they already do well while moving confidently into new unfamiliar terrain. Come and join us – and set yourself up for a future where you deep expertise continues to matter – and where your new skills, perspectives and network expand what you are capable of achieving.