Harvard professors share insights into the applied sciences including bioengineering, chemical biology, and materials science at the “Discovering Solutions: Fundamental to Applied Science” symposia on Saturday.

At a symposium on digital education, Robert A. Lue, a biology professor and director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, said that Harvard needs donors’ support to lead research on innovation in teaching and learning.

Lue moderated a panel composed of Peter K. Bol, a professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and vice-provost for advances in learning, Elisa New, an English professor, David J. Malan ’99, a computer science lecturer, and Doris Sommer, a professor of romance languages and literatures. The symposium drew an estimated 120 alumni, donors, and affiliates.

According to Bol, Harvard X’s goals include entering the fast-growing market of online education, sharing education with the rest of the world, and using online technology to improve teaching strategies.

“We have to recognize that online education is becoming a very, very large market,” Bol said, adding that Harvard, as a leading institution, needs to make its presence felt in this market space.

Bol also reported during the symposium that China X, the online version of his General Education course on Chinese history, will open this week.

Speaking about the impact of digital education beyond Harvard, Malan noted that about 150,000 people around the world are taking CS50x, the online version of the Harvard introductory computer science class.

Malan characterized as very “humbling and inspiring” the vast interest that students of all ages and from all backgrounds expressed in his online course.

“[Online education] has really made the world feel like a smaller place,” Malan said, referring to the interaction between online computer science students worldwide.

EdX has also made students’ learning experience “more deeply engaging,” said Bol, speaking about how the availability of class discussions online has helped students to actively delve into the class material and to speak up. Bol added that the structure and content of online classes are the result of ongoing research in new modes of learning and teaching.

COMMUNITY AND VALUES: RESIDENTIAL EDUCATION IN AN ONLINE WORLD

Before an audience of about 25 people, Economics professor Edward L. Glaeser moderated a symposium that examined the roles of both interpersonal interaction in an increasingly online world and the ongoing process of house renewal.

The panel included representatives from three different Harvard houses. Cabot House Masters Rakesh and Stephanie Khurana, Leverett House tutor Katie M. Derzon, and Radhika Jain ’14—a Quincy house resident and Crimson news comp director—all shared their experiences with the House system.

Speaking briefly before the panel, Brian D. Young '76, a member of the FAS Campaign’s Steering Committee, said the discussion focused on “the soul of Harvard,” arguing that the Houses are “much more than bricks and mortar.”

Glaeser told the audience that the Houses, and by extension the interactions that take place in them, are the true source of intellectual growth for students.

“The real learning at Harvard is not in the lecture hall, but outside, in dorm rooms, in dining halls, in the casual conversations that students have about ideas,” he said.