What a job! Professor of Lego

At Escape we know a lot about different jobs. However every now and then we find out
about a job that makes us stop in our tracks.

Whether it’s something that’s just a little more unusual, a once in a lifetime dream job or a job we never knew existed, we thought we’d share some of the more fascinating, unusual or down right bizarre roles we hear about.

This month: Professor of Lego

In October 2015, Cambridge University appointed what for many would be their dream job: Professor of Lego!

The role within the Faculty of Education was advertised following a £4m donation from the Lego Foundation, an organisation which aims to “make children’s lives better – and communities stronger – by making sure the fundamental value of play is understood, embraced and acted upon”.

The professor, or director of the Research Centre of Play in Education, Development and Learning, (which I’m sure you’ll agree is not as much fun to say) will focus the centre’s work in developing research concerned with “the role of play and playfulness in young children’s learning and development”.

In their launch document, the centre outlines that skills such as problem-solving, interpersonal abilities and emotional resistance have all been linked to playful learning, and projects funded by the Lego Foundation within the University have already shown innovative ways to teach writing in primary education through play.

So, whilst the job itself might not be all fun and games, and does have a serious purpose, it seems those little multi-coloured bricks can build more than we might have thought!

My new LEGO business card 🙂 http://t.co/Fz9UdNs2
—
Lars Silberbauer (@larssilberbauer) January 07, 2013

PS: No word on whether the professor will have one of Lego’s unique business cards; Lars Silberbauer, Global Director of Social Media & Search at LEGO, certainly loves his!

Know a job we should talk about?