“Education is going to be more important than it’s ever been before,” he said. Summers said a successful education would involve more than just teaching a selection of facts and theories.

“What I hope you will learn in your college years is this: an active and enlightened curiosity and a belief that by thinking systematically, the world can better be understood,” Summers told the assembled students, many of whom had not yet begun their undergraduate years. “And when it is better understood, it can be made better.”

Education, he emphasized, requires responsibility. He told the student that they should ultimately be concerned not with “how smart” they were, but instead “how wise.”

Strong ethical judgement—which cannot be garnered only from books—will be essential for the rising generation to ensure that technological developments are used for beneficial, rather than harmful, principles, he told the young scholars.

During a question-and-answer session following Summers’ discussion, students asked questions requesting his thoughts on topics from grade inflation to Harvard’s international openness.

Most students said they were pleased at the chance to hear from the internationally recognized leader.

“It was very easy to follow—even for an international student,” joked Samito Kawano, who is enrolled in IEL’s English for the MBA program.

Queen said he thought Summers’ address—with its integration of educational, economic and international themes—reflected the summer program’s goals.

“It fits very well with our own mission to attract highly qualified international students to Harvard,” he said.

—Staff writer Nathan J. Heller can be reached at heller@fas.harvard.edu.