Why We Must (Dare to) Change Higher Education Now

“Fit for the Future” was the name of a career event I spoke at last week.

I gave a keynote together with one of my colleagues. “Hack Your Future” was the title of our presentation.

The lecture hall was packed. The group was diverse, with different backgrounds and nationalities. Most of the participants were students. And they all had one thing in common. They were eager to learn more about hacking their future. Expectations were high, varying from finding a job to how to prepare for a job interview.

The good vibe brought out the best in everyone. The crowd. Organizers. Moderator. And us (the keynote presenters).

We explained what it is to be digitally-savvy in today’s labor market — why it is crucial to understand the impact of new technologies on the economy and society. We are living in one of the most exciting times in human history, with different technologies accelerating and amplifying each other. New opportunities are emerging every day.

And yes, there are challenges that we should never ignore or dismiss. Traditional jobs are disappearing or, at least, changing significantly. Nothing will stay the same.

And we didn’t stop there. We even went so far as to discuss space travel. We need to be more serious about exploring new frontiers. Wherever they may be.

Of course, we couldn’t disregard the digital competencies: applied knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Un-learning, re-skilling, and up-skilling should be high on everybody’s list of things to do.

The students were taking pictures of the slides. They were clapping and cheering (OK, perhaps I am getting a bit carried away here). But, seriously, we were “working” the crowd and convinced everyone.

The future really is now! Just look around and seize the opportunities.

After the presentation, students were inspired. They had tons of questions. They got it.

But then one student came over to me. She loved our performance and fully agreed with what we were saying and the message of our talk.

As a believer in a more decentralized future world, I told her that she must work on her visibility and online presence. She should not wait until after graduation. She should not only consume but actively create online content. And I am not talking about vacation or party pictures. It is essential to join serious conversations, to get your story out there.

Investing time in actively co-creating the future is the new normal. For everyone.

I told her about how I introduced 21st-century assignments, gamification of lectures, and apprentice-style teaching into my class and teaching. I try to stimulate out-of-the-box thinking. Critical and creative thinking will be graded at a premium. Repeating “old truths” will no longer cut it.

And then she asked a question that completely took me off guard.

It was a big anticlimax!

She just stood there, holding a massive mirror in front of me. She was right, of course. Offering students a “proper,” traditional education has become an obligation. Teaching is overly regulated, monitored, and supervised. “Red tape” and administrative tasks are taking more and more time (much more than the actual education). There is hardly any space for innovation anymore.

The student continued.

This statement scared me even more. For her, “higher education” is just a mandatory hurdle for obtaining a degree. Something to be endured. A necessary step on the way to a brighter future.

When I asked her whether she was happy with the status quo, her response was obvious. 

She wished more time was spent on digital knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

But she didn’t seem to expect or demand that we (the universities and other schools) change. She could see that most of what she was receiving is irrelevant to her life and future, but she put up with it, because she had to. Or, at least, she thought she had to.

It’s ironic. We are spending (or should I say wasting) hours and hours on perfecting an old system that doesn’t work anymore. At least, it isn’t relevant anymore.

But it is also sad. Really sad. We try to capture teaching and education in rules and regulations. Maybe, this is a way to guarantee high-quality education. It probably does standardize education, and that is something important.

But at the same time, we are widening the gap between what is offered in education and what is needed in society and by young people looking to head out into the world and create their own futures.

The result? Confusion, frustration, and a huge misunderstanding.

The “Fit for the Future” event was a real eye-opener.

It was great to see so many students interested in the digital economy. But I wish I had seen more teachers and other colleagues in the room.

We are moving too slow when it comes to education.

We must start realizing that teaching isn’t a one-way street anymore. It isn’t about transferring a settled body of knowledge from teacher to student. Google can do that far better than we (educators) can. Rather, the digital revolution is about creating an open and inclusive dialogue in the classroom. It is about acquiring and honing the softer skills to co-create and build something. The things that Google and the machines of the future cannot do.

This means that both teachers, students, and administrators should open their eyes. The “supply side” (the schools) must have a much more open mind and listen to — and learn from — the digital nomads.

The “demand side” (the Millennial students), on the other hand, shouldn’t be satisfied too easily. Hidden frustration isn’t the way to go. They should not perpetuate the status quo by shrugging their shoulders and enduring the educational experience as an obligatory — but, ultimately, unproductive steppingstone on the way to a more exciting future.

Apart from anything else, as consumers, they should speak out more if they feel that they are not getting their money’s worth. Perhaps then, things might improve for everyone.

I have written before about how stakeholder engagement is a feature of the open ecosystems that define the future of all organizations. Universities need to engage more with their consumers — the students — and to think a lot more about how we can offer them something meaningful to their lives.

The digitization of everything isn’t a threat. It offers a chance to change. The opportunities in the area of education are countless. Emerging technologies and social media can make teaching and learning fun again.

It is time to realize that the classroom is the best place to experiment and for the old to meet the new.

We must better study and understand the digital economy. It isn’t simple to predict the future, but certain developments are apparent. For instance, the new world is flatter and more decentralized, ownership and privacy are changing. The new world will be more inclusive.

When we have a better understanding of what’s happening, we can better focus on what is needed in the new world. Knowledge, skills, and attitudes will have more meaning and better definition.

Finally, when we have a better idea of what is needed, we also gain a better understanding of the “how.”

How must we train the students? How can we prepare them for the uncertain, but exciting things to come?

Maybe then, we can satisfy the student who came to talk to me at my event last week. Maybe then, we can prepare students who are “fit for the future,” rather than leave it to them to figure it out for themselves.

We should stop wasting time and act now.