{"541551":{"#nid":"541551","#data":{"type":"news","title":"The Future of Higher Education and Preparing the Workforce of Tomorrow","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETom Noonan, Georgia Tech alum and entrepreneur, once stated that the next 25 years will see a projected five- to 10-fold increase in advancements in knowledge.\u0026nbsp;He surmised that if that\u2019s true, then we would look to our children and grandchildren as the 1890s look to us today \u2014 no cars, no airplanes, no computers, no modern communications, no highway system, no TV, no water purification, no antibiotics \u2026 primitive indeed.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe statement captures the essence of modern society and certainly of higher education: rapid change.\u0026nbsp;Our mission, our pedagogy, and our business models have to change not only to adapt, but to stay \u201cahead of the wave.\u201d\u0026nbsp;That \u201cwave,\u201d or future, will still have economic growth that is driven by science and technology, but the individuals who make up the workforce of the future will look very different from the generations that preceded them.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe workforce of that economy will consist of individuals born to a completely digital world where communications are instantaneous. For them, Facebook will be history, but social networking will increasingly be part of every aspect of their lives. They will change jobs five to 10 times in their careers. And, those careers will be much longer since their healthy lifespan will considerably exceed the expected lifespans of today.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHuman-machine roles will become increasingly blurred in their jobs and daily routines. They will seek challenges. They will need constant stimulation, and if they do not get it, they will create it. They will work in increasingly interdisciplinary teams because the challenges they will face will not depend on any single body of knowledge. They will see themselves as \u201cdoers.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhatever knowledge they acquire in the \u201cschooling\u201d years will be obsolete by the time they are ready to change jobs for the first time. They will feel an obligation to make the world a better place. The best ones will be the leaders \u2014 defined as those with integrity and honesty who can identify and create opportunities for many and can see the future in their work or that of others. They will empower all to reach that future. Those leaders will be women and present-day underrepresented individuals \u2014 a result of simple demographics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShould the above scenario hold true, and I believe it will, then higher education needs to consider some changes. Poets and scientists may need a common language to understand this knowledge-rich society. Problem-based learning may be the dominant pedagogic tool, particularly in the early years. Disciplinary boundaries will be blurred. Learning will never stop, and universities will need to provide access to new ideas to all, particularly their alums \u2014 creating a \u201conce a student, always a student\u201d approach.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe latter implies that universities will need to meet the educational needs of a different set of learners \u2014 a sophisticated, mature, older individual who is probably working full time and not on campus. In this new educational model, credentialing would need to change \u2014 credit hours, distinct courses, and grades may not mean that much beyond the early periods of learning. All students will need to understand leadership and be given the opportunity to develop those skills. They should experience the addictive nature of creating value and effecting social change with their ideas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI believe Georgia Tech is in a good position to \u201cdefine the 21st\u0026nbsp;century technological research university.\u201d We are certainly in the sweet spot that the future will be built upon, and we are already doing or experimenting with some of the required changes. I have written before about the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.provost.gatech.edu\/commission-creating-next-education\u0022\u003ECommission on Creating the Next in Education\u003C\/a\u003E. I am confident that commission will move us closer to that bright future.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E- Rafael L. Bras\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn the future, higher education disciplinary boundaries will be blurred. Learning will never stop and universities will need to provide access to new ideas to all, particularly their alums \u2013 creating a \u201conce a student, always a student\u201d approach.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The future of higher education will demand that our mission, our pedagogy and our business models have to change not only to adapt, but to stay \u201cahead of the wave.\u201d"}],"uid":"27165","created_gmt":"2016-06-02 09:30:38","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:49","author":"Susie Ivy","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-06-02T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-06-02T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"457331":{"id":"457331","type":"image","title":"Education Innovation","body":null,"created":"1449256347","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:12:27","changed":"1475895202","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:22","alt":"Education Innovation","file":{"fid":"203509","name":"educational_4-part_vector_image_small.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/educational_4-part_vector_image_small_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/educational_4-part_vector_image_small_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":510454,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/educational_4-part_vector_image_small_0.jpg?itok=XNpqhD69"}}},"media_ids":["457331"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.provost.gatech.edu\/commission-creating-next-education","title":"Commission on Creating the Next in Education"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.provost.gatech.edu\/educational-innovation-ecosystem","title":"Educational Innovation Eccosystem"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.provost.gatech.edu\/commission-creating-next-education-speaker-series","title":"Education Commission Speaker Series"}],"groups":[{"id":"131901","name":"Provost"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"1738","name":"blog"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:susie.ivy@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESusie Ivy\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-3782\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["susie.ivy@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}