This open access publication presents a global panorama of institutional strategies, academic programs, scholarly insights as well as teaching and learning practices taking stock of the Future Skills Turn taking place in higher education. Future Skills have evolved to be one of the most important priorities for the development of higher education institutions globally. Students and graduates learn how to acquire Future Skills for their lives and careers and for shaping societies towards more sustainable futures. Institutions, teachers and policy makers gain insights into strategies to shape the Future Skills Turn in higher education and create the University of the Future.
What will universities look like, do, or become in order support the workforce for a sustainable future? This research provides some interest global perspectives on the skills and approaches evolving in higher education based on a paradigm shift known as "Future Skills Turn" . This is a shift in education that emphasizes the development of skills needed for the future workforce, driven by rapid technological advancements, globalization, and evolving societal needs. This approach focuses on cultivating skills such as critical thinking, creativity, digital literacy, emotional intelligence, and lifelong learning, rather than solely on traditional academic knowledge.
The impacts on higher education include curriculum transformation, technology integration, industry collaboration, and lifelong learning.
This shift not only prepares students for successful careers but also empowers them to make meaningful contributions to a sustainable and equitable world. As we consider the value of current approaches to higher education, this is an important set of perspectives to consider as leaders.
AI chatbots have recently fuelled debate regarding education practices in higher education institutions worldwide. Focusing on Generative AI and ChatGPT in particular, our study examines how AI chatbots impact university teachers’ assessment practices, exploring teachers’ perceptions about how ChatGPT performs in response to home examination prompts in undergraduate contexts. University teachers (n = 24) from four different departments in humanities and social sciences participated in Turing Test-inspired experiments, where they blindly assessed student and ChatGPT-written responses to home examination questions. Additionally, we conducted semi-structured interviews in focus groups with the same teachers examining their reflections about the quality of the texts they assessed. Regarding chatbot-generated texts, we found a passing rate range across the cohort (37.5 − 85.7%) and a chatbot-written suspicion range (14–23%). Regarding the student-written texts, we identified patterns of downgrading, suggesting that teachers were more critical when grading student-written texts. Drawing on post-phenomenology and mediation theory, we discuss AI chatbots as a potentially disruptive technology in higher education practices.
The looming recession climate is causing concerns over skyrocketing student debt. On top of a deeply unaffordable housing market, these factors call for universities to be more relevant in terms of preparing students for employability.
This is a break with the traditional mission of the universities. Economist George Fallis, professor emeritus at York University, notes that traditionally, universities aimed to “provide liberal education for undergraduates, to conduct research and to contribute to society including the economy and culture.”
In this study, we examine the impact of exchange programs’ timing on students’ academic performance, focusing on the moment in which students travel and the length of the period spent abroad. To provide causal evidence, we exploit unique data of more than 10,000 students from a well-known and internationalized Brazilian university from 2010 to 2020. By combing Propensity Score Matching with Difference in Differences techniques, we find that international mobility impacts groups of students differently. Students who travel closer to the end of their undergraduate courses benefit the most from the mobility experience (an increase of 0.06 points on final standardized grades), while negative effects (-0.05 points) are found for those who travel at the beginning of their university program. Our results also show that, while student mobility impacts positively and significantly students who participate in programs lasting from one semester to one year (0.08 points), negative effects are associated with shorter periods abroad (-0.1 points).
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused untold economic damage which will have a long-lasting impact on higher education and is changing what students around the world want from universities. Now is the time to reimagine the university as a model fit for the future.T
A Tunisian students’ union has roundly rejected a proposal by the government to move classes online and has called for a boycott of enrolment on online education platforms, raising questions about how feasible an option online education is in many African countries.
Competition for jobs among university graduates in Africa is expected to intensify in the near future, a factor that will force new graduates to accept jobs that are not aligned with their skills, education level or even areas of specialisation, according to a new report by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
From 2020, universities will receive a certain amount of government funding based on four performance measures: student drop-out rates; participation of Indigenous, lower socioeconomic status and regional and remote students; student satisfaction with the university experience; and employment .
The aim of this article is to explore the historical context of vocationalism in universities. It is based on an analysis of the history of the university from a vocational perspective. It looks for evidence of vocational engagement in the activities of universities over time, taking a long view from the birth of the Western University in the Middle Ages to the 1980s with the emergence of current issues of vocationalism in university education.
Two major universities are set to allow students to earn course credits which will go towards their final degree through massive open online courses (Moocs) for the very first time in the UK.
The move, announced by online learning platform FutureLearn, will see the Open University (OU) and the University of Leeds allow students the opportunity to study for part of a degree or MBA course before progressing further.
There is a growing trend among employers to hire individuals based on their skills and alternative credentials, which has led to an increased interest in obtaining micro-credentials by potential employees. The interest in micro-credentials is rapidly growing, and universities are taking notice by offering them independently or in collaboration with other providers. Some universities have released guidelines on how micro-credentials will be recognised and integrated into degree programmes. Some are even combining them to lead to a degree.
This study aims to develop an AI education policy for higher education by examining the perceptions and implications of text generative AI technologies. Data was collected from 457 students and 180 teachers and staff across various disciplines in Hong Kong universities, using both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Based on the findings, the study proposes an AI Ecological Education Policy Framework to address the multifaceted implications of AI integration in university teaching and learning. This framework is organized into three dimensions: Pedagogical, Governance, and Operational. The Pedagogical dimension concentrates on using AI to improve teaching and learning outcomes, while the Governance dimension tackles issues related to privacy, security, and accountability. The Operational dimension addresses matters concerning infrastructure and training. The framework fosters a nuanced understanding of the implications of AI integration in academic settings, ensuring that stakeholders are aware of their responsibilities and can take appropriate actions accordingly.
Throughout the world, more than 65 open universities provide open and equal access to education. Students do not require any formal academic qualifications or credentials in order to be admitted. The 10 largest open universities worldwide have a combined enrolment exceeding 16.5 million students, with the largest numbers in Asia followed by Africa and Europe.
The Indira Gandhi National Open University (India) has over 4 million registrations, the Open University of China has now grown to over 3.5 million registrations, and its Bangladesh counterpart just over 2 million. The oldest open university in the world is the University of South Africa (more commonly known as UNISA), which was founded in 1873 as an examining body and since 1946, offers correspondence courses.
Open universities currently use a range of pedagogical approaches and delivery modes ranging from print, to radio and television, online learning and blended learning or combinations of these delivery forms.
They have a common commitment to open access to quality learning and student success.
The Canadian Walls to Bridges (W2B) and the UK Learning Together programs both bring campus-enrolled and incarcerated students together to study semester-long courses in prison settings. Based upon similar foundations of transformative education and destigmatizing « others », both programs involve university-prison partnerships. This presentation will be a collaboration between alumni and instructors in both programs, exploring their differences, similarities, successes, and challenges.
A total of 70 African universities located in 11 countries have been ranked in at least one of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This represents a 40% increase in the number of universities included in the rankings compared to the second edition that featured only 50 African universities.
Socializing is a big part of the post-secondary experience. For now, that aspect of university life doesn't seem to be available—at least not in the usual ways.
The novel coronavirus pandemic and the response to it promises to be less of a turning point than the catalyst for a speeding up of a trend towards declining power in the West – and this will affect international higher education enrolment, especially in the United States.
The university has a strong science focus and faculties including law, business, and so on. In solving the big global issues, we need to think about doing something different moving forward, and expanding development circles will be important.
The Swedish government has changed the university law to ensure every doctoral candidate is made an employee of the university with a salary. This should strengthen the position of foreign PhD students, who make up more than half of the country’s 19,000 doctoral candidates.
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What will universities look like, do, or become in order support the workforce for a sustainable future? This research provides some interest global perspectives on the skills and approaches evolving in higher education based on a paradigm shift known as "Future Skills Turn" . This is a shift in education that emphasizes the development of skills needed for the future workforce, driven by rapid technological advancements, globalization, and evolving societal needs. This approach focuses on cultivating skills such as critical thinking, creativity, digital literacy, emotional intelligence, and lifelong learning, rather than solely on traditional academic knowledge.
The impacts on higher education include curriculum transformation, technology integration, industry collaboration, and lifelong learning.
This shift not only prepares students for successful careers but also empowers them to make meaningful contributions to a sustainable and equitable world. As we consider the value of current approaches to higher education, this is an important set of perspectives to consider as leaders.