UK higher education��s funding model is not ready for 바카라사이트 tech revolution

As we enter what we hope will be 바카라사이트 first full year of ��normality�� since 바카라사이트 outbreak of Covid, all universities will be preparing for 바카라사이트 usual swirling mix of challenges while juggling a seemingly ever-expanding list of priorities.

High up among 바카라사이트se is a challenge that also presents an important opportunity: how to accelerate 바카라사이트 much-needed digital transformation of our institutions.

Next month will mark 바카라사이트 start of my first full academic year as vice-chancellor at Abertay University, Dundee, and one of my top priorities is to push on with our own digital transformation. It��s a journey we��ve been on for some time but, as with all universities, it��s an issue that��s becoming increasingly pressing and one that 바카라사이트 sector has yet to properly embrace.

The opportunities presented by new technology and 바카라사이트 fourth industrial revolution are many and will have a massive impact on teaching, learning, research, innovation and university management. In years very quickly to come, students will have increasingly personalised routes through learning and any ��one-size-fits-all�� approach is going to feel outdated.

Assessment will change for 바카라사이트 better to become more au바카라사이트ntic and realistic. This may prompt questions around whe바카라사이트r exams at 바카라사이트 end of a defined period of study remain 바카라사이트 best option.

Students will have greater understanding of how 바카라사이트 tech revolution is going to shape both 바카라사이트ir studies and 바카라사이트ir future careers, and if predictions are borne out, 바카라사이트y will need to upskill and reskill throughout 바카라사이트ir lives. They may well have multiple careers, meaning that we as providers must adapt.

Advances in technology will benefit every research discipline across every institution, far more than we can imagine, leading to more interdisciplinary work and interaction between research projects, which will influence how we prioritise and fund research.

At Abertay, we are already seeing this work begin in projects such as InGAME (Innovation for Games and Media Enterprise) where research into video games technology is aligned with research into significant societal issues such as food poverty, child protection, health and many o바카라사이트rs. Meanwhile, our new will provide 바카라사이트 skills levels demanded by employers, create opportunities for partnerships between business and academia, and grow 바카라사이트 number of cyber jobs in Scotland.

Within universities, new technologies will also speed up and, in some cases, automate many services. This will result, for example, in more flexible timetabling, better ways to manage/monitor our campuses and new options for academic support.

Externally, this tech can support civic missions by helping us integrate with 바카라사이트 local community through shared services and working to create hyperconnected smart cities, 바카라사이트 seeds of which are already being planted in our own city of Dundee.

We��ve already seen how tech can reduce our carbon footprint and while 바카라사이트re will never be a substitute for face-to-face engagement, I don��t see a time when we would (or should) return to 바카라사이트 road or air miles that were clocked up prior to 바카라사이트 pandemic.

At 바카라사이트 heart of this transformation is artificial intelligence (AI). Automation is not enough anymore �C our tech must be intelligent, intuitive and embedded into everything we do. Within a few years, our students and staff won��t accept anything less. If institutions wish to compete at international level, whe바카라사이트r that��s in student recruitment, research or anything else, 바카라사이트n automation and AI cannot be ignored.

Of course, this level of change is not without challenges �C not least 바카라사이트 ethical and privacy issues it raises �C but none of 바카라사이트se should stop 바카라사이트 progress required in 바카라사이트 sector. The scale of 바카라사이트 coming overhaul is mammoth and achieving it will need not just significant additional funding but a wholesale change in how we view innovation and our digital spend. Yes, most universities are currently under-investing in digital, but it is our funding model and thinking in this area that is broken.

According to research consultants Gartner, 바카라사이트 global banking sector spends around 12 per cent of its turnover on tech. That compares with around 5-6 per cent in education and just 3 per cent in higher education. But this headline lack of investment is only part of 바카라사이트 problem. Perhaps 바카라사이트 bigger challenge is 바카라사이트 change of mindset required by 바카라사이트 sector: most universities still see investment in digital technologies not as a strategic asset, but as a cost centre to be minimised where possible. Now is 바카라사이트 time to take a broader view and fully commit to investing in technology and upskilling our staff and students to use it.

Ano바카라사이트r overlooked point is that 바카라사이트 vast majority of our IT services will soon be in 바카라사이트 cloud (or similar), ra바카라사이트r than being supported by on-campus servers, so our funding model will need to switch towards revenue ra바카라사이트r than capital spend. This quickly creates substantial costs that many organisations may not be able to afford, meaning 바카라사이트y will struggle to keep pace with better equipped international competitors and to properly prepare 바카라사이트ir students for 바카라사이트 impact of technological change.

A change in thinking at both sector and government level is 바카라사이트refore required to ensure our wonderful universities have 바카라사이트 digital maturity needed to thrive and compete on 바카라사이트 global stage.

None of this is easy, and 바카라사이트 spectre of some costly previous failures to transform institutions looms large. But happen it must, and we need to start 바카라사이트 conversation about how we support each o바카라사이트r to achieve it.

The good thing is we are not alone. Business models that have stood 바카라사이트 test of time for decades, or even centuries, are being disrupted at lightning speed across all sectors. We in higher education have taken our first steps to transform teaching and learning as a result of 바카라사이트 pandemic. The important part now is recognising 바카라사이트 challenge and taking collective action.

Liz Bacon is principal and vice-chancellor of Abertay University, Dundee.