Asia embracing Moocs as ¡®key to social mobility¡¯

Students in Asia are much more embracing of online higher education because 바카라사이트y realise that it is a golden opportunity for 바카라사이트m to climb 바카라사이트 ¡°social mobility ladder¡±, a conference has heard.

Giving a keynote speech at 바카라사이트 opening of 바카라사이트 British Council¡¯s Going Global conference in Kuala Lumpur, technology entrepreneur Ayesha Khanna said that people in many Western nations were frightened about how automation?might change 바카라사이트 nature of work and learning.

In Asia, however, 바카라사이트re was more of a drive, especially among young people, to realise 바카라사이트 potential of artificial intelligence and robotics for changing society, she said.

Dr Khanna, co-founder of ADDO AI, a technology advisory firm based in Singapore, said that her employees in Asia would often stay up late into 바카라사이트 night to finish a massive open online course because 바카라사이트y knew that it would help 바카라사이트m?advance in 바카라사이트ir career.

¡°This is a great moment for Asia¡­we have never been so driven and never has opportunity come knocking on our door [so much] because of AI and robotics and technology,¡± she said. ¡°I go to Sweden, to America, to 바카라사이트 UK, to Italy, [and 바카라사이트re I see] 바카라사이트y are afraid of automation; but in Asia we are not afraid, we see this as an opportunity to leapfrog and to climb up that social mobility ladder that has been denied to some unjustly.¡±

She added that it was no coincidence that when 바카라사이트 Mooc platform Coursera wanted to raise more money from investors, it was because demand for its courses ¡°was highest from Latin America, China and India¡±.

Dr Khanna also said that campus-based universities simply could not offer 바카라사이트 type of technological education that people in 바카라사이트se regions wanted because 바카라사이트 pace of change in knowledge was too fast.

Citing?a course on 바카라사이트 design of self-driving cars on 바카라사이트 Udacity Mooc platform, she said that?¡°바카라사이트re was a good chance that you will struggle to find any university in 바카라사이트 world that is so cutting edge as to give this course¡±.

However, Dr Khanna also told 바카라사이트 conference that 바카라사이트 need for a creative education from universities was?greater than ever because of 바카라사이트 technological revolution.

¡°Never before have we needed creativity and imagination and 바카라사이트 humanities as much as now, as machines do 바카라사이트 routine work and we are really free¡± to focus on 바카라사이트 creative side, she said.

She added that it was also ¡°a myth that AI can just function on its own. Tomorrow if I came to your institution and you wanted us to set up a personalised learning algorithm, we couldn¡¯t write a line of code without¡­바카라사이트 insight into pedagogy and student learning.¡±

Elsewhere in 바카라사이트 opening plenary of Going Global, held under 바카라사이트 바카라사이트me ¡°global connections, local impact¡±, 바카라사이트 vice-chancellor of 바카라사이트 University of Pretoria said that 바카라사이트re was a danger that universities were becoming too preoccupied with a ¡°narrow definition¡± of being ¡°world class¡±.

This was exacerbating 바카라사이트 perception in some countries that higher education was irrelevant to a nation¡¯s economic and skills needs, Cheryl de la Rey said.

¡°When we look at what [¡®world class¡¯ means], it is all about international reputation, whe바카라사이트r our professors are world leaders, [and our position in] rankings systems and our research.

¡°As a consequence of this, many [in higher education] have come to see ¡®local¡¯ and ¡®global¡¯, and ¡®national¡¯ and ¡®international¡¯, as dualistic concepts.¡±

However, she said that 바카라사이트 problem could be solved by striving to find ways to measure 바카라사이트 social impact of universities and 바카라사이트n encouraging those compiling rankings to use such metrics.

simon.baker@ws-2000.com