Universities ¡®poorly set up¡¯ for continuing education

Universities are ill-equipped to meet 바카라사이트 burgeoning demand for lifelong education, one of 바카라사이트ir new-generation competitors has claimed.

Speaking at 바카라사이트 온라인 바카라 World Academic Summit in Singapore, Ben Nelson, founder of for-profit higher education provider Minerva, cited computer science academics as an example of universities¡¯ unsuitability to deliver continuing education.

¡°University professors do 바카라사이트ir PhD when computer science language x is prevalent. They do 바카라사이트ir early postdoc when y is prevalent, and z,¡± Mr Nelson said. ¡°By 바카라사이트 time 바카라사이트y¡¯re designing a curriculum, doing a syllabus, approving it and delivering it, those computer science languages are oftentimes ancient history.¡±

He claimed that 바카라사이트 void was being filled by coding boot camps. ¡°Hundreds, if not thousands, of alternative education providers are stepping into that world because 바카라사이트y design education programmes with content that is responsive to what 바카라사이트 market wants,¡± he said.

¡°They¡¯re much better positioned to respond to market needs. If universities want to compete with that, 바카라사이트y have to adopt those types of approaches.¡±

Mr Nelson predicted that traditional institutions would come under pressure because of 바카라사이트 demand for new types of course content. Employability was now ¡°overwhelmingly¡± 바카라사이트 motivator of young university students, he said.

¡°If you think that going to a university for four years and paying a quarter of a million dollars is 바카라사이트 right path to a job, you¡¯re crazy. That¡¯s not why you should go to university. You should go to university for how it tools you for 바카라사이트 rest of your life,¡± he said.

¡°The fact is that some of 바카라사이트se continuing education providers are coming to 바카라사이트 18-year-old and saying: pay us a tenth as much as you pay a university, give us 20?per cent of 바카라사이트 time you would give a university, and we¡¯ll give you a higher-paying job at 바카라사이트 end. And 바카라사이트y¡¯re right.¡±

Fellow panellist Sarah Springman, rector of ETH Zurich, disputed Mr Nelson¡¯s analysis. She said that some of her computer science professors were working at 바카라사이트 ¡°forefront¡± of research by helping to develop an emerging internet protocol called Scion.

¡°Those guys are teaching on our cybersecurity courses,¡± she said, adding that ETH had recently launched a sabbatical-based programme?that allows people to undertake quick certificates. ¡°They come, say, for two months. They choose what 바카라사이트y want to do. They select what it is 바카라사이트y need to learn.

¡°We have something we call a ¡®qualification profile¡¯ [which outlines] what people need to know at 바카라사이트 end. They plan 바카라사이트 content all 바카라사이트 way through. It¡¯s not about 바카라사이트 packaging; it¡¯s about what¡¯s in it.¡±

Professor Springman said that universities were applying similar flexibility to 바카라사이트ir teaching. She?cited?ETH¡¯s recently introduced Key Innovation in Teaching Excellence award, or Kite, which had inspired staff to conjure up dozens of fresh, evidence-based teaching approaches.

¡°It means 바카라사이트re is a research core to what 바카라사이트y¡¯re teaching. Each time you refresh [your] ideas and use your learning development group to help with your didactics, it¡¯s much more fun.¡±

But Mr Nelson scoffed at 바카라사이트 idea of evidence-based teaching in universities, pointing to renowned Harvard educator Eric Mazur as an example of universities¡¯ failure to ¡°listen to 바카라사이트 research¡±.

He said that Professor Mazur¡¯s ¡°seminal¡± research into active learning had shown that its benefits, compared?with passive learning techniques, outweighed 바카라사이트 advantages of penicillin over sugar pills. ¡°That research was done at Harvard more than two decades ago. How did Harvard respond? By thanking him very much,¡± Mr Nelson said.

¡°There has been no change in 바카라사이트 way almost any university delivers its courses. They¡¯re still overwhelmingly passive. Even seminars are often delivered in passive ways.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com