"Tracks and Lanes"

The Academic World – Future Generations of Learners and Labor Market Implications

By: Sharon Mayo – Expert and Lecturer on the Educational Innova

tion Development (Sharonmayo8@gmail.com)

In the working world, where every day professions are becoming extinct and being born, it seems that higher education institutions and academics who train future workers find it difficult to keep up with the pace pf the necessary changes and even insist on preserving the original mission for which these institutions were built centuries ago. It seems that changes made in these institutions focus primarily on the use of technology for online independent learning rather than the structural and content changes in the curricula and teaching methods which are necessary for adapting to the challenges of tomorrow.

The aim of the institutions for higher education has been developing since their establishment, from an institution whose purpose is praising the glory of God to a place of self-fulfillment and a search for truth. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the university's goal was examined several times. For Wilhelm von Humboldt, a German diplomat and philosopher, the university was a whole community of researchers and students engaged in the search for truth. For Cardinal Newman, the university's goal was the study of universal knowledge. For Lord Robbins, an economist asked by the British government to prepare a report on the future of higher education, universities had four goals: instruction of skills, promoting the general powers of the brain, promoting learning, and transferring the common culture – common standards of citizenship.

For many years, the dominant assumption among students enrolling in institutions of higher education was that it would be sufficient for them to study a good profession at university, on the basis of which they would be able to find a place of work and rise through the ranks to management positions which would lead them to the good life of retirement. However, as the parable of the lamplighter goes (The Little Prince) – "From year to year the planet has turned more rapidly, and the orders have not been changed!" – the situation has changed and some of the experience accumulated by workers throughout their career has become irrelevant; their knowledge and experience has become outdated therefore they must go back to school. The prevalent insight in the labor market nowadays is that in the new world our occupational stability stems from our ability to remain relevant to the needs of the new industry. Contrary to the past, occupational stability no longer stems from the employer, but rather from our ability to remain relevant in the job market. Furthermore, today there are already new and developing employment models, and not just the old and familiar model of a hired job for an employer.

Past experience teaches that changes occurring in the work force affect the world of academia. For example, the world crisis in 2008 that led to uncertainty in the labor market brought students in higher education to choose a study track which would ensure them a profession. But is the conclusion to which the students arrived following the 2008 crisis also true for the next change in the labor market, the one that is already happening today and seems to get more and more acute? The reality is that the world is moving at a faster pace than it has in the past with regards to the frequency of obsolescence and regeneration of knowledge. The direct implication is the part of the knowledge taught over the course of an academic degree has a shorter expiration date than before. In such a case, there is a need to reexamine students' tendencies to choose profession-based study tracks and to adapt it to the existing reality. Currently, and academic education is still considered and important requirement for a job and is inherently and directly tied to salary. A recent research conducted by "Learning House" shows that half of the employers had difficulty finding suitable applicants for open positions, and that the problem lies in the training and education system. Almost a third of the employers claimed that applicant coming from educational institutions don't have the right capabilities to fill existing and future roles.

Today's students in higher education institutions will be citizens of the future economy and therefore must be prepared to acquire throughout their lives knowledge, skills, and tools which will not be studied over the course of their degree. Due to the fact that we do not know what the work force will look like in the future, we can only examine the training in higher education institutions and how the acquired capabilities in their tracks of study can be adapted so that they are relevant to future challenges. At the same time, there is a need to examine the teaching and learning methods in the higher education institutions and adapt them to the current generation of learners.

It seems that two entities face the challenges of the ever-changing present and unknown future – the higher education institutes and the students. For several years, there has been a lively discussion about maintaining the uniqueness and traditions of the universities, as they see themselves as institutions which push the boundaries of knowledge, deepen the human understanding, contribute to the health and welfare of the people, and contribute to economic growth. They also view themselves as giving people tools that enable them to make a living. On the other hand, the students are quite clear about the reason they want to study at a university – for the overwhelming majority it’s an issue of a better job and a successful career. In fact, despite the wishes of higher education institutions for students to have higher aspirations, the goal of academia is becoming more and more utilitarian.

The mission statement of the Council for Higher Education in Israel expresses the perception of institutions of higher education as a sanctuary for academic freedom as well of freedom of research and teaching, alongside the perception which calls the system to comply with national needs and the development of the job market. The Council considers the main role of higher education to be "culturing wisdom, developing research and researchers, writing the future, and ensuring progress". The Council has decided on several goals in the framework of a multi-annual program (2016-2022): promoting research infrastructure and encouraging scientific excellence, innovation in teaching, internationality in the higher education system, strengthening the Hi-Tech tracks, and promoting the populations of Arabs, women, and the Ultra-Orthodox.

Despite the lively discourse on the challenges of the future labor world and despite the state's recognition of the need to organize and refine goals in higher education in the face of the challenges of the future, it is evident that most educational institutions actually continue conducting themselves much as they did before. The only notable trend in which significant change is evident is the transferring of courses and even universities to online learning. Aside from enabling remote study, this type of learning also enables use of technology which enriches the students' learning experience and control of study times. That said, it is evident that this are must also be examined further, like the buzz around MOOC courses, born from the thought that education should not be a luxury and that it has the power to minimize gaps and open doors of opportunity. Today we understand that students who are weaker academically or socio-economically do not get much out of MOOC courses. It is also very hard to study online independently without a teacher. In my view, a teacher does not only serve as a transferrer of knowledge; teaching is guiding, encouraging, and helping. The teacher is the one who provides the framework and see the students and their individual progress. The main problem with MOOC is the meager percentage of students who complete the course. Learning online with minimal interaction has proved suitable for a limited number of highly motivated students. The MOOC does enable students to sample many courses and exposes them to a variety of topics and lecturers. However, even taking this into account, the gap between those who register and those who complete courses is too wide. In optimal cases, 10% of those who register arrive at the finish line. Once you register for a course which does not cost money, where no friend wait for you in class, and there are no guilty feelings towards the lecturer, the commitment is nonexistent, which is why it is easy to register and then change your mind. Moreover, do online universities and courses hold all the potential for the future of learning? Is there no room for other, more extreme changes which would lead and adapt the higher education institutions to fulfill their purpose in face of the future work force?

Those studying for their degree can be roughly divided into two main (unequal) groups – those who are interested in remaining in academia, doing research, and those who are interested in using their field of study in a practical way, making a living. The college revolution in Israel has enabled large portions of the population to have access to higher education. Before these colleges were established, anyone who wanted to be an engineer or a layer had to study at the universities, which held control over the distribution of knowledge and of degrees. The colleges enabled many people to acquire education and to change their own and the country's future. Many studies predict that we are on the verge of a profound change in the labor market which will make many jobs redundant while at the same time create new jobs in fields as yet not discovered. With the college revolution and the challenges facing them next, the higher education institutions must prepare and change. It is time to think and develop new models adapted to the future.

In a world of constant change and progress, in which there is talk of a generation of workers who will go through number of jobs and disciplines over the course of their lifetimes, and of students who at the end of their studies will have the ability to plan, design, manufacture, and sell anything, from written or photographic material to widescale products and services, workers will need almost constant updates of professional knowledge. It is difficult to believe that focused learning over a few years in an academic institution could give them everything they need to know. They will need to keep learning and to be flexible and open to creativity. The question now arises whether the model of specialization in one profession is the right one. In my view, the educational institutions need to switch from thinking about "building study tracks " to "building study interchanges" and impart, beyond the information studied today for a defined profession, lateral knowledge (skills) which will enable the development and transition between professions in the future.

Portrait of the Future Academic Institution

Content:

- Basic Skills - Learning professional knowledge and dynamic thinking skills, including other abilities that are not studied at university, but help students face employers' demands, and help students learn independently and adapt themselves to the changing circumstances.

- Unique Fields - A separation between dynamic domains such as the Hi-Tech professions and other fields in order to adapt the content and curriculum configuration.

- Social Values – Integrating knowledge from the humanities and some of the social sciences in areas that are not applied as an essential layer for a person's education. Here is where the Academy distinguishes itself from professional technological colleges.

Structure/model:

- Search for the professional Eros - Academia as a in which people experiment and search for the learner's true talent and passion, which becomes the basis for specialization.

- A "Slim" Curriculum – A focused, effective and practical curriculum that prepares the student for future challenges.

- Interdisciplinary and Multi-disciplinary Courses – multidisciplinary learning which establishes lateral knowledge that enables "paralleling" – doing both - and also the transition between future professions.

- "The Northern Academia Interchange" – A group of basic courses which will allow the future transition between professions and fields. For example — language, computer programming language, literacy, the ability to build a story from information. Overlaying them will be introductory courses in the students' chosen field and an array of abilities in which they specialize.

- "The Southern Academia Interchange" – The academic institution accompanies the learners throughout their lives and serves as an interchange that enables the transition between the tracks along the employee's life.

- Customization (a Personal Degree) – The transition from one degree for all to a degree customized to one's interests and capabilities as well as a series of necessary professional abilities in accordance with the development of the industry, for example - a lawyer in the field of artificial intelligence in autonomous vehicles.

The Academy's Borders:

- Learning from Difference - International student integration in attractive tracks.

- Symbiotic Relationship between Industry and Academia – Students acquire relevant experience and enjoy a combination of professional training and a short, focused training period. Student recruitment, relevant learning, joint research, and maintaining professional fitness run smoothly with the help of the academy.

- A Learning Fitness Subscription – Learning never ends. The relationship between the academy and the student continues throughout their life.

- Inter-institutional Cooperation – A multidisciplinary program based on collaborations between expert institutions in various fields.

- Research – Relevant research for both economic and social development aspects.

Learning and Teaching:

- Hybrid Teaching - Combines face-to-face teaching with online materials.

- Encouraging Innovation - Incubators for the interchange of ideas and the promotion of innovations with cooperation and assistance from the academic institution.

- Different Learning and Teaching – Developing new methods of teaching, learning, and assessment in the face of generational challenges and the changing world.

- The Development of Adult Pedagogy – Specialization in the development and adaptation of learning and teaching methods for adults of different ages and generations.

- TED - Lectures in TED-format, questions and answer forums, and more.

- Learning Through Experience – Integration in the industry even during basic stages of learning together with real-world problem solving (Hackathon) over the course of the degree.

- Hybrid Class – Teaching in one classroom/lecture hall and several methods of technology-based learning.

- Learning in an Ever-changing Cast of Characters – Student groups (talents) convened for problem-solving-based learning.

Summary:

Children's education systems throughout the world are dealing with the need or change in the role and purpose of the school, learning methods, the role of the teacher, and pedagogical architecture. This is happening as a result of the changes in the generation of learners and in the professional world. On the other side, the academic system is still stuck in the old paradigm and traditional purpose of learning. Soon, these new schools' graduates will arrive in academia; students who have gotten used to learning differently, in a different space, in a different pedagogy, with different goals, and with teachers who are mentors. The academy must change for them, must renew and adapt itself to the 21st century.

The professional world is changing before our eyes. Back in 2015, the Taub Center's report on the state of the country indicated that 40% of workers in Israel are working in professions which will become obsolete due to their being replaced by computers within the next 20 years. A university can does not contain the knowledge required for a profession. A student who has finished their studies now will need a refresher course in about six months on the new technologies and systems entering the market.

While this is all happening, the only innovation we see in higher education institutions is the possibility of online learning and virtual universities which incorporate learning with filmed lectures. But is this enough? Higher education institutions need to wake up and examine new approaches and methods for this product which goes by the name of "academia" or "higher education", the sooner the better.