Carleton University welcomed the Director-General for Education and Culture of the European Commission, Xavier Prats Monné on March 27. He spoke to an audience about how individual universities, university consortia and a massive European Union (EU) higher-education system are embracing the digital revolution and globalization.
The second decade of the new millennium has heralded a seismic shift in higher education, driven by globalization, the digital revolution and the rising power of information driven consumerism across the globe, he said. The lines between our campuses and wider communities are less distinct and technology is enabling new teaching and learning paradigms.
After citing numerous examples of failed predictions about how new technologies would succeed or fail, Monné admitted that it is very difficult to say how technology may impact our world or education.
He noted that looking at the history of education, and the conservative nature of institutions of higher education, it is easy to see why many would be skeptical about how much technology may change things.
“I really am convinced that education has a great future, it is just that it will not be education as we know it,” said Monné. “This is because of the combined impact of globalization, technology and an appetite for change that will have an extraordinary impact on our societies and most importantly on the business models of education.”
He listed three trends he is observing in higher education. The first is an increased accessibility, in part because higher education is seen globally as a path to prosperity. In connection to this, there has also been a shift in the global distribution of education and talent.
The second trend is a tendency towards an interdisciplinary focus. He notes that this trend is still not strong enough and is necessary due to the new nature of knowledge and the importance of looking at global problems from an interdisciplinary perspective.
“The important thing for the 21st century is not to have more people in STEM(science, technology, engineering and math) or in humanities, but to have competent people in both who are willing to work together. This is the thing that we are perhaps not tackling enough.”
“What is changing is the nature of knowledge. We are seeing that knowledge, as we understand it, is more and more a result of a collaborative effort, what is being shared by increasingly complex networks of institutions and people working in conditions of uncertainty.”
The third trend he observes is the impact of technology on higher education. While precise predictions are difficult to make, he believes a dramatic change will take place in the business model of education. In the future there will be more flexibility in terms of timing and the structure of education.
“The question is, are institutions of higher education prepared for this change and do they have the means to adapt?”
There are more and more expectations being demanded of institutions and they are not necessarily being given the means to deliver on those obligations. He views his role as ensuring the higher education institutions of Europe are equipped for whatever comes next.
About Xavier Prats Monné
Since 2011, Xavier Prats Monné has been responsible for EU policies in the field of education and training and for the EU education programs for 2014-2020. Since August. 2014 he has also been responsible for EU policies in the fields of culture, youth and sport and for the Creative Europe programme. He represents the European Commission on the Governing Board of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).
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