The Future of Learning: Takeaways and Key Insights

The Future of Learning Takeaways and Key Insights

A Three-Part Panel Discussion Series ― 2021

Contents

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Part 01.

Grappling with the Syndemic

Part 02.

Convergence in K-12 and Higher Education

Part 03.

Skills for a New Economy

― SPEAKERS

― SPEAKERS

― SPEAKERS

Dr. Vanessa Britto

Fiona Murray, CBE, Ph.D

Dr. Doug Brown

Associate Vice President, Campus Life

Professor of Entrepreneurship and

Dean of Science and Mathematics,

Executive Director, Health & Wellness

Associate Dean for

Massasoit Community College

Brown University

Innovation and Inclusion,

Dr. Ian Lapp

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Provost, Senior Vice President

Stefano Chinosi

Wentworth Institute of Technology

Director of Strategic Innovation,

Steve Taksar

Dr. Aisha Francis President, Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology

Andover Public Schools

Dr. Jim Kraly Associate Dean of Sciences,

Vice President,

Jeanne Narum

Sustainability and Health, Keene

Administration and Finance

Founding Principal, Learning Spaces

State College

Westfield State University

Collaboratory

Dr. Siobhan O’Mahoney Feld Family Professor in, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Boston University Caitlin Reimers Brumme Senior Vice President, MassChallenge Early Stage at MassChallenge

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The Future of Learning

Executive Summary

Future of Learning: Takeaways and Key Insights Written by David Damon

Over 3 engaging round tables we hosted 11 dynamic leaders and partners in Higher Education to share their thoughts on some wide-ranging questions that each relate to the Future of Learning. We found the discussions to be so insightful and on point to this moment. Here are some insights that resonated:

01 ― Access Creates Opportunity Who has access to our classroom and who comes in? Technology in COVID gave us the opportunity to open up some boundaries and make our classroom a much more inclusive place and a place to have conversations. These digital tools have opened up at a moment of real crisis where the use of diversity and inclusion have become so salient.

really think about the university as boundaryless. We need to rethink university structures, flatten the organization, promote partnerships, foster collaboration. In the end this reflects our mission: to promote learning and reinforce change for the lives of our students.

04 ― Curricular and Partnership Realignment Colleges and universities are meeting students

02 ― The Pliability of Physical Space Our learning spaces need to catch up to the dynamic aspect of the virtual experience. We need spaces to do big things, to be multifunctional, and to have more opportunities for engagement – both indoor and outdoor.

Bring together everyone responsible for physical space at ALL levels to discuss the issue of space, organize and optimize functionality, and maximize the influence on learning. Virtual education is dynamic – but it simply cannot recreate the potential of the physical experience.

where they are: shorter degree programs, online degrees of prestige, and the values of research at a community college level. Speed to market programs are one option; lifelong learning models and micro-credentials have a different pace. But the gap that still exists is for institutions to match the agility and speed of industry in order to provide adequate curriculum and instruction.

05 ― Tuition Alone is Not Enough COVID pulled back the curtain on the fiscal drivers of tuition and room-and-board. This raw view calls into question how we think about

03 ― De-siloization: A Key to Success Desiloization and blurred lines are our new normal. Learning is about partnerships, and COVID has demonstrated that we need to

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financing education and how we consider supporting our students and faculty in new ways. What matters most? We need to be better positioned to take on new challenges and changes in how we educate students.

Part 01.

Grappling with the Syndemic

COVID disrupted the college campus as we knew it, forcing institutions to grapple with a challenging transition to remote learning as well as significant social, political, and economic issues. The rate of change has been so sudden and all-encompassing, creating unprecedented uncertainty for the future of higher education.

We invited an expert panel of college and university leaders to discuss four key topics: the influence of the syndemic on the college campus, de-siloization in higher education, the changing needs of campus space, and the state of campus culture.

Watch the recording

The Future of Learning

Grappling with the Snydemic

Meet the speakers Dr. Vanessa Britto Associate Vice President, Executive Director for Health and Wellness, Brown University

Dr. Vanessa Britto is a board-certified Internal Medicine physician and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Alpert Medical School at Brown University where she serves as the Associate Vice President of Campus Life and Executive Director of Health and Wellness. She oversees 200 staff in five departments that serve 10,000 students. Dr. Britto was at Wellesley College prior to Brown – and began her career practicing medicine at federally qualified health centers and helped to found a women’s health practice. Dr. Britto is a Fellow in the American College of Physicians and lectures nationally and internationally on health care disparities, women’s health, and healthy team development. And – she loves jazz!

Dr. Ian Lapp Provost and Senior Vice President, Wentworth Institute of Technology

Dr. Ian Lapp is Provost and Senior Vice President at Wentworth Institute of Technology. He has a track record of building diverse teams around innovative initiatives over his 20-year career at Columbia University, Harvard University, and Babson College. While at Babson, Dr. Lapp was a lead supporter of women’s entrepreneurial leadership, diversity, equity, and inclusivity.

At Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, he led a multi-year strategic planning process as Associate Dean for Strategic Educational Initiatives that resulted in four new or redesigned degree programs.

Steve Taksar Vice President, Administration and Finance, Westfield State University

Steve Taksar is the Vice President of Administration and Finance at Westfield State University. He is responsible for financial operations and reporting, budgeting, Informational Technology, Physical Plant and capital planning, and other administrative functions including strategic planning. Prior to Westfield State, he held financial leadership positions at Plymouth State University, Indiana University Southeast, Babson College, Curry College, and Wheaton College. Mr. Taksar is an active member of the National Association of College and University Business Officers, active in the Society of College and University Planners, and an evaluator for the New England Commission of Higher Education.

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Grappling with the Syndemic Before COVID, U.S. higher education institutions were facing declining enrollments, racial and economic inequality, and financial challenges. The convergence of each of these issues during the pandemic has created an incredibly uncertain future for colleges and universities.

Syndemic: the confluence of the COVID-19 pandemic, a social justice movement, and economic depression.

This term was introduced to the group by Dr. Vanessa Britto.

What’s New: Visibility of Students They are front and center, in their homes, not in an artificial campus environment—and this transparency has amplified inequities. This has challenged the way we think about the classroom environment, pedagogy, and the health and wellness of the campus community. It’s been argued that the disease doesn’t discriminate, and that might be true, but the impact does discriminate. Exposure of students’ homes has made apparent our need to foster new ways to connect so that we can move forward together—and work together.

The Impact: An Indelible Mark Students will be impacted throughout their lives by having lived through the past year. They are still developing, engaging, and discovering their academic aspirations and career goals. Many are overwhelmed, stressed by their economic or family situation, or dealing with the challenges of remote learning. There is a whole host of new issues associated with instructional activity that could in the past be dealt with more effectively through one-onone conversations. We are social individuals, and limiting social connection is a problem.

A Way Forward: Learning Everywhere At the same time, as we struggle with a lack of social interaction, technology has allowed us to master multiple modalities and to know how and what to communicate—to really be problem solvers together. It has allowed industry partners to further engage with faculty to really create a mix of learning spaces.

Learning is something that doesn’t just happen in the classroom.

The campus is our classroom. The city is our classroom.

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The Future of Learning

Grappling with the Snydemic

De-Siloization: Open the Door and Let Others Walk In Collaboration: The Key to Success We need interdependence both to address COVID as a disease and to succeed on our campuses. Learning is about partnerships, and COVID has demonstrated that we need to really think about the university as boundary-less. Not only is the campus our classroom, but we now have classrooms in homes. This means we need to rethink university structures, to flatten the organization, promote partnerships, foster collaboration. In the end, this is better for our mission: to promote learning and reinforce change for the lives of our students.

Bringing Lessons into the Future COVID has been the great leveler. We have developed relationships that didn’t exist before, and we have strengthened new relationships interdepartmentally. People have found themselves exploring new territory. But all of us have shared the same goal—to support and care for students. To do that we have found that we need to literally break through the physical walls that have separated us in the past.

“ When the disease disappears, I hope the lessons don’t disappear with it, and we move forward.”

DR. IAN LAPP, WENTWORTH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

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Rethinking Space The physical role of pedagogy, flexibility, utilization, and investment.

The Three A’s of Space

Emergence of Shared Space

nj Assessment: taking inventory of what worked—and what didn’t

Office space, classrooms and learning spaces, and residence halls overall are going to change quite dramatically. Having a remote workforce is going to fundamentally shift the structure and space needs on campuses. The lines between dedicated spaces are blurring to the point that we can no longer afford to have space that is dedicated to a single purpose.

nj Adaptation: flexing to the new reality nj Action: repositioning with services wrapped around students, and planning for future flexibility The Right Mix

Financial Foresight

Universities need to optimize the ratio of learning spaces to achieve the right mix. Ultimately, the framework should be:

We will be in a different situation in the next twelve months, but now is the time to assess for the future and plan your next investment while the market is still very favorable toward low interest rates.

nj What’s best learned in the classroom? nj What’s best learned across campus? nj What’s best learned in the field? nj What’s best learned online?

Universities that get that right balance of classroom, campus, field, and digital will really thrive.

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Assessment: taking inventory of what worked

Adaptation: flexing to the new reality

Action: repositioning, planning for the future

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The Future of Learning

Grappling with the Snydemic

Culture and Community To a degree, we’ve lost the community aspect of learning. Many of the intangibles that can only be experienced together aren’t there.

Yet, there is hope for the future of learning, and how we as a society might regain what we’ve lost.

Shifting Investments Can we leverage virtual technology to achieve intangible culture and community-centered goals, but also think differently about the ways we can all work together? This shifts planning and investment priorities. We need more investment in counseling services on campus, more investment in areas of student support—to help a diverse student population navigate a different world—as well as investment in facilities that are up to the challenge of our current moment.

Discovering Creativity and Resilience COVID has challenged us to create and replace social situations in different modalities—but there have been benefits: People on campus are more resilient and committed to figuring out creative solutions, and communities have rallied to put the best foot forward despite challenges. Getting everybody on the same page to move the campus in a unified direction has really been quite reinforcing for us. We’ve pulled together. We have people doing jobs that didn’t exist nine months ago; that’s been a wonderful benefit of how we can pull together as a community.

Channeling our Social Instinct What do we all yearn for? So many merely want to hug a fellow student or colleague. For now, we are embracing a very different reality, but hopefully the lessons learned will drive us to become better institutions.

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Cost and Uncertainty As we plan for the future, we must consider investments and long-term planning strategies on campus. We must anticipate our own emergence from the syndemic, where costs may be low, but the needs are unknown.

Tuition is Not Enough In demonstrating that higher education is driven by tuition and room-and-board, COVID has pulled back the curtain. This raw view calls into question how we think about financing education and how we consider supporting our students and faculty in new ways. The cost saving measures have prompted us to ask the tough question “What matters most?”

The decisions we make now will inform us post-pandemic. We all want to come out of COVID not staggering, but positioned to take on new challenges in the way we change how we educate students

What matters most? Learning matters. Relationships matter, alignment matters—financial resources, space resources—and our shared aspirations matter.

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The Future of Learning

Grappling with the Snydemic

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

When we are back on campus, what is the one thing you’d like to see changed that wasn’t there before?

“I’m very optimistic. One of the lessons I’ve learned is to believe fully in the ability of our students to rally. When you look at Brown, or Westfield State—all three of the institutions we represent—we have demonstrated that college students can commit themselves to the type of citizenship that has been lost across the nation. I am hopeful that our students, and hopefully the nation, will turn to what our students have done, what our campus communities have done to push back the impact of the pandemic.” ― DR. IAN LAPP

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“My hope is that we can maintain the collaboration and unification of the campus in a way that they’ve demonstrated so far.” ― STEVE TAKSAR

“What I would take away is that this is a moment for us to really appreciate that we have some new rules of engagement.

I’m really happy to be thinking about a post-pandemic time as a new beginning.” ― DR. VANESSA BRITTO

Part 02.

Convergence in K-12 and Higher Education Today’s students require increasing levels of flexibility and resilience to succeed in the world—so how might our traditional education systems evolve accordingly? And, what makes an institution agile in the first place?

We know that modern students succeed when they are empowered with practical skills and the opportunity to apply them in real-world situations. They benefit from inclusive and diverse environments that span digital and physical realms. In our ever-changing, techforward world, educators and institutions have an opportunity to re-imagine their practices and provide equitable, affordable access to quality education.

Taking a cross-sectional view of K-12 and Higher Education, we discuss how the continuum of learning has transformed and how educators can respond to these challenges.

Watch the recording

The Future of Learning

Convergence in K-12 and Higher Education

Meet the speakers Fiona Murray, CBE, PhD Professor of Entrepreneurship, Associate Dean for Innovation and Inclusion, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Fiona Murray, CBE, Ph.D is the Associate Dean of Innovation and Inclusion at the MIT Sloan School of Management, William Porter (1967) Professor of Entrepreneurship and an associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. She is also Faculty Director of the MIT Legatum Center for Entrepreneurship and Development and the co-director of MIT’s Innovation Initiative. She serves on the British Prime Minister’s Council on Science and Technology and has been awarded a CBE for her services to innovation and entrepreneurship in the UK. Fiona is an international expert on the transformation of investments in scientific and technical innovation into innovation-based entrepreneurship that drives jobs, wealth creation, and regional prosperity.

Stefano Chinosi Director of Strategic Innovation, Andover Public Schools

Stefano Chinosi is an architect of experience and the Director of Strategic Innovation for the Andover Public Schools. He’s spent the last 24 years guiding students up mountains, down rivers, across Shakespeare, and beyond biodiesel. He believes that every child is gifted and talented and should become World-Ready, so he created “The Office of Ingenuity,” an educational design lab based in Andover, Massachusetts open to all schools and educators, to prove it.

Jeanne Narum Founding Principal, Learning Spaces Collaboratory

Jeanne Narum is the founding principal of the Learning Spaces Collaboratory and of Project Kaleidoscope. The LSC is an informal national community of practice—engaging architects and academics—exploring, documenting, and promoting best practices in shaping environments in which learning is experienced. LSC’s planning template builds on PKAL’s approach. It is to begin with a vision of what learners are to become, have a diverse group around the planning table, pursue the right questions, and be aware of the changing context.

Most important is to pursue a common vision of why spaces matter from the perspective of the learner, the campus community of learners, and the world beyond the campus.

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Equity and Access Equity and access are in the forefront of society. There has been much more inclusivity, more permeability, fewer boundaries.

More access to education, but we all know there is inequity across so many neighborhoods and lives. How has the classroom been impacted? Digital tools have been pushed forward with and without choice, but how can we use them to their fullest, and what innovations will we transition to and how?

The Great Leveler In Higher Education we spend some of our time doing research, and some of our time teaching. There are often not as many opportunities to actually learn from one another. So, there has been something very equalizing in many ways for faculty members across our educational community to truly collaborate about learning. Technology has been a great leveler too because we’ve all had to struggle through.

Access Creates Opportunity A meaningful change has been about who has access to our classroom, who comes in. Technology has given us the opportunity to open up some boundaries and make our classroom a much more inclusive place and a place to have conversations. These digital tools have opened up at a moment of real crisis where the use of diversity and inclusion have become so salient.

Partnerships Expand Platforms K-12 has experienced a transformative power in COVID. School partners in education have been adapting to bring experiences to students at home. This is one example of change that could stick around, and we should continue to offer that flexibility. The goal now is to leverage that collaborative spirit from the past year and a half and keep it going forward.

“ The digital tools have always been there but they haven’t been fully utilized until now — this will democratize access.”

FIONA MURRAY MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

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The Future of Learning

Convergence in K-12 and Higher Education

Challenging the Role of Physical Space in the Context of Digital And what is next in the realm of imagining and assessing learning spaces?

The Need to Converge Technology With a Sense of Belonging The challenges of COVID generated many new questions on the importance of space. We are now recognizing the entire campus as a place for learning. Students are desperate to come back in person, but what kinds of environments do they need when they are together? How can we create a campus that promotes wellbeing and a sense of belonging and community? How can we leverage technology to continue to provide a personal experience and to encourage all types of learners?

“ We might stop talking about learning spaces and rather, talk about spaces for learning.”

JEANNE NARUM LEARNING SPACES COLLABORATORY

What Digital Cannot Recreate The pandemic reduced the boundaries between disciplines, and the physical boundaries on the academic campus. It brought in the need for more transparency and permeability. As learning has become more dynamic, the spaces in-between have a new emphasis — these are the spaces students want to inhabit because they are where serendipitous collisions occur. Virtual education has simply not been able to recreate this experience.

The Pliability of Physical Space Redesigning the learning experience and spaces for learning is important in K-12. Our learning spaces need to catch up and become more dynamic similar to the virtual experience. We need spaces to do big things, to be multi-functional, and to have more opportunities for engagement – both indoor and outdoor. This has created new opportunities for all parties responsible for physical space to come together at ALL levels to discuss the issue of space together, to organize and optimize functionality, and to maximize the influence on learning.

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Synergies and Gaps Between K-12 and Higher Education K-12 and Higher Education were both pushed into the unknown during COVID. As we return to a new context, where are the synergies? Are they getting closer or is the gap getting wider?

How are we responding to these impacts?

Synergy in the Act of Curation We are all emerging with a new appreciation for the learning curve, not just for the dissemination of our expertise. We are more aware that we are on a shared learning journey which is more visible to all of us. The one thing that will really bring us together will be the synergy in the act of curation in K12 and Higher Education — in both displaying it and engaging students. Student engagement has really been pushed

by COVID — they had to learn how to drive their own learning. Rather than being a passenger, they had to behave as crew and push themselves to stay engaged in ways they didn’t have to in a more traditional in-person education model.

Assessing the Gap

“ The one thing that will bring educators in K-12 and Higher Education together is learning how to curate our own shared knowledge.”

Assessment has a new role in this process. It’s not just about meeting the standards — it’s about removing the gaps. Active learning occurs through the art of teaching involving four lenses: time, place, path and pace. As we think about synergies between students’ engagement in active learning, and teachers involved in the act of curation, we should evaluate teaching and learning within these four big categories. Navigating individual learning and the path we choose for the entire class will have new responsibilities and benchmarks for everyone.

STEFANO CHINOSI ANDOVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS

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The Future of Learning

Convergence in K-12 and Higher Education

Are There Opportunities for Reimagining the Overall Trajectory of Education?

Do they exist in either in subject matter at an earlier age, or alternative paths in getting back to integrated time, place, path and pace?

New Paths Will Emerge There is a lot of value in a 24-7 access if it’s curated properly.

In K-12, parents and their kids have begun to work together to map a student’s educational experience with educators, whereas traditionally parents may not have been so involved.

New paths will emerge for families and students to take that will connect both vocational experiences with University credits. One of the challenges will be — are students going to be able to find new ways of reflecting their competencies?

Final Thoughts

“We are now considering what we can do to all spaces on campus, in how many ways can they transform, how can every space on campus be used as an opportunity for learning. This is an energizing time for architects, and for students. We may look back and see this time in history as the emergence of a new kind of educational environment.”

FROM OUR PANELISTS

“We have realized that we need more welcoming and inclusive spaces supporting more diverse voices.

Digital access will continue to be very important, as will the inclusive ‘in between’ spaces, such that all spaces may become collaborative learning spaces and not just transactional. This type of access and inclusion can merge K-12 and higher education communities together as these are the kinds of spaces where people want to come together.”

― JEANNE NARUM

“How do we maintain a sense of urgency around pushing developments of our professional practice, without the anxiety? There is a humbleness in educators becoming learners again. I hope this shakes us to respect learning again, and that our teaching and learning become more relational going forward.”

― FIONA MURRAY

― STEFANO CHINOSI

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Part 03.

Skills for a New Economy

85 million jobs will be displaced in 20 major economies by 2025, according to the World Economic Forum’s 2020 Future of Jobs Report. At the same time, 97 million new roles are expected to be created, driven by advances in technology and continuous digital transformation. So how can higher education— an industry poised to integrate new skills for learning—remain at the forefront of a changing global workforce?

For our third installment of the Future of Learning series, our panelists explored the new skills and competencies needed in a changing world; imagined strategies for continuous learning; and considered the role of industry partnerships with education.

Watch the recording

The Future of Learning

Skills for a New Economy

Meet the speakers Dr. Doug Brown Dean of Science and Mathematics, Massasoit Community College

Dr. Doug Brown has been a STEM educator and leader for over 20 years, in both K-12 and higher education. His core focus is on entrepreneurial and collaborative strategies to promote student access and success in STEM. Dr. Brown has led the development of innovative handson curricula that promote student engagement and develop student success skills by building both academic and career programs, and co-curricular programs.

Dr. Aisha Francis President, Benjamin Franklin, Institute of Technology

Dr. Aisha Francis’ focus is to advance the mission of this minority-serving, non-profit technical college based in Boston. Dr. Francis’ career has centered on increasing access to higher education including the work she has done across various fields and populations. Aisha is an educator at heart—and she believes in the collective ability of organizations and wellsupported individuals to transform underserved communities.

Dr. Jim Kraly Associate Dean of Sciences, Sustainability and Health, Keene State College

Dr. Jim Kraly’s initiatives have brought forth microcredentials to serve a variety of educational pathways and to meet regional workforce needs, as well as to envision new ways to partner the students and the college with local industry and community employers. Jim is excited to bridge connections between talented youth and engaging educational opportunities that deliver relevant skillsets with problem solving and perspectives rooted in the liberal arts.

Dr. Siobhán O’Mahoney Feld Family Professor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Boston University

Dr. Siobhán O’Mahoney’s research primarily explores how technical and creative projects organize for innovation. Dr. O’Mahoney has examined how high technology contractors, open source programmers, artists, music producers, internet startups and product development teams coordinate their efforts in projects, teams and communities. Siobhan is interested in how people create organizing structures that promote innovation, creativity and growth without replicating the bureaucratic structures they strive to avoid.

Caitlin Reimers Brumme Senior Vice President, MassChallenge Early Stage at MassChallenge

At MassChallenge, Cait Reimers Brumme is dedicated to supporting innovation and entrepreneurship through collaboration and development, specifically in accelerating startups, industry, and innovation ecosystems. Prior to MassChallenge, Cait led the Impact Collaboratory at the Harvard Business School, a multi-faceted effort to develop world class academic leadership on the topic of “Investing in the 21st Century”.

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Charting Alternative Pathways Today’s student is evolving—traditional, part-time, mid-career, in person, remote, hybrid, lifelong. How can we provide alternative pathways for new demands? What challenges must we overcome along the way?

Hybrid Delivery

Curricular Adjustments

We’ve learned from the pandemic that we can teach, learn, work, and collaborate remotely. Those institutions and companies that have upgraded their IT infrastructure and training have fared particularly well. But what does this mean long-term, after the pandemic subsides?

Where do we continue to show flexibility and accessibility going forward?

Developing three-year programs enables students who are willing to undergo a more intense work load have the opportunity to get into the workforce faster: speed to market. This has the potential to engage students in highimpact experiences and hands-on partnerships sooner as they transition into their career. On the other hand, some students may benefit from a lifelong learning model, earning micro-credentials to supplement their undergraduate education and enable career moves without the pause that a Master’s or Doctorate level degree would require.

Institutions might consider the flexibility that remote learning provides, offering more programs 100% online or hybrid.

It’s important to keep in mind that hybrid is a new and demanding format for our educators, and many require additional resources and support to be effective.

“ In the entrepreneurial space, the models that have been in existence for 20, 30 years have left out many. So as we think about adapting to the student of today, it isn’t just about refining what we have but also about experimenting with new models.” ― CAITLIN REIMERS BRUMME, MASSCHALLENGE

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The Future of Learning

Skills for a New Economy

Reducing Inequities There are systemic inequities at all levels—for both students and faculty—how can we begin to close those gaps?

Teaching the Soft Skills with the Hard Sciences How do we make sure every student will be successful two years after they graduate their college or university? We need to prepare them to take that next leap after school—it’s not just about knowing things, but knowing how to use them.

There is very little difference between Biology 101 at a community college compared to a four-year private school. The course is not what makes the difference—it’s what happens in and around those classes: more time experiencing the science, engaging in research projects, and working as a team. Those experiences beyond the classroom set them up for success; It’s no longer just about getting the A. It’s having the skills to work collaboratively, or read primary literature. It’s about learning to rely on your peers and work as a team.

INSIGHT INTO ACTION:

Partnerships between community colleges and fouryear institutions is one way to extend this opportunity to more students.

Affordability, Access, and Value With first generation college students, affordability is a huge factor in their decision of whether or not to attend college. We can encourage more students to enroll by spotlighting statistics about employment, such as how many graduates go on to enter the workforce. We must daylight the economic value and earning potential of college, and help new populations understand the mechanisms available for affording college, like scholarships, application deadlines, grants, and loans. Colleges and universities are meeting students where they are: shorter degree programs, online degrees of prestige, and the values of research at a community college level.

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Fostering Partnerships Between Education and Industry How have partnerships become more integrated into career solutions for students? From the perspective of the partnership, what are the most pressing skills gaps, and how might we overcome them?

Bringing Everyone to the Table It’s essential for private industry and education to have clear understanding of the two-way street of partnerships. By understanding what companies need, educators and institutions can create pathways for students to meet those needs, with courses that teach the skills that students need to advance their careers. Likewise, institutions must feel confident that the industry supports a market and can provide opportunities. Aligning expectations and open communication are must-haves so both parties can receive mutual value and benefit. The challenge? For institutions to match the agility and speed of their industry partners in providing adequate curriculum and instruction.

Real Life Experience Beyond building job-specific skills and competencies, we have to remain focused on building students’ soft skills, too. Partnerships enable students to work on teams, access new networks, and receive feedback in an open environment. There is a desire for both practical and experiential learning (like innovation spaces) as well as continuous access to what’s new and novel. These are experiences that students can carry with them long after graduation day.

“ It’s very hard to deliver experiential learning without partnership.”

SIOBHAN O’MAHONEY BOSTON UNIVERSITY

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The Future of Learning

Skills for a New Economy

Go Bold: Forecasting the Future “Something that’s not going away, that’s always in demand, is team-based learning. With the rise of different specialties that are needed to produce complex goods and services, multidisciplinary teams won’t go away.” ― DR. SIOBHÁN O’MAHONEY

“People clamor with even more fervor for some sort of formalized way to demonstrate customer service skills and business communication acumen. I think what we need is more of a common sense of what soft skills are, or requisite skills ...

When I say “customer service skills,” and a corporate partner says customer service skills, do we mean the same thing? Do five corporate partners mean the same thing?

And that is very difficult to get at—this sense of what that means, to be proficient in business communication.” ― DR. AISHA FRANCIS

“We need to blow up the idea of a campus-wide job fair. Let’s start doing specialized job fairs that are accessible to first-year students. They’re low-stakes interviews in more of an informational setting, where you’re learning how all of this works, what you have to get ready for, and connecting courses with those ...

Trying to have more formality around the delivery of those [soft] skills.” ― DR. JIM KRALY

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“Something I’ve been seeing in a lot of job postings is the term ‘comfort with ambiguity.’ That’s the skill that we’re going to be moving into—fewer and fewer employers are going to be saying, ‘here’s your defined job.’ The defined job is going to be ‘you need to do whatever we need, and we’re not sure what that is.’ Our challenge on the academic side: how do we teach that? How do we teach comfort with ambiguity and get students ready for this economy?” ― DR. DOUG BROWN

“Companies are desperately looking to build a culture of internal entrepreneurship: individuals who are able to see problems and are willing to take a risk around solutions, whether that’s incremental entrepreneurship in their daily jobs, or outside, transformational entrepreneurship ... We need to make entrepreneurship a visible pathway, a supported pathway for a much broader set of students and individuals. It’s a skill, it’s a mindset, it’s a practice.” ― CAITLIN REIMERS BRUMME

David Damon Principal, Practice Leader David.Damon@perkinswill.com +16174063481

225 Franklin Street Suite 1100 Boston, MA 02110