Icdk outlook No. 04, May 2019 The Future of Education

 
 
Danish Agency for Science and Higher Education 
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recent poll among US adults found that 69% of people between 18-34 said they 
think they learn more from technology than from people, a number just 50% 
among the +45 age-group
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. Looking at the appeal of online learning isolated, it 
gives students flexibility to structure their own time and eliminates the need for 
proximity. It is thus likely that the pull from millennials is part of what is driving 
the new alternatives and unbundling-trend in education.
On the industry side, the MOOC’s and unbundled degrees provide an outcome-
focused and cost-efficient way of reskilling workers, differently from classic 
Learning & Development
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. This also means that companies can outsource their up- 
and reskilling of workers to the new platforms, instead of using internal resources 
for the same purpose. Unsurprising in this light, one of the key pathways for 
workforce reskilling according to the World Economic Forum is to “Harness the 
power and scalability of blended online courses, enhanced with virtual and 
augmented reality when relevant”
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. Technology can thus be a valuable tool for 
businesses and it is increasingly being recognized as a way to ensure life-long 
learning. 
2.1.2 Push-effect: Business opportunities and visions of change 
On the push-side, an increasing set of companies in the US have seized the 
opportunity to turn the student- and industry demand into business models to 
supply alternatives to existing educational institutions. Technology has given 
companies an ability to create a leaner educational experience that provides the 
flexibility and choice that is asked for. These educational alternatives are able to 
change the traditional models of education while lowering tuition-costs, by 
stripping away parts of the bundled experience known from established 
universities. As mentioned, it is however important to note that the business 
opportunity might be less significant if education is not tuition-based. However, 
some of the alternatives present in the US are non-profit and provide a tuition-free 
education driven by a vision to change education.
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Weller, 2017 
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Bersin, 2017 
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World Economic Forum (WEF), 2017