The video starts by highlighting the rapid pace of change and questions why we expect universities to remain unaffected by it. The speaker addresses common myths surrounding universities, such as them being the pinnacle of education. Contrary to these myths, universities originated from the need for accessible content, and thus may need to evolve again with technological advancements. The focus should be on improving learning outcomes rather than just granting degrees or functioning as mere centers of teaching and research.

The speaker argues that the true value of universities lies in enhancing students' learning abilities, making them proficient curators of content. This involves preparing them to evaluate and manage information critically. Instead of relying on exams as a measure of learning, practice and mentorship should play essential roles in education. The video also stresses the significance of groundbreaking research that contributes to societal well-being and how AI, along with online learning, could democratize this process.

Main takeaways from the video:

Please remember to turn on the CC button to view the subtitles.

Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. ubiquity [juːˈbɪkwɪti] - (noun) - The state of being everywhere at once (or seeming to be). - Synonyms: (omnipresence, pervasiveness, prevalence)

Yet AI, combined with the ubiquity of online learning, has the potential to accelerate our research and more importantly, to distribute it much more equitably.

2. praxis [ˈpræksɪs] - (noun) - The process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted or practiced. - Synonyms: (practice, application, exercise)

praxis is the way knowledge influences the world and the people around us.

3. banevolent [bɪˈnɛvələnt] - (adjective) - Well meaning and kindly. - Synonyms: (kind-hearted, compassionate, altruistic)

And the best pedagogy for praxis is patient, benevolent and constructive mentorship.

4. myth [mɪθ] - (noun) - A widely held but false belief or idea. - Synonyms: (fallacy, misconception, untruth)

Three myths are plaguing our sector, carried by people both inside and outside of universities.

5. empirical [ɛmˈpɪrɪkəl] - (adjective) - Based on practical experience rather than theory. - Synonyms: (observational, experiential, evidence-based)

And we know from empirical evidence that their teaching is not entirely conducive of learning.

6. comprehensively [ˌkɒmprɪˈhɛnsɪvli] - (adverb) - In a way that includes or deals with all or nearly all elements or aspects of something. - Synonyms: (thoroughly, entirely, exhaustively)

To get society ready for a future that is so comprehensively different from the past.

7. forensic [fəˈrɛnsɪk] - (adjective) - Relating to or denoting the application of scientific methods and techniques to the investigation of crime, or mere analysis or examination. - Synonyms: (analytical, investigative, diagnostic)

It's a disciplined, forensic approach that should be devoid of bias and emotion.

8. invalidation [ɪnˌvælɪˈdeɪʃən] - (noun) - The act of proving something is not valid. - Synonyms: (disproof, refutation, negation)

Indeed, humanity has benefited enormously from our capacity to observe, to measure, to test, to validate, to invalidate.

9. curate [ˈkjʊəreɪt] - (verb) - To select, organize, and present content or information, typically using professional or expert knowledge. - Synonyms: (select, organize, manage)

Far from content sharing, we should curate it.

10. cross-subsidization [ˈkrɒsˌsʌbsɪdɪˌzeɪʃən] - (noun) - The practice of using the profits from one product or activity to cover the losses of another. - Synonyms: (inter-financing, mixed-funding, cross-financing)

Use public funding and university cross subsidization for the truly groundbreaking research.

How universities will prepare for the future - Pascale Quester - TEDxSwinburne University

They say that change has never been as rapid as it is now, and yet it will never be that slow again. So why do we expect our universities to remain somehow immune to this? And with the emergence of aih, is there a future for us? After 35 years in universities across three continents, I've come to believe that three myths are plaguing our sector, carried by people both inside and outside of universities. The first myth is that universities are somehow the pinnacle of advanced education, perfected by a century of history. Not true. Universities were developed as a solution to a technological shortfall. It was for content sharing at a time where books were not readily available. So if we think about this particular challenge and this particular myth, should we feel threatened by another technology shortfall? And what is the place of universities in that future?

The second myth is that universities are very special, very unique places of learning. Yet learning happens in lots of other places, too, at different times for different people. And that's a good thing. So if universities are not places of learning, maybe what they've become are institutions of teaching and research. And we know from empirical evidence that their teaching is not entirely conducive of learning, and that at times their research is riddled with inefficiencies and duplication.

The third myth that is plaguing our sector is the belief that universities produce degrees. We don't. We produce graduates. And there's very little value added in taking on very smart people and turning them into very smart graduates. The value we add is in making our students better learners when they leave us than when they came. This is a delta that represents our value. In fact, even the notion of higher education is somewhat flawed. There is no such thing as higher or lower education. There is education. And education is about creating and developing human potential, human capital. So let's not fall into the double trap of tradition and reminiscence, and let's try instead to turn our gaze 180 degrees, to look at the future and get society ready for a future that is so comprehensively different from the past.

Far from content sharing, we should curate it. What does curating content mean? It means assessing it for its accuracy, for its validity, and for its relevance. It's a disciplined, forensic approach that should be devoid of bias and emotion. It should be based on knowledge, it should be based on facts, it should be based on data. And in that basis, it should actually give us a better understanding of everything around us.

Now, we add value by content curating, simply because there is so much everywhere that that curation adds value in and of itself. But the other way in which we add value is actually in enabling our learners to become proficient curators themselves, so they can serve their employer, their community, their society. In managing this plethora of information that we are surrounded by.

Now, of course, doing these sort of things will have a profound impact on the way we teach and the way we evaluate our teaching. What's the point of testing a student about how much content they can retain and eventually regurgitate? More to the point, why should we select students on the basis of their capacity to stand very still in a quiet room with a pen in their hands, with no access to external information? Exams are patently not very good predictors of someone's capacity for future learning. Instead, practice is the way in which we can develop, establish and demonstrate mastery. It is true for music, it is true for law, it is true for medicine, and it is true for a lot of the trades, too. praxis is the way knowledge influences the world and the people around us. And the best pedagogy for praxis is patient, benevolent and constructive mentorship. To become better educators, therefore, we have to become better coaches of learning.

So there you have it. We should not respond to technological disruption with nostalgia. We should embrace it, and we should become better curators of knowledge and better coaches of learning. Now, of course, universities also contribute to the well being of society through the research we do. Knowledge creation is very much in a sacred position in the firmament of intellectual pursuits. Indeed, humanity has benefited enormously from our capacity to observe, to measure, to test, to validate, to invalidate, to test again, and eventually come to some understanding about the universe and pretty much everything within it.

Yet we have to think about the way in which that research needs to be developed. It needs to be breakthrough research, blue sky research. It needs to be the research that humanity needs in order to survive and to thrive. Unfortunately, in university today, not all research meet those very exalted standards of discovery. And I believe in the power of blue sky research, and I believe the world needs those discoveries that brave and curious researchers will deliver in decades and centuries to come. But my point is more that we should be discriminate and we should use public funding and university cross subsidization for the truly groundbreaking research. Other type of research should be funded from other sources, donors, industry, because they are a better place to evaluate the merits, the benefit, and eventually the value of that research.

Now, the catalyst for questioning the future of university is the emergence of AI. Yet AI, combined with the ubiquity of online learning, has the potential to accelerate our research and more importantly, to distribute it much more equitably. For all this resembles the vision of the Chardin, a philosopher from France who said in the early days of the 20th century that the next phase of human evolution would be what he called the noosphere, a state of shared cognition and reason, educating everyone regardless of gender, of age, of race, of religion, and opening the door to a technology rich future on a sustainable planet based on research that truly makes a difference to their lives.

This, I believe, is a noble cause around which the future of universities should build. I think the world needs universities more now than ever before. But I also believe that the world doesn't need the universities we used to have. It needs universities that are different, dedicated to readying society for the future. Universities where researchers and educators work together in order to prepare the next cohort of learners to address the challenges they will face. If universities have a future, and are passionately believer that they do, then I think this is it. Thank you.

Education, Innovation, Technology, University Transformation, Ai Impact, Future Learning, Tedx Talks