VUCA world: Varsities need to ensure the curriculum prepares students for jobs that have yet to exist. — 123rf.com
Every year, as part of the graduation ceremony, I have the privilege of addressing my university’s graduating cohort.
This year’s cohort is unique, in that the graduates completed the first and second years of their undergraduate studies largely online, during the global Covid-19 pandemic.
Only during the final year did they return to campus for face-to-face studies and have a university experience that one could consider “normal”.
Recent events, however, suggest that the world we live in is far from normal, at least based on a pre-pandemic understanding of “normal”. As we move on from the Covid-19 global pandemic, we see a war that still rages between Ukraine and Russia, an explosion in artificial intelligence sparked by ChatGPT, escalating tension between the US and China that is destabilising the global economy and, despite all the rhetoric on sustainability and ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance), a losing battle on climate change.
The world that our graduates face is drastically different from the world in which Gen Xers like me graduated into, and inherently more VUCA – volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous.
It’s also no longer the case that university is a passport to a well-paying career, and we are at a point where many young people are starting to question whether it’s worth going to university, given the added financial burden and uncertainty over job prospects.
In response, universities must be prepared to adapt, to remain relevant and deliver value to students who are now consumers in a market with the power of choice.
In a VUCA world, universities need to ensure the curriculum not only prepares students for the jobs of today, but also for jobs that may not even exist yet. As a starting point, universities should seek to embed the following five pillars in their curriculum:
> Professional journey Most students expect a university education to prepare them for a profession, not just a first job, and give them an advantage over those without a university education.
Alignment in the curriculum between university, employers and relevant professional bodies is key to graduate employability and enables talent to productively transition into the workforce. Opportunities for students to engage with employers, through internships, projects and industry seminars, should be integrated into the curriculum.
> Soft skills The curriculum should help students develop soft skills, which are highly valued by employers and are instrumental to career success.
The development of soft skills can be facilitated through learning activities such as team assignments, class presentations and seminars, as well as extra-curricular activities.
However, most universities assess students predominantly on their hard skills, or knowledge, through assignment and exams. In an age of increasing automation, soft skills will become more valued, and universities should holistically assess students on both their hard and soft skills.
> Power of toolsWhat sets humans apart from other species is our ability to make and use tools to increase productivity. Such tools can be physical, like a screwdriver; digital, such as Microsoft Excel; or AI-based, like generative AI systems.
The curriculum should enable students to effectively apply such tools to solve problems, rather than ban their use as some universities are doing. To be clear, I’m not advocating that students use AI tools to ‘cheat’ in assignments and exams. Rather, the curriculum needs to recognise that we live in an AI-enabled world and academics need to adapt the way they assess students accordingly.
> Problem-solvingOur students need to move beyond writing essays to solving problems they may later face in the real world. Many universities already include elements of problem-based learning in their courses. My own institution recently adopted ‘authentic assessment’ as a core part of the teaching and learning strategy. For example, our quantity surveying students undertake field visits where they are exposed to real world surveying practices.
In a VUCA-world, the challenges that students face 10 years from now may be quite different from the ones they face today but by nurturing a problem-solving mentality, students will be better prepared for the future.
> Responsible graduatesThe curriculum should develop responsible graduates, who understand ESG and are able to adopt ESG principles in their decision-making. It is encouraging to see a growing number of universities offer sustainability as a core module at undergraduate level.
Ideally, ESG should be seen as a broader set of principles that cut across the entire curriculum, rather than concentrated in a single module. Universities might consider asking students to undertake real-life projects on ESG issues, so that the impact can be seen and felt first-hand.
In a VUCA world, universities can’t afford to stay stagnant; they must adapt to remain relevant in an age where tertiary education is increasingly seen as an option rather than a necessity.
Prof Wing Lam is the provost and chief executive officer at University of Reading Malaysia, an international branch campus of University of Reading, United Kingdom. He has held a variety of academic positions in Malaysia, Singapore and the UK. Prof Wing completed his PhD in computer science at King’s College London in 1994. He has published over 80 peer-reviewed articles and journals. His current areas of research interest include technology and innovation. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.
