Opinions

Timothy Burt from the Future Skills Organisation, Gail Bray from Victoria University, Colin Gniel from LinkedIn and Dr. Kathryn Blyth from the University of Queensland explore: why AI evolves faster than curriculum, systems and our ability to keep up, why coordination across sectors is fragmented, and why human skills in communication, judgement and creativity are rising in value. One line stayed with me:“AI is evolving faster than our people can build their skills…”The future isn’t AI vs humans. It’s AI-fluent, human-centred higher education professionals and institutions.What are you seeing in your institution and with your colleagues?

Professor Deborah Terry AC leads The University of Queensland and the Group of 8 universities. She outlines declining trust as the key issue facing the sector. She explains why and how it has happened and that doing something about it primarily calls for a return to purpose. She illustrates how that is being done at UQ through The Queensland Commitment. And she explains how that applies to the challenges with the emergence of AI in particular. This seminal episode is the start of a tipping point with the HEDx podcast as we move beyond what has got us here, and explore more fully what will get us where we need to be, including listening more to students and focussing on the student experience.

Charlsey Pearce as CEO of Mortar Caps Data Standard is a long term HEDx partner leading an innovation project around data standards for human capability records that support lifelong learning and tertiary harmonisation. In this episode she introduces, leads and comments on a HEDx webinar that led to the development of a White Paper recently submitted to ATEC, JSA and the Productivity Commission. This is a chance for Australia to jump from last to first in a global race for technology to support tertiary harmonisation and lifelong learners having records that set them up for life. Numerous HEDx partners join a conversation ending with views of a student of why this is so important.

Kivanch Oner is CIO of University of Nevada Las Vegas. He joins me and co-host Matt Cavallaro of Salesforce to discuss how change to serve changing student needs is achieved in a leading R1 US university. Our discussion traverses changes facing students and how they impact providers seeking to serve them. The place of technology as an enabler is analysed through the UNLV experience. The importance of partnerships and culture arising from trust is key to accelerating transformation and represents social capital for change. Insights from two technological pioneers of the cultural and human side of change that shines a light on transformation that is possible and needed by global providers in the sector.

Professor Kris Ryan DVCA of The University of Queensland introduces and reflects on the most recent HEDx event on Our Commitments to Students in the Age of AI. He does so by celebrating our adoption of the student voice in our work and the need to commit to it continuously in the future. We saw that in our most recent conference close up. And we saw how vulnerable all of us are and how that is something to celebrate as Manuela Franceschini of Adobe illustrates in a beautifully reflective poem written on the day at the event. And it all gives pointers to the community we build in doing this which Professor Kylie Readman of UTS celebrates in inviting us all to the next HEDx in the first week in June in Sydney.

Professor Kylie Readman DVC of UTS leads a panel of Australian experts in online learning in a discussion of the needs of this special group of lifelong learners. Professor Dominique Parrish of Torrens University Australia, Tom Steer of University of Adelaide, Catherine Reynolds of OUA and Erin Jancauskus of OES share experiences from leaders of online education. They dissect how AI is impacting this area of higher education. And they outline what it is going to take as we shift even more fully to this mode of learning in an omni-channel future as one of the ways that the growing demand for lifelong learning can be met particularly from equity groups.

George Williams of Western Sydney University launches a seminal essay on the crisis of social license in our universities and what we have to do about it. As a publication of The Australia Institute, George shares thoughts on why the essay was written and what is contribution will be with Alice Grundy of The Australia Institute Press. The session is a response to the conversation between Alphia Possamai-Inesedy and Ann Kirschner, advisor to President at ASU and the University of California. Ann sees an opportunity to rebuild from the tremors impacting the sector globally and makes the perfect case for why the essay was needed.

Simon Biggs VC of JCU recently visited TEDI-London as an exemplar of learning innovation and of how AI can democratise education for disadvantaged learners. Little did Simon and I know that he was meeting Professor Lisa Brodie TED-London Dean shortly before she would be able to be public about it transitioning into ASU London. As its foundation Dean, she joins Simon and I to reflect on their meeting and what they discussed and sharing the news that ASU London was launched last week. In. partnership with Cintana, this major development in global educational partnerships has a profound impact on how we will perceive the future of transnational education for global learners.