The Future of Learning: Skills for a New Economy

The Future of Learning Skills for a New Economy

― Panelists Dr. Doug Brown Dean of Science and Mathematics Massasoit Community College Dr. Aisha Francis President Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology Dr. Jim Kraly Associate Dean of Sciences, Sustainability and Health Keene State College Dr. Siobhan O’Mahoney Feld Family Professor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship Boston University Caitlin Reimers Brumme Senior Vice President, MassChallenge Early Stage at MassChallenge

― Moderator David Damon Principal, Higher Education Perkins&Will

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.

Meet the speakers

Dr. Doug Brown

Dr. Aisha Francis

Dr. Jim Kraly

Dean of Science and Mathematics Massasoit Community College

President, Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology

Associate Dean of Sciences, Sustainability and Health, Keene State College

Dr. Doug Brown has been a STEM

Dr. Aisha Francis is the new President

Dr. Jim Kraly is an analytical chemistry

educator and leader for over 20 years,

of Benjamin Franklin Institute of

professor by training and the Associate

in both K-12 and higher education. He

Technology having recently served

Dean in the School of Sciences,

currently serves as Dean of Science

as Chief Executive Officer. Her

Sustainability, and Health at Keene

and Mathematics at Massasoit

focus is to advance the mission of

State College. His initiatives have

Community College where his focus

this minority-serving, non-profit

brought forth microcredentials to serve

has been on entrepreneurial and

technical college based in Boston.

a variety of educational pathways and

collaborative strategies to promote

Following her terminal degree from

to meet regional workforce needs, as

student access and success in STEM.

Vanderbilt University, Dr. Francis’

well as to envision new ways to partner

Dr. Brown has led the development

career has centered on increasing

the students and the college with local

of innovative hands-on curricula

access to higher education including

industry and community employers.

that promote student engagement

the work she has done across various

With Dr. Kraly’s leadership, Keene State

and develop student success skills by

fields and populations. Aisha is an

has recently strengthened the network

building both academic and career

educator at heart – and she believes

of articulation agreements with Career

programs, and co-curricular programs.

in the collective ability of healthy

and Technical Education centers

Doug’s practice of integrating courses

organizations and well-supported

of New England. Jim is excited to

with these innovative ideas has ignited

individuals to transform underserved

bridge connections between talented

student interest and engagement and

communities. Leadership roles in

youth and engaging educational

has made Massasoit’s STEM program a

board relations and governance,

opportunities that deliver relevant

popular choice among first-generation

strategic planning, and resource

skillsets with problem solving and

college students.

development have underscored her

perspectives rooted in the liberal arts.

ability to develop trusted relationships and implement programs with significant impact.

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

Dr. Siobhán O’Mahoney is the Feld Family Professor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Questrom School of Business at Boston University where her research 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

Cait Reimers Brumme is the Managing Director of MassChallenge Boston, a non-profit organization 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”. Caitlin holds an MBA with high distinction from Harvard Business School, where she was a Baker Scholar, and a B.A. with honors from The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

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David Damon, Moderator Principal, Higher Education Practice Leader, Perkins&Will

David Damon, a Higher Education Principal at Perkins&Will, moderated the discussion. David has come to conceptualize architecture as a physical framework in which everyone can feel welcomed and engaged.

Since the 90s, he has helped colleges and universities transform their dorms into residence halls, repositioning a once-mundane project type into an active, mixed-use hub of student success. To him, each project is an opportunity to create a tailored solution that is specific to a campus’ culture and mission. David’s evolving and inventive work has solidified his status as a recognized national leader on the forefront of student and residential life.

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

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

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. SIOBHAN 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