Do we need a physical university?

Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG

This is a question that has long interested Niklas Egels Zandén. However, due to the pandemic, the topic has now become particularly relevant.

THE FACT THAT the University of Gothenburg’s employees and students switched to online activities in record time has of course meant a lot of extra work and frustration. But it has also led to the development of new knowledge, emphasizes Niklas Egels Zandén, Professor of Management and Organization. – Seeing the online transition as a necessary evil is not much fun, after all. It is more fruitful to consider our new experiences as a type of research where, in our day-to-day work, we examine what works well and what, perhaps, does not work so well. The fact that we are all in the same boat, employees and students alike, provides particularly good conditions for experimenting, making mistakes and trying again. In different circumstances, the students would probably have had higher demands on perfection, but now they accept that everyone is doing the best they can.

¨THE POTENTIAL IN increased online teaching has been debated for a long time. But now, when everyone suddenly has experience of Zoom and other platforms, it will be possible to conduct discussions on a completely different level, says Niklas Egels Zandén. – What can we do online that we cannot do in a lecture hall? Are recorded lectures worse than lectures in a lecture hall, or perhaps in some instances better? The lecturer does not have to go on about the same thing for each new

In my experience, students are usually quite reluctant to raise their hands in a lecture hall with 150 people

NIKLAS EGELS ZANDÉN

Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG

course and the students can watch the lecture as often as they like. Recording your lecture on Zoom is also very easy.

It is also easy to use lecturers from other universities online.

– THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, Economics and Law has, for example, purchased a series of HSTalks that provide pre-recorded lectures with experts in various fields. The students get to listen, then we lecturers put the lecture in a context, discuss it and practise.

It is often claimed that face-to-face meetings are better than virtual ones, but is that true? – In my experience, students are usually quite reluctant to raise their hands in a lecture hall with 150 people, Niklas Egels Zandén points out. They are much better at using the chat feature in Zoom. It also makes it easier for me because I can deal with the issues that are most relevant straight away, and save the other posts for later.

Breakout rooms is a Zoom function where the lecturer with a simple push of a button can let the students discuss in small groups and then let them return to the lecture. – One advantage is that it is quiet, group conversations in a classroom can be very loud. In Zoom, group calls can also be made very quickly, perhaps in the space of five minutes, as no one needs to move around or run out and get coffee.

Polls is another feature that makes it possible to ask a quick question and get an immediate answer. – Students do not have to fiddle with their phones to use other platforms, but can easily answer with the push of a button in Zoom.

FACE-TO-FACE meetings are best suited for discussions where students can come up with their own experiences and ideas, and where you can delve into a question that does not have a definitive answer, says Niklas Egels Zandén. – If the courses are structured so that the teaching takes place mainly online, face-to-face meetings become all the more important. As a lecturer, you can demand that everyone is really well prepared on the occasions when we actually meet. More online teaching could also be a solution to the university’s problems with its premises. – Instead of holding a lecture at 8–10 on a Monday morning, because there is no other time available, you could have it online at 10-12. Fewer premises also means lower costs, which means more money for teaching. And that’s something all lecturers want, right?