An avalanche is coming: Higher education and the revolution ahead

Article

Our belief is that deep, radical and urgent transformation is required in higher education as much as it is in school systems. Our fear is that, perhaps as a result of complacency, caution or anxiety, or a combination of all three, the pace of change is too slow and the nature of change too incremental.'

'Should we fail to radically change our approach to education, the same cohort we're attempting to "protect" could find that their entire future is scuttled by our timidity.'
David Puttnam, MIT, 2012

This wide-ranging essay aims to provoke creative dialogue and challenge complacency in our traditional higher education institutions.

'Just as globalisation and technology have transformed other huge sectors of the economy in the past 20 years, in the next 20 years universities face transformation.'

With a massive diversification in the range of providers, methods and technologies delivering tertiary education worldwide, the assumptions underlying the traditional relationship between universities, students and local and national economies are increasingly under great pressure - a revolution is coming.

Related items

  1. A young woman with a long ponytail sits looking out of a bus window

    State of the North 2025 - The kids aren't alright: How to deliver for young people in the North

    This year’s State of the North report highlights how regional inequality exacerbates the growing challenges facing many young northerners. 
  2. An illustration of an ideal public transport system: a smiling family cross a road near a green bus with houses and trees in the background

    The transport challenge for low-income households

    Many people living on low incomes in the UK are limited in their ability to access the building blocks of a good life because of poor transport provision.

  3. Towards universal opportunity for young people

    Outlining a vision for young people which could increase social mobility while also reducing inequality and disadvantage, so that every young person has the opportunity to build a decent life.