In the previous week’s column, I alluded to my conversation with Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda where we discussed what universities would be like in the next 10 years, and whether they’d even be relevant.
I put forward three points explaining how online education can in fact democratize education by opening up high quality course content from reputed institutions to students who cannot afford to attend those institutions in physical space and time. I concluded last week with the concept of micro-credentials as being essential for the twenty-first century and as we navigate the fourth industrial revolution.
Universities, thus, will do well to focus on courses that produce micro-credentials so that students have the opportunity to gather the skills when they need it -- “just in time” for a few weeks or a few months -- rather than memorizing a lot of information for many years on end, “just in case” they come handy at some point in life. In the age of Google, probably most of this information can be searched “just in time” rendering the “just in case” approach rather irrelevant.
But this is where things get interesting. I believe that these micro-skills would come from multiple institutions of higher learning instead of constraining students to the walls of one institution for many years, regardless of how wonderful that one institution may be.
Some of these courses would be on-campus and some would be online, and some even blended.
Imagine a student taking courses from Khulna University of Engineering and Technology on campus, and supplementing that with some courses from Dhaka University online, and then some more from Brac University and Asian University for Women.
Why not? Why can this not be the future of higher education in Bangladesh?
Again, the whole purpose is to provide learners opportunities for acquiring just-in-time micro-credentials from multiple institutions and seamlessly blend them into a lifelong learning experience.
Returning to the point about the future of universities, Coursera has started offering multi-year complete bachelor’s and master’s degrees online. There are a number of top universities in developed countries such as MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College, University of London, National University of Singapore, among many others that are also offering online bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
What about Bangladesh?
Bangladesh Open University (BOU) has a tradition of “distance education” for tertiary level students. In fact, over 200,000 students pursue bachelor’s and master’s degrees from BOU from all corners of the country. Typically, weekly in-person classes are held, with students doing their own studies throughout the week. The online education delivery is rather missing.
In contrast, the Open University in the UK and Indira Gandhi National Open University in India offer online bachelor’s and master’s degrees that are highly regarded by students and employers alike.
During Covid-19, when campuses were closed, almost all universities in Bangladesh offered courses online, but they were mostly confined to video conferencing without leveraging the myriad possibilities of true online education.
So, we are behind as a nation. Our universities are far behind in exploiting the power of online education to truly benefit our students to be market-ready and to become nation builders. However, the good news is that the Blended Education Master Plan, prepared by the National Blended Education Task Force and chaired by the education minister, will unleash tremendous possibilities in online education at the tertiary level.
Online is not enough
This must spell the end of universities, surely? Not quite.
Now, I do believe that these fully online degrees will yield tremendous benefits in their own right and I congratulate Coursera and top global universities for these initiatives. When I think that a girl in Bangladesh can now sit at home and receive a full degree from her dream university in America without having to go through the hurdles of acquiring a visa and moving and living in a different country, how can I not be appreciative of that?
Yet, I was very surprised to hear Jeff, one of the most famous proponents of online education, extol the virtues of on-campus experience, which can, for a vast majority of students, be life-changing. Not everything can be the Metaverse. Certainly not education.
To this point, I do believe that bachelor’s programs should be a blend of online and on-campus because, it is at that age, as a student leaves higher secondary school and becomes an adult, that she learns the skills that a university campus offers: Collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving, and in-person communication. All of which are listed as integral 21st century skills by the World Economic Forum.
Simply put, there is no alternative to in-person human interaction and this is most important during the years when a student is doing his or her bachelor’s. The spontaneous interactions between a teacher and student in the classroom, or of two fellow students collaborating and problem-solving cannot be replicated online as effectively.
Perhaps these interactions can never be replicated online, even as augmented reality becomes reality itself.
In addition, pursuing online education requires the learner to be more self-motivated than in an on-campus setting -- something many learners at the undergraduate level struggle with.
During master’s, provided a student has had a positive, on-campus experience, the interaction skills have mostly been honed. Also, most master’s students pursue the degree out of self-motivation. Mostly.
Therefore, the chances of a fully online master’s being successful are far greater than a fully online bachelor’s.
Back to the question
What is the future of universities in the next 10 years?
The future of our universities, much like the future of our overall education, over the next decade and beyond, is blended education.
Physical universities will continue to exist. But adoption of online education delivery with the right instructional design and pedagogy will be important. Universities who will not do that will lose not only relevance but also market share.
This is where the experience of Coursera globally, and platforms such as Muktopaath in Bangladesh, will be paramount to make the adoption effective, speedy, and cost-efficient.
Universities will also have to offer market-driven micro-credentials. That is also where blended delivery modality makes the most sense.
Talent is everywhere, but opportunities are not.
I strongly believe that blended education by universities can offer greater opportunities to these talented young people across Bangladesh.
It is only when we shall be able to take the best elements of online education, and combine it with the irreplaceable elements of in-person classes, will we be able to provide our university students with the best experience, and the best chance to provide the leadership of an innovative, equitable, and developed nation.
Anir Chowdhury is a US tech entrepreneur turned Bangladeshi government entrepreneur serving as the Policy Advisor of a2i in ICT Division and Cabinet Division supported by UNDP.
