A lifetime learning mindset is the new imperative, says Dr Jamshed Bharucha of SRM University

Jamshed Bharucha is an academic leader focused on crafting financially sustainable, technologically imaginative and intellectually vibrant futures for colleges and universities. His approach to innovation in education is driven by rigorous analytics and the latest research in cognitive neuroscience.

In a conversation with Shiksha.com, SRM University, AP- Amaravati Vice Chancellor Dr Jamshed Bharucha talks about the skills needed to thrive in the wake of revolutionary shifts in the way we work, live and play. He also talks about the challenges ahead of the Indian higher education system and ways to overcome them. For sure, a lifetime learning mind set is the new imperative, focused on innovation, creativity, design, critical thinking, problem solving and leadership.

Especially so as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning are poised to disrupt many aspects of human existence. Persistent uncertainty, shorter shelf life for knowledge, reduced lifespan of firms, products with built-in obsolescence, just in time services and a multigenerational workforce have made continual upskilling an existential requisite – more so in a fast-changing, Industry 4.0 knowledge-based economy. Gone are the jobs for life, as automation is embraced to exponentially boost productivity and economic growth. By 2030, automation will displace over 1.5 million jobs in the United States, over 11 million in China, and 2 million across EU states. India is no exception.

Perhaps the biggest risk to the futures of Indian college graduates is that coding in the computer languages of today – the route to most of the good jobs coming out of an undergraduate degree – will become automated. As per World Economic Forum, over 54 percent of India’s employees in 12 sectors need reskilling. A recent global study from Gallup and Northeastern University that gauged perceptions of the impact of AI on jobs found poor confidence in higher education to prepare for current or future workforce. Most adults in the US, UK and Canada are critical of current education as the first source for new age skills. Most questioned the value of a degree from a traditional university but vouched for the value of lifelong learning. Over seventy percent of Americans believe that AI will eliminate more jobs than it will create

With enlightened reforms in higher education, this doom and gloom scenario can be turned on its head. Every economic disruption caused by industrial innovation has yielded new and unforeseen opportunities. But we must intervene now. Our higher education system must itself be disrupted to enable our graduates to stay one step ahead of the periodic economic shifts they will have to contend with during their lifetimes.

We must reform our system of education to develop the human talents that computers still cannot mimic. The human brain is a magnificent organ, with capabilities that far surpass those of machines in the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, the traditional model of Indian education is woefully inadequate to face the challenges or to seize the opportunities that lie ahead. We still rely on monologue lectures to transmit information from teacher to student, even though research on how the brain learns points to the distinct superiority of active, interactive and multimodal models of learning. We still rely on mugging and rote memorization, even though machines can already do this much better than we can – and we forget what we memorized. We still rely almost exclusively on final examinations, even though continuous and multidimensional forms of assessment are much better predictors of higher order cognitive skills. And we still rely on the narrow knowledge silos of traditional subjects, even though the most exciting emerging innovations are being sparked at the intersections of these subjects.

Our education system should focus on developing the higher order cognitive and social capabilities that machines cannot yet come close to matching. This includes learning how to keep learning, thinking analytically across subject areas, assessing information critically, communicating clearly, and using the outer reaches of our imagination and curiosity to invent and discover things that have never been known before. Our educational system must also foster our human capacity to form and strengthen social, professional ethical and political bonds that enable growing populations (of people as well as machines) to coexist peacefully and to thrive.

History shows that automation will create more jobs than it cuts. However, the new jobs are typically of a different sort. As machines rise to perform increasingly complex tasks, we must climb the cognitive ladder even higher, mastering arenas of even greater complexity. We must urgently overhaul our education system to prepare our students to adapt to multiple technological revolutions likely to play out during their lifetimes

For sure, a lifetime learning mind set is the new imperative besides innovation, creativity, design, critical thinking, emotional intelligence and problem solving.

With the advent of machine era, people must develop skills that are unique to humans. To survive the new age, policy makers, industry and academia must act collectively to help students become future-ready and enable vulnerable workers prepare for the upheaval. To stay relevant, and sought after, the workforce must continually learn, unlearn, and relearn. This presents both a huge challenge and opportunity if Homo sapiens is to maintain its edge over machines.