The Future of Higher Education: VinUni and the Challenges and Opportunities Beyond Covid-19
July 22, 2020
Alongside university leaders from Kyoto, Yonsei, Cornell, Karlstad, and Michigan (http://stml.yonsei.ac.kr/cws/seminar.html), Professor Rohit Verma, Founding Provost of VinUni discussed many interesting topics to prepare for COVID-19 impacts and to trial new initiatives in both instruction and administration of universities.
Despite positive outcomes of online education, it could not guarantee active participation and immersive experience for students in research, learning, and performing. Therefore, Professor Verma and other leaders explored the following alternatives to higher education’s struggling traditional approach:
• Solving challenges related to examinations, class participation, project work, laboratory etc. to improve learning outcome of online classes.
• Experiment new technologies including virtual/ augmented reality, simulation programs, and other options recognizing that the advanced version of online and hybrid teaching will look very different from what universities are doing today.
• Outside class engagement of students needs to be re-thought carefully to encourage interaction.
• Travel restrictions are forcing universities to re-think their international student strategy. A “consortium of universities” model may emerge.
• Consider alternative business models for universities to avoid generic training of the mass where we simply validate completion of knowledge by giving degrees or certificates without an ecosystem or creation of new values.
• Consider partnering with non-university organizations (e.g. technology companies; start-ups). Many traditional universities may be headed for failure during the next few years due to a drastically changing environment.
Do you know that VinUni already carried out multiple initiatives? What about you? Imagine yourself as the leader of a university during COVID-19 looking to maintain academic quality and student experience. Which initiative will you modify and apply? Or will you create an entirely new initiative? Leave your comment below and the 3 best comments will receive a gift form VinUni!
Are you ready to join VinUni? You can learn to change and adapt to overcome the challenges of tomorrow. Apply today! https://vinuni.edu.vn/students/
