Challenges & Future II

The other issue I will focus on is how student demands will change because students are more demanding, and so I think that our holistic and well-rounded approach to our education clearly provides a broader experience for the students. But I think at the same time, because it is not narrowly focused on the discipline, and because we have the expectation around internships and global experiences and volunteering and we are trying to develop that broader person, I think we are challenging our students—the heart of education it seems to me. When I was at Durham, we used to say to students at graduation and commencement, we used to say, “I hope you have had a challenging time.” And then we say what we mean by that is we hope that we have really pushed you, and we hope we have developed you intellectually, and we hope that we have developed those skills that we want you to develop. It seems to me that that so long as we get that challenge right, then we will address the level of student expectations.

But I think in terms of digital learning and the way that pedagogy will need to change, certainly we will have to adjust the way that we teach. We will have to move into blended, we will have to move into digital, we will have to move into online. We will have to upskill the faculty and support the faculty in terms of that shift. Our students will always be one step ahead of us because of the generational issue and so forth. But I think the two changes that I see perhaps impacting on SMU: one—greater presence and success of our education in this part of the world and its ability to compete with the traditional dominant countries. And secondly, the move to digital education, and how we will have to adjust our pedagogy and teaching techniques accordingly.