Our expert Olga Gil explains how the Covid-19 crisis is modifying university education in Spain and in the world.
The Covid-19 crisis is completely changing the educational model in the world. From the Bankinter Innovation Foundation we have asked the expert Olga Gil, PhD in Political Science and Sociology and professor at the Complutense University of Madrid, how higher education is adapting to the new challenges of this situation, which seems not to be temporary, but to be established over time.
Olga points out that education is experiencing a real disruption, with a change in the educational model, which will transform the one we know today, based on face-to-face and teaching methods. Disruption would lead us towards mixed models, which incorporate online education and personalized training. Although small pilots had already been made, from now on the changes will be extended globally.
This online model forces many of the methodologies implemented so far to change, so the main current challenges are:
- Guarantee access to technology for students, who will be able to further personalise their training if platforms with artificial intelligence are available.
- Train the teacher, both for the use of technology and to enhance the skills where the student can excel.
In Spain, these models have already been tested as pilots, but it is still necessary for the entire educational community (teachers, students, universities and public administration) to adapt to the new way of working, of communicating to new schedules, new activities and methodologies.
But for Olga Gil, the critical point in this whole process is innovation. Innovation is key for all of us to think about what our country will be like in a generation, combining education and innovation and preparing ourselves to face challenges as important as those presented by this pandemic. In Spain we have talent, very good teachers and recognized students, but we have problems in translating this talent into value for society. We need to create a transversal education where technology students and humanities students collaborate to be able to do things differently. And where they are able to translate that innovation into the ability to undertake and in a sustainable way.
