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Longer lifespans, technological advances, and a job market that requires a workforce with multiple skillsets have all contributed to shifting trends in the education space. A college education in itself is no longer enough. What is a good way forward instead is an approach to learning that takes as its premise a 60-year-old curriculum.

What does that mean? It merely implies that instead of graduates focusing all their energies on getting four-year degree courses under their belt as a stepping-stone to fixed careers, learning is looked upon instead as a lifelong process.

Look around you now, and it is clear that nothing, including education, is going to be the same after COVID-19. The novel coronavirus has led to nationwide closures in over 188 countries, impacting more than 90 percent of the world’s student population.[1] Despite being known as a sector resistant to change, the education industry has risen to the challenge quickly. It has equipped its frontline providers with the skills they need to navigate the delivery of classes and courses offline.

Scores of schools, colleges, and educational institutions across the globe have moved swiftly to offer students alternative means of continuing academic sessions. They have done it in keeping with local resources and know-how with a mix of broadcasts on public television, radio, and recorded or live sessions online.[2]

To me, this very agility promises to pave the way for the lifelong approach to learning that colleges like Stanford and Harvard have been espousing for some time now. The imperative to shift to such an approach was until now driven by other factors such as lengthening lifespans and the coming of the gig economy. Now it is undoubtedly about the skills that students will need to succeed while facing the unpredictability of life itself.

Here on, students everywhere will have to be adequately conversant with all the new technologies that are evolving every day. They will also have to be equipped with the right mix of social skills, including adaptability, perseverance, and grit, to work alongside next-gen technology confidently while always being in charge.