“We ignore the advances being made by the sector at our peril”

By CLAIRE FIELD

At a time when tertiary education funding has flat-lined and we are beset by government reviews – it was both energising and concerning to attend the recent HolonIQ Future of Education and Workforce Summit.

Presenters included a raft of overseas and Australian EdTech providers whose offerings are relevant to and/or a disruptor of the tertiary sector, including:

* Sana Labs (using AI in corporate training/professional education. I wrote them up in a briefing note after attending this year’s EdTechXEurope conference)

* Faethm (using AI to map the changing world of work and the changing skills required)

* Chegg (listed on the NYSE, 3.1 million subscribers, annual revenues of US $400 million pa, providing a range of 24/seven student support services)

* GO1 (an Australian aggregator for online workplace training –both accredited and non-accredited)

UTS was the only university to present (on their new Faculty of Transdisciplinary Innovation). And while Summit delegates included representatives from the university and private tertiary sector – worryingly no-one attended from the TAFE sector.

We ignore the advances being made by the EdTech sector at our peril. Employers value the skills and knowledge being taught, and the use of AI allows for increased academic performance and higher course completion rates.

If you’re interested in my reflections and those of others from across the world who participated in a recent visit to Bengaluru, India’s Silicon Valley, to meet its EdTech entrepreneurs – they feature in the next two episodes of ‘What now? What next?’ (in your favourite podcast app or listen via the website).

Claire Field advises on VET, international education and private higher education. She advises HolonIQ on the Australian education sector and spoke at their Sydney Summit.