Four Models of Higher Education in 2030

This chapter provides four models of higher education for the year 2030, namely the Tamagotchi, Jenga, Lego Set, and Transformer models. The Tamagotchi model represents the classic approach to higher education, starting right after secondary school and leading up to a bachelor’s or master’s degree and then transitioning into employment, finishing the path of higher education. The Jenga model, while similar to Tamagotchi, appeals to nontraditional students because of its shorter learning span and focuses on later phases of self-learning and -organization. The Lego Set model is fittingly named after the individually combined modules of different sizes, making for a self-reliant and non-standardized learning path rather than one compact unit. The Transformer model represents learners whose initial phase of education may have long passed, but who return to higher education to acquire new basic knowledge or upskill their formal education. It relies on the idea that everyone must have opportunities to leave their current professional paths and change course.

Outlook on a New University Landscape in 2030

Reflecting the change in perspective taken in this book, our survey put questions about institutional support, governance, quality assurance or financial issues aside. Moreover, digitization is not only a technical innovation but always a social one as well. This fundamental change of perspective leads to questions such as “What does the learner need?” that universities will have to face in the future. Within the survey, international experts were requested to assess the quantitative success of the different learning pathways, distributing current and future students among the four models. Unsurprisingly, the “new” learning paths were expected to become more important, although the actual prospective importance of these learning paths will depend on the supply and demand for academic studies, allowing decision-makers to rethink the educational designs based on the AHEAD modeling.

Correction to: Higher Education Landscape 2030

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From Lines of Development to Scenarios

After examining the current developments in the field of knowledge and competence requirements, university teaching and technology, and their effects on a digital society through various background studies, this chapter focuses on modeling and developing different scenarios and discussions with regard to technology and social developments. Different economic and social requirements as well as new forms of didactics and learning environments will lead to necessary changes in higher education. It should provide a link between continuing and higher education by identifying new ways of recognizing skills acquired informally. Strong support most notably for new students, should combine performing, developing, and explorative teaching and learning situations. Meanwhile, it will be essential for the didactics of the future to be sensitive to the needs of learners and offer individualized support for student-learning paths, making education independent of time and place. Finally, selected approaches to developing future scenarios in higher education focusing on institutions and governance issues, technology, and social developments are discussed in more detail.

A University Landscape for the Digital World

As the digital transformation clearly highlights the role of universities and institutes of higher education in shaping a higher education system that is more open and provides education to everyone who can benefit from it, this study seeks to analyze, in more detail, what developments are having an impact on higher education and develops future scenarios for education in 2030. The UK study Solving future skills challenges implies that the linear model of education–employment–career will no longer be sufficient in the future, requiring new combinations of skills, experience, and collaboration from educators and employers. This UK study serves as a starting point for the AHEAD trend analysis for a higher education landscape in 2030. Five premises ranging from “No naive innovation view” to “Realistic approach,” and “Diversity in higher education” provide the basis for a search for concepts for the higher education of the future.