This article was presented as the background paper to the conference "The University in the Information Society" which took place on the 23-25 October 1996 in Sćo Paulo, Brazil. The conference considered issues surrounding the fundamental cultural and political choices that lie ahead for governments, economic actors and universities. It was organized under the auspices of the Association of European Universities (CRE), Programme Columbus and Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) with the aim to examine the wide spectrum of issues related to the information age and its impact on higher education.
Participants included university leaders from Latin America and Europe as well as industrial leaders from the telecommunications and computer sectors and representatives of national and international organizations whose activities are related to the theme of the conference.
The information technology revolution has only just begun. Its magnitude is only now becoming apparent, but already we feel its effects all around us. Emerging technologies - ever-faster microprocessors, fast, low-cost telecommunications - are redefining the cultural underpinnings of our society and transforming our concept of time and space. We are nomads once again.
Millions who hope to show off their products and services are taking advantage of this new far-reaching ability to publish and distribute their ideas. A new emerging culture has quickly adapted to these network systems - with a wide range of channels, bi-directional communications, and the inter-connectivity of available means.
The Internet is only the forerunner of what is to come. Cyber-everything will eventually determine how we learn, socialise, work and even shop. For the universities, it represents the end of their monopoly in creating and transferring knowledge, their fundamental and legitimate role since the Middle Ages.
A recent Columbus survey of university administrators regarding the influence of the information age on higher education revealed that most felt it would have a "significant" or "very significant" impact. However, they were quick to stress that the impact would be positive. However, on closer examination, a more ambiguous panorama was unveiled, one where opportunities and dead ends coexist.
The proliferation of personal computers and computer networks has enabled greater access to scientific and technical information. The volume of transmitted information is constantly increasing. The World Wide Web is doubling in size every two weeks - at the rate of one new home page every minute. Information, messages, dates, and images are more readily available than the combined capacity to process them. Does greater, faster access make the world a better place? The availability of information, and the speed that information travels, do not necessarily imply a better use of knowledge and experience. We have access to too much information for it to be used "intelligently". It is more important to select and develop approaches for learning, adopt research methods, and know how to discriminate and filter strategic information.
In the near future, students will be able to receive an education directly from the consultants Arthur Andersen or from the publisher Bertelsmann, in the same way they would now get an education from the University of Bologna or Harvard. Educational and commercial networks, offering a wide variety of global goods, are beginning to appear. So as not to be left behind in this cultural market, the university must rethink its organisation and the significance of such educational methods.
This must be done in such a way as to take into account knowledge and skills that, although seemingly irrelevant, will prove useful in later years. The university is best positioned to accurately define "the skills and competence required of students in the context of new developments in society and not based only on the interests of the occupational market." (European Round Table of Industrialists).
Marche ou crčve: the absolute necessity to integrate technological changes into university activities forces us to move forward. According to one rector, "We are trying to train professionals to prepare them for a business world that is highly productive, competitive, inter-communicative, client-oriented, and on the cutting edge of technology. However, all too often the way our educational institutions are run bears little resemblance to these organisational characteristics." Any change must doubtless take into consideration that "great organisations do have souls; any word with a ‘de-’ or ‘re-’ in front of it is likely to destroy those souls" (Henry Mintzberg).
Fundamental cultural and political choices lie ahead for governments, economic actors and universities. It is not about reasoning simply in terms of impact but also of projects: with which purpose do we want to develop the information society?
There is a pressing need to examine the wide spectrum of issues related to the information age and its impact on higher education, not just in Europe but around the world, and Europe in dialogue with the rest of the world.
University leaders must not just talk amongst themselves - they must communicate with industrial leaders from the telecommunications and computer sectors and representatives of national and international organisations whose activities are related to university education.
There are five major themes dealing with the critical aspects of the "paradigm shift".
To a great extent, the societies of the future will grow and develop through the relative success of collective learning. All organisations - companies, hospitals, service centres - will operate as vocational training centres to improve the qualifications of their personnel in accordance with their own guidelines. One of the keys of success for higher education institutions will be linked to their ability to identify changes in the job market and anticipate the type and nature of training that this market and the students will require. To do so, it will become essential to open new channels of communication both with the users and the stakeholders in these various activities.
There is but a short step separating future from antiquity. Three factors coincide to explain this rapid development: extraordinary technological advances (fibre optics, digitisation, etc.), exponential increases in the demand for telecommunications (to what extent is this demand propelled by supply?), the deregulation of telecommunication markets and the privatisation of state-owned companies (as of 1995, about 60 telecommunication firms throughout the world were scheduled for privatisation).
For the private sector, telecommunication and computer technologies have become a key to success. The advent of the integration of telecommunications by universities will depend on the conditions that govern access to networks. As a topical example, taking into account that telecommunications generate more profits than any other industrial sector, is it possible to reserve a portion of the networking capacity for higher education needs on an "at cost" basis?
"The idea of a global, common scientific meeting place, where it is possible to meet colleagues from over the world, is reason enough to lure hundreds of scientists to their keyboards every day" (The Economist). The internationalisation of scientific networks will have consequences on two levels: the production/diffusion of science and technology, and the role of university research. On one hand, what impact will international cooperation have on scientific communities? (Will Internet offer a greater share in the benefits of scientific progress to developing countries or will it widen the development gap that divides the world?)
On the other hand, how does the strengthening of research networks on a global scale affect the weight of universities in the research world?
What driving forces can rectors rely on to develop institutional strategies?
Technology offers enormous potential for educational applications, but its use should not be an end in itself. Due to the interactive nature and the high flexibility of multimedia learning, educational processes will no longer be linear - learning will be more specific and self-directed. Teaching techniques will be based on projects and on problem solving. This "paradigm shift" signals a change in the traditional roles of student and teacher: the educator will assume a consultative role; teaching will take a back seat to learning.
In addition to new forms of teaching and research, computer technologies now play an increasing role in information systems, student and resource management, library systems, and telecommuting. However, the use of new technologies requires highly adaptable organisational structures. The weight of tradition, rigid administrative and legal structures, inadequate personnel management tools, difficulties introducing new positions into the structure, high investment costs, and interference from the university’s own electronic centres, all conspire against the introduction of new technologies. How can the university manage a return to a required level of simplicity and flexibility?
Threats are just opportunities in disguise. The development of new technologies is going to transform the generation and distribution of knowledge as much as the form of teaching and learning. At the same time the multiplication of inter-university networks, the diversification of external partners, and increased accountability are affecting the organisational culture. Can the university redefine its contribution to society, thereby founding a new legitimacy?
For further information contact: Daniel Samoilovich at Programme Columbus
Email: columbus@techlink.fr