University Futures

I worked for a long time in universities and vocational colleges before I set up Thinking Futures in 2007. I hung around because they are fascinating places to work and I believe in the inherent value of people having the opportunity to access education and learning.

One of the things that is so clear though, is that the future shape and form of education itself  and how universities are structured to create and deliver that education, are changing rapidly.  They will continue to change, and change in ways we can’t even begin to imagine today.

We must work hard now to understand what the likely impact of that change will be on current business and learning models, and what universities will look like in the future.

I set up a University Futures site in 2006 as my first foray in websites, sharing knowledge and providing resources for anyone interested in the future of universities.  I closed it down in 2009 so I’d only have my Thinking Futures site to look after.  Silly decision!  I’ve re-built the site which is now at http://universityfutures.net. It’s a work in progress, so let me know what you think, and what sort of resources and information you need.

One thing: it’s called ‘University Futures’, because that’s what I’m familiar with and I do want to focus on helping people in universities to shift their thinking about what they need to do today to be ready for the future.  What I’m talking about though is not unique to universities – if you work in education of any sort, at any level, these issues and drivers of change are important for you to understand too.

Go to University Futures now, and see what you can contribute to our collective thinking on the future of universities.