Future skills for lifelong learning

In the year 2050, we may be working in a job that may not even exist yet. In our lifetime, we will come across numerous changes that humanity has never experienced before. One of the most important traits that humans will need to develop in the future is the ability to be a lifelong learner. What has everything got to do with Future Skills for Lifelong Learning?

Since the arrival of the Internet, communication and collaboration amongst people across national boundaries have become a common phenomenon. The number of patents file in recent years has grown tremendously with China leading in the numbers of patents filed in 2018 (WIPO, 2019). This has contributed to the explosive growth of knowledge particularly in the field of science and technology in a very short period. We often see this in the frequent launches of new models of smartphones that keep getting better with more advance features. The speed of mobile broadband has reached the stage where we no longer wait for the live video stream to start. These technologies will continue to augment human communication and collaboration that will continue to see the exponential growth of knowledge.

The concept of the “Knowledge Doubling Curve” stated that knowledge doubles every century, and by the 1940s knowledge double every 25 years and currently, knowledge double every 13 months. With the advances of IoT (Internet of Things), IBM has recently announced that the doubling of human knowledge will eventually be less than 24 hours. What does this mean to all of us?

Knowledge will eventually grow at an exponential rate because of the Knowledge Doubling Curve. SEGi prepares you to embrace change as new knowledge will replace past knowledge, new skills will replace past skills, new attitudes need forming to cope with these new challenges. Students will be able to work alongside emerging technologies where courses will naturally become more digitally-focused, and of course, develop the skills that are not easily replicated by machines. Therefore, Future Skills for Lifelong Learning is SEGi Penang College’s answer for our graduates to be ready to face a dynamic future that is full of uncertainty.

It is likely that technology will continue to disrupt and redefine the workplace. Future Skills for Lifelong Learning prepares you to meet the challenges of this uncertainty that has resulted from changes due to the explosive growth of knowledge and discoveries. Knowing how to learn equips you will the abilities to learn new knowledge and skills that you can use as you navigate in a rapidly changing world. The illiterate of the 21^st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. This process of learning, unlearning, and relearning requires you to have effective learning skills to overcome changes, thus, enables you to embrace new knowledge and skills that are relevant in the 21^st century.

Besides learning skills, digital smarts are the skills required to thrive in a technologically advanced information economy where you need digital skills such as information literacy, media literacy, and ICT literacy. These digital skills will enable you to be more efficient in accessing, evaluating, using, and managing content, in other words, you will be able to search for information a bit quicker, determine the credibility of information, use and organize them appropriately. Media literacy provides the students with the skills to analyze and create digital artifacts for effective communication. Creating an effective and engaging multimedia presentation would be a good example of media literacy skills. While ICT literacy embraces openness to new technologies that allow students to evaluate the effectiveness of technologies and be an early adopter and leverage on its advantages.

Furthermore, the programme lets students develop important skills in areas of life and career skills that allow students to be flexible and adaptable. Take charge of your life by having goals and the initiative to plan and direct. At SEGi, we develop the habit of continuous learning by introducing our students to the Future Skills for Lifelong Learning as a holistic programme that will transform you into an individual who is bold, progressive, and a lifelong learner who is equipped with the right knowledge, skills, and attitudes to cope with the dynamic changes that you will face in the 21^st century workplace.