Dear all,
The creation of the UOC in 1995 was an act of disruption. The team led by our founding president, Gabriel Ferraté, shunned the possibility of copying existing formats. Instead of searching out ready-developed solutions they identified revolutionary questions. And this was where our unique model began: the world’s first online university.
Today, that ‘far-out creation’ is still going strong. Strong in education because online education is here to stay – at least if we are right in assuming that there will remain the need for the right methodologies, technologies and equipment, and that digital transformation is equally important for teaching, research and university administration. Because there is no field unaffected by digital transformation. Never before have digital skills for all been understood as such a priority, as the cornerstone of any society that believes in fairness. Quality access to the internet, without paying unreasonable fees and with net neutrality for all, as well as adequate training to make the most of it – an essential factor – are of critical importance in terms of citizens’ rights.
Technology provides the leverage, but it is the teaching model that puts the student at the centre, and it is the collaboration between peers, the ongoing support and guidance and, overall, the quality of the online learning that ensures that this innovation can be useful at all different moments in students’ lives and careers.
With the fourth industrial revolution now under way, we want to be fully involved in this digital transformation of our future: in the shoes of the people studying, of those training themselves, of those renewing their skills, and of those shaping tomorrow’s world.
The question what is the future of education? is the subject of our inaugural lecture to be given by the Vice President for Open Learning at MIT, Sanjay Sarma. In the words of our guest, “Human beings are what we are because of learning,” once we’ve dealt with our basic needs, learning is the main characteristic that sets our species apart.
This belief in the importance of learning is something Professor Sarma carries into his leadership of both MIT’s Office of Digital Learning and the Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab, roles that make him responsible for developing new online education models, supervising various blended and open learning initiatives, and working with universities worldwide, including the UOC, on the evolution of education from here forward.
Have an excellent academic year 2020/2021!
Josep A. Planell
President of the UOC