The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about a host of new challenges for universities. But what is interesting, or perhaps frustrating for those within higher education, is that some long-standing, pre-existing hurdles remain.
The UK is not exempt from three key hurdles universities around the world have yet to fully overcome: Keeping up with technological changes, innovative teaching and learning, and balancing the scales between research and teaching. But we have yet to fully commit to the idea that teaching excellence has a role to play in combatting all three.
Looking firstly at technological changes, it is clear there has been a shift in what is regarded as important in the working world. Today, more jobs require some grasp of data science and algorithmic thinking; and that trend is not likely to reverse anytime soon.
Furthermore, the concept of teaching excellence should not be overlooked in best preparing students for life after study. We must rework the curricula and student assignments so they are more relevant to real-world issues and needs, that is; authentic assessment. Teaching should be rounded and bring in elements from different subject areas when there are natural opportunities, including multi-disciplinary education.
