According to Dell Technologies’ Future of Work report, 85 per cent of jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t even been invented yet. As advances in automation, artificial intelligence, and globalisation reshape the workforce, universities face an urgent imperative: retool their approach to prepare students for jobs that may not yet exist.
In this climate of relentless disruption, imparting narrow vocational skills is insufficient. Instead, universities must prioritise cultivating foundational meta-skills that will enable graduates to continually adapt and reinvent themselves throughout their careers.
At the cornerstone of this new educational paradigm are six essential meta-competencies: critical thinking, creative action, social intelligence, cultural understanding, adaptability, and resilience. Mastery of these versatile capabilities, applicable across industries and job roles, will empower graduates to thrive amidst uncertainty and drive innovation.
Critical thinking, the ability to analyse information objectively and make reasoned judgments, is paramount in a world inundated with data and competing narratives. Graduates proficient in critical thinking can navigate complex issues, separate fact from fiction, and make informed decisions, invaluable assets in any field. Creativity and the capacity for innovative action are vital in a rapidly evolving marketplace where disruption is the norm. Those who can think outside the box, challenge assumptions, and generate novel solutions will be the catalysts for progress and leaders in their respective domains.
With the increasing interconnectedness of our world, social and cultural understanding has become indispensable. Graduates adept at interpreting social cues, appreciating diverse perspectives, and communicating across cultures will be primed for success in global, collaborative environments. Adaptability and resilience, the ability to pivot in response to change and persevere through challenges, are perhaps the most crucial meta-skills. In an era of unprecedented flux, those who can embrace uncertainty, learn rapidly, and bounce back from setbacks will be best positioned to capitalise on emerging opportunities.
Yet few universities have undertaken this philosophical realignment where they place meta-skills at a higher pedestal than narrow vocational skills. Higher education must boldly redefine its purpose, no longer merely curating readily available knowledge, but developing adaptive, enlightened thinkers and doers for the unprecedented challenges that await.
This shift in educational focus will not be easy, requiring a reimagining of pedagogical approaches, assessment methods, and institutional cultures. However, the potential rewards are immense – a generation of graduates equipped not just with technical expertise, but with the versatility to navigate the complexities of the modern world, drive innovation, and leave a lasting imprint.
As the frontiers of technology, business, and human experience expand, those who will flourish are the dexterous meta-skilled. Graduating a generation of such problem-solvers – who can critically navigate complexity, bridge cultures, iterate through obstacles, and breathe life into boundless possibilities – must be the mandate of universities in the dawn of an age of profound and rapid disruptions.
The importance of the core meta-skills gains further credence as one evaluates some of the proposed emerging approaches in higher education, the implications of which are far-reaching. From an industry perspective, broad categories of work may potentially emerge according to the PwC report on ‘Workforce of the future’. The categories of work are driven by the need of organisations and individuals to give customers what they want, resulting in innovations which will outpace regulations. Digital platforms will give an outsized reach to these innovators, this category is where specialists and niche knowledge will flourish. There will be companies that will become bigger and more influential, and brands may span potentially many areas. The other two categories may potentially range from where common good prevails over personal preferences such as collective responsibility for the environment among others and finally where there is much focus on the individual.
These emerging trends are expected to span across governments, the private sector, the freelancing nature of jobs and the gig economy.
From the government’s focus on higher education, these meta-skills will play an important role in nation-building and creating a pool of talent necessary for the nation to further its ambitions. As India takes an increasingly important role in the global order of things, developing top-tier talent will be crucial for navigating our rapidly changing world. This requires that the universities must benchmark these students against their global counterparts and not just those in the country.
It is important for students in India to understand their standing amongst their global peers. Such an appreciation of the self comes from the ability to realise that their uniqueness comes from a civilisational grounding and gives them an edge in meta-skills compared to their global peers. This is already evident in the fact that several of the global CEOs for multinational giants are of Indian origin and they give credit to the ethos of cultural understanding that has taken them to the pinnacle of creativity, growth and success.
India’s higher education sector has a unique opportunity to take a pole position in defining the foundational elements of these meta-skills for its students. The NEP 2020 provides a robust framework for universities and the higher education sector; now, it is up to them to innovate and prioritise the development of these foundational meta-skills, as mentioned earlier in the article, to meet the challenges that the future of work will present.
Shobhit Mathur is the co-founder and Vice-Chancellor of Rishihood University; Aditya Trivedi is the Program Director at Rishihood University. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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