engleski

Higher education and cross-disciplinary solutions in a digitalized world: advantages and pitfalls

Need to change the way we learn and teach appeared before the current COVID-19 global crisis, with its global recognition in the form of UNESCO Education 2030 Incheon Declaration and other initiatives, such as OECD’s The Future of Education and Skills 2030 project. With the beginning of the pandemic and consequent global lockdowns, education was very quickly pushed to the virtual world. The immediate inequality observed was in the access to the good quality connectivity and international mobility of people, reduced public funding, permanent closures of programs / institutions resulting in loss of skills, etc. Increased investment in new and easily accessible technologies, which enhance international communication and education, creation of virtual campuses / exchange programs or boosting already existing ones (e.g. ERASMUS+ Virtual Exchange) are positive outcomes of the current global crisis. However, this approach may have hidden pitfalls such as problems regarding isolation, loss of sense of belonging to student community, inability to learn additional skills necessary to present and transmit knowledge etc. An interdisciplinary approach to education and science may be affected if it is performed exclusively in a virtual environment because it is based on practical (face-to-face) work and the application of acquired knowledge in everyday life. Education in the virtual form has taken a step forward which would be almost impossible to reverse, but it must be combined with live teaching, especially when it comes to acquiring new skills and knowledge for both students and teachers. Alternative programs, formally funded or informally organized at the level of universities or individual institutions, should become part of the overall education because these programs represent an aspect of interdisciplinary cooperation that will be otherwise lost thus resulting in the loss of valuable skills.

higher education ; interdisciplinarity ; digitalized world ; COVID-19 ; UNESCO ; OECD ; European Union ; advantages and pitfalls

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