Building a ¡°spirit¡± of lifelong learning in universities is ¡°critical¡± if higher education is to tackle the economic challenges accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the president of one of Asia¡¯s top universities has said.

In a keynote address to open Times Higher Education¡¯s Asia Universities Summit, Tan Eng Chye, president of the National University of Singapore, said a ¡°full transformation¡± was needed in universities¡¯ approach.

Professor Tan explained that NUS had made lifelong learning ¡°the key central piece of our educational framework¡± by pivoting to a model where undergraduate degrees were just the start of students¡¯ educational association with the institution.

Its Lifelong Learners Programme ¨C which, he said, already allowed tens of thousands of workers to take modular degree and non-degree courses in ¡°close alignment¡± with industry needs ¨C needed to ¡°scale up even more¡±.

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NUS was also changing its undergraduate programmes to allow for more interdisciplinary teaching and course structure in a bid to give graduates a better platform for a lifelong education, he said.

¡°We need a full transformation and not just tinkering with an outmoded approach,¡± said Professor Tan.

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¡°Four years of undergraduate education is insufficient, and imbuing a spirit of lifelong learning is critical. For universities to pivot to lifelong education, our operational model and mindset must shift greatly.

¡°Learning is no longer a fixed trajectory,¡± he added. ¡°As a university, we can now help to develop learners with a wide array of perspectives and skill sets which will be critical to solving the challenges of our common future.¡±

Answering questions after his keynote, he said students at NUS had been a bit ¡°apprehensive¡± about the changes but there was ¡°very strong support¡± from alumni, who ¡°understand the need for graduates to be more multifaceted in terms of their skills and abilities¡±.

Professor Tan added that while he thought he could persuade today¡¯s students of the need for change, parents ¡°seem the most rigid¡± in accepting NUS¡¯ new approach.

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¡°That could be that they were used to a world that was quite different¡­and they don¡¯t see the rapid and abrupt changes and disruptions.¡±

He said his ¡°fear¡± was that the economic repercussions of the pandemic and the ¡°disruptions¡± it had accelerated would affect his students ¡°within the next five years or?so¡±, which was why ¡°we need to really respond much faster than usual¡±.

The summit, being held in partnership with Fujita Health University in Japan, continues until 3?June.

simon.baker@timeshighereducation.com