It is only human to fear that we do not (yet) understand. Some would argue that we’re just hardwired that way (something to do with evolution and survival or so I’ve heard). News about how students might exploit ChatGPT or how we must face the dooming consequences of the loneliness epidemic triggered by COVID-19 have been rather salient and have saturated our thoughts rent free, doing little to relieve us of our mounting worries about the future of education.
At the very least, Maastricht University and its “Digital UM 2030” Taskforce is currently conducting a project on the “Digital Futures of UM” together with some of our students recruited through the PremiUM initiative.
The best cure for overcoming anxiety - at least for me - is through action. In this case, we are trying to get ahead of our problems by collecting as much input from the stakeholders (e.g. students and staff) and planning/designing a future for our university that is more in alignment with that of our vision and values, all the while “future-proofing” (to the extent possible) our university.
I for one am very much looking forward to working with the team consisting of Sally Wyatt, Nilam Khalil, Costas Papadopoulos, Erica van den Oever and coaching two of the PremiUM students Leonie Klüver and Felix Bui in this interesting endeavor. There is so much I do not yet understand about all the developments that impact the way in which we educate today, but I am very much looking forward to learning about it together with my colleagues and the students. And this thought alone, already helps me relieve a bit of my worries about the future.