Summary
"For a long time, the world of universities and colleges has been slowly changing. Digitalisation, technological development and global societal development have changed the world map of higher education. This has led to new forms of courses and programmes, new players and new behaviours among students and those seeking education and skills development at all levels of education. The universities that lead the development of engineering education are no longer necessarily located in North America and Western Europe, as was previously the case, but increasingly found in Latin America and Southeast Asia. It has been a long time since universities had a monopoly on advanced education and research. Alongside established universities, niche players have taken their place in a world that is becoming increasingly digital, accessible, and competitive. This is also a game changer, but not as tangible as a pandemic and much easier to deny or ignore because the process has been slow
In the spring of 2020, however, the COVID pandemic hit with full force. Over the course of a weekend, teachers at KTH and other universities were forced to transition from classroom teaching to digital teaching and examination. This required an enormous amount of work from teachers and extensive administrative support. We learned what power, ability and creativity the entire organisation can muster when necessary, when there is no alternative. The pandemic was an obvious game-changing event and a highly tangible crisis, and as such, difficult to ignore. The pandemic was global, and it is not far-fetched to think that many other universities also learned lessons that they are now using to develop their education.
These scenarios and events are behind the KTH Board of Education's assignment from the President to initiate the Future Education project, and this report presents the findings of that work. With the transition due to the pandemic, we have seen a significant amount of work and learning undertaken, much of which is worth leveraging to enhance KTH's quality and pedagogy, thereby better equipping the organisation for the future. It is essential toemphasise that KTH has numerous exemplary educational activities that are well-suited for the future of leading architectural, teaching, and engineering education. However, there are also less effective examples where teaching is perceived as dated (feedback from KTH's career survey[1]). To remain leading and relevant, the minimum pedagogical standard must be raised, and more teachers need to adopt proven practices as well as contribute to leading the development forward. There are many good examples within KTH from which to share experiences and knowledge.
During the course of the work, more than 10 workshops have been held with teachers, students, administrative staff, strategic partners and labour market partners. In addition, feedback has been provided by Chalmers and NTNU in Trondheim. In total, more than 120 people have actively contributed to the work. Among the results are a number of key characteristics that are considered crucial for KTH, those already in place as well as those that need to be developed to secure KTH's position as one of the world's leading universities. In order to systematically work developing KTH, 13 different principles within five thematic areas are proposed to guide the work. These areas cover 1) student learning and the pedagogical environment, 2) the learning environment – physical, digital and psychosocial, 3) developed skills and abilities, 4) educational design and lifelong learning, and 5) support, administration and quality development."
