Let’s abandon traditional education and build SMART universities

The memory that most of us have of educational institutions where we were trained is extremely traditional: classrooms, filing cabinets, blackboards and teachers in front of the class. At best, there was also a computer with an internet connection and a multimedia projector. However, in the middle of social, cultural, technological and digital transformation we are going through right now, it is unthinkable that the education system will continue to operate in this way. On the contrary, we must take a leap into the future.

The transformation I’m talking about, driven by the Internet of Things and the democratization of data, is inevitable and drives us to create smart ecosystems such as Smart Cities or Smart Campuses. The latter, also called smart universities, they encompass all aspects of an educational community, but they develop transcendental changes in the professional training model to adapt it to current and future technologies. In addition, they are fully efficient educational spaces that use IT not only for academic purposes, but also to optimize energy, economic, social and environmental efficiency. That is, for the benefit of sustainability.

Smart campuses, also defined by Gartner as open spaces, physical or digital, where humans and technology-enabled systems interact to create more immersive and automated educational experiences, leave behind the hard-core training of a career. professional and drive the transdisciplinary training. In other words, they want their students to have the ability to break into other disciplines, to understand them and to use them, to generate innovative solutions that transform realities with a holistic vision.

For all the above, I consider it necessary to take a leap from the traditional university to smart universities, especially in a country like ours where only three out of ten young people who finish their studies can access higher education, due to social, economic and digital divides which are latent problems. In this sense, we need generate a SMART and transdisciplinary education thanks to the Smart Campus, connecting millions of people with more educational opportunities. But, to achieve this, it is necessary to democratize access to the Internet and to technology, in order to break down the barriers of an obsolete physical infrastructure.

However, the technology itself is not enough either. Moving towards a smart university requires re-engineering the pedagogical model with a transdisciplinary, intuitive, flexible, scalable and above all person-centered approach, with effective teaching spaces, whether physical or virtual, where technology is an ally in people’s lives and academic training.

I believe that in the midst of digital acceleration, we have the opportunity to transform education and open pathways for young people from different parts of Peru and the world to collaborate digitally, generating an integrated, transdisciplinary learning community , innovative and disruptive. The advantages of this type of university are numerous: it improves the experience, security in the Campusprotects assets and people, reduces operating costs, generates information for decision-making and prepares professionals capable of responding effectively to the professional challenges of today’s market and world.

Let’s build today smart universities that the country needs. Our future depends on this leap.

See you next time!