Dubai12-13 December 2012

Faculty for the Digital Age

Fahar Hayati

Dean of College of EngineeringAjman University of Science & Technology

(AUST)

e-AGE 2012 - Integrating Arab e-Infrastructures in a global environment 12-12-12 Fahar Hayati (AUST)

Faculty for the e-AGE

Outline of Presentation

• Problem Statement

• The Changing World

• The Impact of Change on Education

• Impact on:

Curriculum program design and outcomesLearning environment and the classroom Students (Learners)Faculty, Teacher, Mentor

• The Changing Role of Faculty

• Faculty Adaptation to Change

e-AGE 2012 - Integrating Arab e-Infrastructures in a global environment 12-12-12 Fahar Hayati (AUST)

Problem Statement

The new “e-AGE” is very dynamic and requires dynamic people who can cope with the social, economical, technological and all other forms of changes taking place globally. The present education system cannot produce those who can cope. There is need to change.

This change in the education system requires, amongst many other things, a new type of teacher (faculty) and with a new role to play.

What type of faculty and when can we have them?

e-AGE 2012 - Integrating Arab e-Infrastructures in a global environment 12-12-12 Fahar Hayati (AUST)

The Changing World

The e-AGE

• One World; Connected World

• Rapidly Changing Market

• Exponential Growth in Information

• e – Induced Social and Behavioral Changes

• New set of ethics

• Higher Level of Competition

• Diminishing Natural Resources

• etc.

e-AGE 2012 - Integrating Arab e-Infrastructures in a global environment 12-12-12 Fahar Hayati (AUST)

Change in Education

The new age requires an education system that produces

a (learner) who remains productive throughout his

lifelong career by being:

• a lifelong self learner• capable of dealing with new problems and

challenges • flexible and adaptable to rapid social changes

For these we need to design new curricula and a learning

environment.

We must consider:

• The learner

• Education tools

• Faculty.

e-AGE 2012 - Integrating Arab e-Infrastructures in a global environment 12-12-12 Fahar Hayati (AUST)

The Learner

• Individuals have different learning styles.

• Learning styles depend on individuals and the

required outcomes

• Learners have diverse background and experiences.

How can we deal with a heterogeneous

class?

e-AGE 2012 - Integrating Arab e-Infrastructures in a global environment 12-12-12 Fahar Hayati (AUST)

Educational Technologies

The learning environment is going through a rapid

change with the advent of great number of learning

tools and learning venues with an ever expanding

learning resources. These parameters allow learning to

be on open system.

e-AGE 2012 - Integrating Arab e-Infrastructures in a global environment 12-12-12 Fahar Hayati (AUST)

The Faculty

Teacher – Mentor – Manager – Learner

The new e-AGE education system where we are faced with:

• Unlimited easily accessible resources of information • Increasing education technology tools• Heterogeneous classrooms • Dynamic market demanding a more versatile learner• •

What should be the role of the faculty ?

e-AGE 2012 - Integrating Arab e-Infrastructures in a global environment 12-12-12 Fahar Hayati (AUST)

Narrow Down the Problem

Engineering Faculty

“Engineering faculty in a developed “modernized” conventional engineering learning environment in a developed conventional engineering classroom”, where we expect:

• students and faculty can access information• availability of learning/teaching tools• a non-personalized setting; a conventional

classroom

Lets not go into “the too far future “ - 30 years or more !!!

But:The Engineering Faculty for 2020

e-AGE 2012 - Integrating Arab e-Infrastructures in a global environment 12-12-12 Fahar Hayati (AUST)

The new learner in the new age will have a background not experienced by teacher

e-AGE 2012 - Integrating Arab e-Infrastructures in a global environment 12-12-12 Fahar Hayati (AUST)

The Challenges

All agree that with the new market demand the role of the faculty in the new education system will be that of a team player in an collaborative learning environment where he/she is a mentor, a manager and a learner.

The real challenge is how can he/she adapt to this new role considering the:

• behavioral difference between the generation of the “student” and “teacher” at the base line (NOW)

• the rapid rate of change in all entities including the “student” and the sluggish change in the “teacher” ?

e-AGE 2012 - Integrating Arab e-Infrastructures in a global environment 12-12-12 Fahar Hayati (AUST)

Concluding Remark

I believe as we are searching and experimenting in education we are actually living with the:

“Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle”

Where

By the time we know the result of our experiment on what we are experimenting on, it will have changed already.

e-AGE 2012 - Integrating Arab e-Infrastructures in a global environment 12-12-12 Fahar Hayati (AUST)

THANKS

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