I just read a survey conducted by IBM that looks at the opinions and views of students and CEOs. The survey’s primary findings include:
- Students see openness as a pervasive force; they are strongly oriented toward collaboration, creativity and innovation.
- Students today place more value on social media for customers, themselves and others than CEOs; CEOs plan to catch up within three to five years.
- To meet customer needs, students focus on changes that improve responsiveness, individualization, environmental responsibility and harmonized channels.
- Students align with CEOs on key workforce capabilities for success but are more focused on work-life balance and innovation.
- Education is getting incrementally better at preparing students for work, but gaps remain.
There is a lot to be learned from this report for faculty and leaders in higher education. Just a few days ago I blogged about incremental vs. transformational curriculum change. The IBM report’s 5th finding lists incremental improvements by higher education but there are still wide gaps between what we offer students and what we deliver. This is an opportunity for the College of Technology to take the lead through bold ideas that will transform our curriculum and align it with the current and future generation of students.
