Writer: Joey Garrand
2 min read November 2021 — Emerging from the pandemic, higher education institutions find themselves in one of the most exciting, innovative periods of time for their industry. With Invest:, higher education leaders within the Greater Pittsburgh region shared their outlooks for the sector over the coming years.
Vu Nguyen, Co-Director, Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy
A lot of what we have worked toward has been to make the life of educators easier and more efficient by utilizing technology and AI. In this way, we can create more equity and customize the educational experience. Moving forward to a more equitable and more accessible future is necessary for the future of education.
As the nature of work changes, what we will teach will change as well. The way and the pace at which we learn will also evolve. We want our students to be able to learn in different places at different times, to go beyond the standard K-12 educational system. There is so much information out there but simply having it is not enough. Turning that information into learning will lead to success and create something that has a long-term impact on education and the people who are learning.
Jacqueline Edmondson, Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer, Penn State Greater Allegheny
The future looks bright. I think that we have great opportunities ahead of us. There are certainly demographic challenges as the population of high-school students is declining. There are challenges in terms of enrollment. Yet, I also think this is a great opportunity for us to reach new and different students. For example, there are quite a number of adults who have some college but no degree, so our goal is to reach those individuals and help them to finish their degrees so they have different job opportunities. By doing that, we have a chance to impact poverty in the region as well.
Donald Green, President, Point Park University
We feel like we have a tremendous opportunity as long as the higher education institutions across the city focus on economic development and providing talent. If we do that, we’re going to be in a great place. Pittsburgh is amazing; it has rivers, sports, great companies of different sizes, the opera, the CLO and other organizations that provide students with great opportunities, not just for those from Pennsylvania but those coming from other parts of the country and from abroad. We’re getting a lot of students from outside and we will have more, which reflects a great future for both Point Park and Pittsburgh.
Father Paul Taylor, President, Saint Vincent College
The outlook is challenging for the educational sector due to changing student and cultural demands. The majors that students want, the modes of delivery students want, the time that it takes to complete programs and all the different variables students look for in higher education are undergoing change. We know we need to respond to these demands but we also believe our traditional, in-person community and strong liberal arts core education have a place in the market. It’s not for everyone, but it has a place for those students who want a rigorous, critical education that will give them a successful and meaningful life. Education is going to diversify in such a way that students will gain a greater number of educational choices and opportunities. We believe our choice is one of the best and we will continue to succeed in the market because it’s so strong.
For more information, visit:
https://www.cmu.edu/roboticsacademy/
