2020 has been a pivotal year in higher education, teaching and learning a year in which the impossible became instantly possible.

New practices, technologies, curriculum, pedagogues and engagement practices all hurriedly emerged.

MicroTAFE’s were invented and in doing so teachers and support staff were all stretched to near breaking point.

But they didn’t break, instead they rose and conquered the challenge.

The big question now, is will education ever be the same?

Which teaching and learning experiments and experiences do we take with us into our future?

What is the future role and purpose of teachers?

Why our pursuit of STEM above all else is dangerous.

How, where, when, what and who do we teach in a future world of education

And how does education compete and win in a crowded Attention Economy?

In this opening keynote for TAFE NSW’s Annual Teachers Conference – Engage 2020, I answer all of these questions and explore why the clues to what tomorrow’s education and learning landscapes may be, can be found hiding inside

the 7 phases of life

and the 5 pillars of human progress

and share my formula for determining what higher education’s needs to focus on, in the future.