What are the pitfalls of modern education? How does it differ from education existing a couple of decades ago? Which professions will ensure success in the future? Asel Baltabayeva, contributor to Manshuq, talked to professors from around the world about this.
By Asel Baltabayeva
January 21st, 2022
Ilana Chefetz
A lot is becoming and will become available online. In recent decades, we have gained an undoubted advantage, i.e., the ability to keep in touch, share information and exchange certain expertise with people even from the most remote places of the world. Whereas some time ago it was necessary to stay in the so-called privileged places of the planet (for example, in Boston, Massachusetts, where top universities and research centres are concentrated) in order to have access to the select information, today the geographic boundaries are erased in many respects.
This can be especially important for those who reside in distant areas geographically
I would like to note another major advantage of the modern world, which shifts many educational processes to the online mode; this is a possibility of customising or tailoring any educational process and making an individual curriculum for each student based on his or her interests and aspirations. There is no need to attend courses that used to be part of a cumbersome compulsory curriculum, but were not interesting or useful for students. Undoubtedly, certain important aspects, such as human contact, are lost, but I think that advantages outweigh disadvantages considerably.
Of course, future development will depend on the sphere. In my area, for example, you need to be present physically in a laboratory to carry out research and experiments.
As a woman in science, I combine professional activities with personal life. I merge one with the other. For example, when I brought my youngest daughter to see a doctor in another city, I took this opportunity and met a colleague working in that city. I could bring my children with me to a business meeting or conference. Of course, as children they sometimes made noise or started playing at the wrong time. I have no doubt that there were people who judged me and considered me "unprofessional”. This is not true, none of this makes you any less professional. It is important to know this and not to pay attention to those who disagree.
