Michael King, Vice President, IBM Education Industry will be a keynote at Online Educa Berlin 2008. He will be speaking on the following topic.
On a global scale, the U.S., European Union, Japan, China and India will face critical shortfalls of 32 million technically specialised professionals. Throughout the world, the demand for educated professionals is growing faster than the populations of those people with the required skills.
Unfortunately, today’s educational systems – typically underfunded and under pressure to do more with less – are ill-equipped to close the skills gap. Despite billions of dollars in spending, technology has produced inconsistent results. Siloed enterprise applications, lack of data interoperability, high software licensing fees, escalating total cost of ownership, absence of industry standards – they all contribute to inefficient processes, creating barriers to collaboration and innovation.
To address these challenges, the education industry must commit itself to becoming more open. That means more open access to educational opportunities for more students, more open data and processes within and across institutions, and a more open culture of collaboration and sharing.
For more information on this session, click here
Dr. Tony Bates is the author of eleven books in the field of online learning and distance education. He has provided consulting services specializing in training in the planning and management of online learning and distance education, working with over 40 organizations in 25 countries. Tony is a Research Associate with Contact North | Contact Nord, Ontario’s Distance Education & Training Network.
