Arriving at Aberdeen University in September 1988 as a fresh-faced undergraduate student in biochemistry, little did I think that some 30 years later I would still be here and leading the University’s growth of online education.
Indeed, the concept of online learning was yet to be conceived. Looking back over those 30 years, a lot has changed – but the core principles of the university remain the same.
Looking around my undergraduate class, the vast majority of us were from the UK and were straight from school. Today, our student body is not so easily pigeonholed. We’ve over 130 countries represented on campus, students studying with us in Qatar, and a growing cohort of online students who join us from over 80 countries across the world.
Students are no longer solely school-leavers – many of our online learners are studying alongside professional careers, and their ages range from 16 to 86. It is a truly vibrant student population that speaks of the desire and need for lifelong learning.
When I chose to study a degree in biochemistry, I imagined that this would be my lifelong career. But after my PhD and three years of scientific research, I decided to change direction and move into an administrative role within the University. While I have thoroughly relished the opportunities this has afforded me, I’d never have anticipated on leaving school that this would be my career path.
Our online students show me that I’m not alone. Nowadays, many people will change career at least once during employment and will need to re-skill. Whether changing direction or upskilling to move up the career ladder, few of us have the freedom or the finances to drop everything and study on campus for a few years.
Online learning provides people with a way to gain the fresh skills they need without having to relocate or give up existing careers. For our online community, this flexibility is key. Being able to study at a time and a pace that suits them is what enables them to balance their studies alongside work and family life.
As a university, we want to be there to deliver learning for all, at every stage of life – and to fit into modern lives, this means shaking up the traditional on-campus, degree-focused approach.
And so here I am, leading a new mode of learning: on-demand.
We’re breaking down traditional degrees and making it possible to study much more flexibly, one short course at a time. This modular approach allows learners to choose individual courses that meet their specific skills needs, and to combine courses to build a full degree over time.
It’s another big change that I could never have foreseen when I began my student life here. But life changes, and so education has to adapt.
Back in my undergraduate days, the lecture was core to teaching and we spent a lot of time in the library accessing paper-based journals and text books. While lectures remain important elements today, learning is enhanced digitally through our virtual learning environment and an array of resources that my undergraduate self would have been stunned by.
Live-streaming lectures, podcasts, videos and video calls, chatting to your tutor on Skype, access to our library resources online – what I wouldn’t have given for all this as a student during a wet and windy Aberdeen winter. As you can imagine, with WhatsApp, FaceTime, discussion boards and instant messaging, learning online is far from a lonely experience these days too.
Technology has given us the tools to bring people together. For our online learners, this digital environment is their classroom and regardless of where they are in the world, they can engage in a University of Aberdeen learning experience.
Our students, and their stories, are truly remarkable.
We have Koushik, who is currently Assistant Professor (Biochemistry) at the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, Medical College Hospital, Kolkata in India. He would not have been able to leave his job in order to come to the UK to study as he is his family’s main earner. He’s studying clinical nutrition online while working six days a week, and plans to open a nutrition counselling centre to help the people of his country with nutrition related health problems. He also plans to conduct research on nutrition related health disorders in India.
Mohammed studied online across three different countries before graduating with us on campus last year. While completing his MSc in oil and gas structural engineering he lived in Paris, Abu Dhabi and Shanghai. With such a hectic work schedule, he just would not have been able to study on campus for his qualification.
With an eye to his future, Michael studied an MSc in project management while deployed on operations around the world with the army. The flexibility of online learning suited him because he was able to keep up his studies while still travelling overseas on army operations.
Right now, people are accessing an education with us from all over the globe, often from places where a good education is physically out of reach. They’re learning on laptops, tablets, even smartphones.
These are startling changes, as thrilling as they are challenging – and there is something so gratifying about being involved in such a game changer. In this 31st year of the internet and my 31st year at the University, I can’t help but wonder what the future holds.
One thing is certain – online learning is here to stay. When Bishop Elphinstone founded the University in 1495 his ambition was ‘to found a university which would be open to all’ – I’m sure he would be delighted to see just how far his vision has reached today.
Dr Gillian Mackintosh is director of online education and academic development at Aberdeen University
