Singapore did something to combat the rise of China and that’s why they are where they are today. They’ve positioned themselves as a financial center and an educational center, but they are just a pimple on the very edge of Asia. Their rise is partly due to the fall of the 20th century superpowers of the USA, Europe and Japan. If these super powers were not drowning in debt then Singapore wouldn’t be as important in the world as it is today. It is very possible that Shanghai and Singapore would be the leading financial centers in the world very soon.

In the past this indicates foreign universities flocked to setup in Singapore, but now I believe the flocking is always to China. They’ve to flock from the dying 20th century superpowers to survive. And the only places to go are china and taiwan, the near east, the middle east, the eastern bloc and several out of the way places that no one desires to go to. Now Russia might be another education center competing with China, or much more likely they’ll be working together.

In the dying 20th century superpowers, universities lived of government funding and government guaranteed student loans. So the price tag on education kept increasing, and that has priced them out of the market place. Now if you like an education it is cheaper to leave the dying 20th century superpowers, except Germany, and head to the East. There you can learn the language for the future in addition to get a degree. And in the event that you play it right you may get a scholarship from their government, or your government as may be the case in NZ.

Then you can certainly remain on and work in one of the 21st century superpowers.

Now the biggest change hitting mankind because the printing press or fire for example, is going to a university near you. And when it gets there, Universitas Airlangga change may be the word. Will the universities of the 20th century upgrade or downsize, or go extinct to support the newest generation. The generation who’ve been brought up in front of a display, in cyber space. The generation who can get what they need at the click of a mouse, or the touch of a screen. Are they planning to visit a physical campus or a digital campus? Are their internet friends who they’ve never met planning to influence them to visit a virtual campus. Or will their classmates from school drag them off to a physical campus. Only time will tell.

MOOCs are an introduction to courses at a physical university, but they are also an introduction to the virtual university world of the future. And they introduce the MOOCers to what they can do in cyber space. Just how many MOOCers will now attempt an online university as opposed to planning to a physical campus. The change MOOCs are inflicting on the near future hasn’t got here yet, not surprising they’ve only been with us for several years. Give them time.

Now with the after affects of the 2020 pandemic still with us. Where a lot of graduates still haven’t got jobs, maybe the mindset of enter into university at any cost is no longer relevant. And cost may be the factor and so may be the major. So where can you get a top notch education at a cost you can afford. Try planning to the East or cyberspace. It is still cheaper to go to the East now, but that might change as the web generation comes of age. Also as universities have priced themselves out of the market place and the half-life of what you learn at university is getting shorter, why head to university. All you need is really a diploma in a particular subject and you can get a job. On top of that obtain the diploma while you are working. Not four years later and anything from $20,000 to over $100,000 in debt. And when companies accept MOOCs on a CV then education is free, anyway so far.

Peter Legrove is in the act of writing a brand new book. One of his other books in education is all about teaching your kids to read using phonics and Montessori sandpaper letters. This book is all about MOOCs, what they are, how to accomplish them, and the result they could have on the continuing future of education as we know it. This website is (c) Copyright Peter LeGrove 2020, All Rights Reserved