An education fit for the 21st century?

As a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, I have privileged access to many of the leading minds in education today. But, recently, at Davos, I took part not only in sessions looking at ways in which we need to reimagine education but, crucially, the relationship between our education systems and the world of work that our children will inherit in the 21st century.

It is well-understood that the pace of change in our societies is the fastest it has ever been in history. Our children face some of the most devastating social and environmental issues that our world has ever known where their survival, quite literally, depends on urgent solutions to avoid catastrophe. The Covid pandemic has highlighted the risks humanity faces when it ignores the relationship between human beings and the environment and is a reminder of our ever-connected world. Despite growing nationalism and a belief that each country can ‘go it alone’, the evidence of the pandemic would suggest the contrary. We are more dependent on each other than we realise and the future of our world relies on our capacity to collaborate and work together to solve these formidable challenges.

So how can we best prepare our children for the world they will face when they grow up? Quite frankly, our education systems are not fit for purpose. Still stuck in outdated models of industrialized…