Refining Higher Education's Core Competence and Its Shaping Influence on the Future of Learning and Work

Abstract

Higher education plays a vital role in developing core lifelong competencies that empower graduates to thrive amidst technological and economic disruption. This article proposes that higher cognitive skills, emotional intelligence, and digital literacy are key competencies that promote transferable skills applicable across diverse industries and markets. It provides recommendations for how the higher education community can strategically cultivate these timeless yet critical competencies while also leveraging innovations like AI. The article articulates higher education's continuing value in nurturing adaptable human potential to equip graduates to navigate an unpredictable future workforce transformed by technology. It emphasizes competencies like critical thinking, empathy, creativity, and communication that enable graduates to complement and effectively direct emerging AI tools. The University of Louisiana System's core competencies initiative demonstrates a framework outlining essential skills for lifelong success. As jobs rapidly evolve with advancing AI, adaptability becomes key and core competencies ready graduates for new challenges by developing transportable human strengths. By upholding these timeless competencies while innovating, higher education can fulfill its vital purpose of empowering students to define their own success despite disruption.