UNIVERSITIES VS. MILLENNIALS

What went wrong, and how to fix it?Dr. Vladi Dvoyris, DMD MBA

INTRODUCTION

L J van der Merwe et al., How we see ‘Y’: South African health sciences students’ and lecturers’ perceptions of Generation Y students, AJHPE 2014;6(1):10-16

WHAT DO MILLENNIALS THINK OF THEMSELVES

AND THEIR TEACHERS THINK OF THEM?

Millennials think that the internet is more than technology - it's a way of life

Millennials prefer the anonymous, open online environment

Millennials prefer empathetic role models

Millennials need motivational leadership

Millennials need guided supervision, preferably by an older mentor

Millennials are used to following rules

Millennials want immediate, personal access to lecturers whenever it suits them

Millennials prefer positive feedback, because negative feedback is destructive

Millennials grew up in a structured, organized environment

0.00% 20.00% 40.00% 60.00% 80.00% 100.00%

48%

28%

71%

72%

57%

93%

47%

54%

89%

93.90%

82.10%

95.50%

90.50%

80.90%

29.70%

86.80%

88.20%

29.70%

Percentage of agreement on a Likert scale

ONE CANNOT TALK ABOUT MILLENNIALS WITHOUT MENTIONING THESE SEMINAL MAGAZINE COVERS…

THE INTER-GENERATION CONFLICT IS AS OLD AS THE WORLD…

1862

“Previously young people had been expected to learn. Because they didn’t want to appear to be ignoramuses, they worked hard willy-nilly. But now all they have to say is: Everything in the world’s nonsense! And that’s that. Young people are delighted. The fact is that previously they were simply dunces and now they’ve suddenly become nihilists.”

Pavel Petrovich in Fathers and Sons

IS THIS THE WORST GENERATION EVER?

Accept certain inalienable truths:Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old.

And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders.

Mary Schmich, Chicago Tribune, 1-Jun-1997

THE TRUTH Millennials are confident, vociferous, know what they want and have higher expectations. Thus, they are prone to disappointment when these are not satisfied.

ALMA MATER

THE CENTURIES-OLD MONOPOLY

ResearchTeachingSocietal Service

TODAY, THIS MONOPOLY NO LONGER EXISTS

In the USA, there has been a recent decline in enrollment to both colleges and graduate schools.

COLLEGE DROPOUTS ARE THE NEW ROLE MODELS

WHY DO WE FEEL DISAPPOINTED?

How many students in this class actually participate in the lesson?

Scott Freeman et al., Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics, PNAS, 2014 (111), 23, 8410-8415

THIS HAS TO GO…

Lectures were the predominant form of university learning since the founding of first European universities in the 11th century…

Isn’t it time to change?

COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

THE PROBLEM

WHAT’S THE VALUE PROPOSITION?

TRANSFORMATION VS. INFORMATION

GOOGLE CAN’T THINK FOR YOU!

HAYS – Gen Y and the World of Work

THE UNIVERSITIES OF THE FUTURE WILLBE A FERTILE GROUND FOR THE GEN YENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT

A MEETING PLACE BETWEEN PLAYERS OF THE UNIVERSITY VENTURE ECOSYSTEM

ATTRACTING INVESTORS AND VENTURE CAPITAL TO THIS MEETING PLACE WILL CREATE A UNIQUE ECOSYSTEM, GREATLY BENEFITTING ALL STAKEHOLDERS: • Current students and staff –

the entrepreneurs• Angels and VCs• The university• The labour market• Prospective students• Government and taxpayers

MILLENNIALS ARE DEFINITELY NOT THE

PROBLEM OF UNIVERSITIES

THEY MIGHT BE THE SOLUTION…