Top academic experts for free webinar on lifelong learning

Three internationally respected experts are speaking at the University World News-ABET free webinar on “The Perpetual Student – Lifelong learning for the new world” on 25 March.

Professor Jonathan Michie OBE is president of Kellogg College at the University of Oxford. Maria Slowey is emeritus professor and director of the Higher Education Research Centre at Dublin City University. And Hanne Smidt is a senior advisor at the European University Association and at University West in Sweden. See more about our speakers below.

In the growing global movement towards lifelong learning, hundreds of millions of people will become ‘perpetual students’, learning throughout and beyond working lives that demand more and ever-changing skills. Are universities being left behind?

Experts will explore higher education and the lifelong learning revolution in a University World News webinar to be held at 16:00 GMT on 25 March 2025.

This is the second in a series of webinars on key developments currently affecting higher education, hosted by University World News in partnership with ABET, the global quality assurance and accreditation agency. The first in the series, held in January 2025 – “Learn from Experts: Trends in AI for student assessment” – was a great success.

Lifelong learning is offering qualifications in burgeoning numbers, ranging from badges and micro-credentials to degrees, alongside unaccredited education. It is taking place in a myriad public and private education providers, companies and governments and civic organisations.

In higher education, Coursera and edX are at the forefront, driven by networks comprising more than 600 universities around the world that generate their content and qualifications and enrol millions of learners. Are other universities embracing lifelong learning? What will it take? What are the major trends in lifelong learning, and how are universities responding?

There is growing recognition, spurred on by government policies and private sector imperatives, that universities and colleges not only need to prepare students for a rapidly transforming and complex world; they also need to educate people throughout their lives so that they can adapt to evolving jobs and technologies and advance society.

Another imperative for lifelong learning comes from within higher education, driven by the need to improve student access and success.

One of the challenges for post-school education is making provision flexible, customised, affordable and adaptable to students’ future needs. Setting standards for microcredentials and badges to ensure learning is meaningful and recognised, is another. Also essential is working with industry to ensure programmes are aligned with skills demands and offer work-integrated learning and experience.

Above all, there needs to be a cultural shift within universities, making lifelong learning a central part of their mission, not just an add on. How can universities adapt their institutional policies, leadership and community and industry engagement to make this happen?

The webinar panel of experts on lifelong learning and higher education – leading researchers, innovators and practitioners – will unpack these and other matters in a lively webinar. There will be plenty of time for audience questions.

So join University World News Editor in Chief Brendan O’Malley, ABET and our speakers at 16:00 GMT on Tuesday 25 March 2025 to participate in, and contribute to, the webinar titled “The Perpetual Student – Lifelong learning for the new world”.

TO REGISTER CLICK HERE

Speakers

Jonathan Michie
Jonathan Michie OBE is professor of innovation and knowledge exchange at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, where he is pro vice-chancellor (without portfolio), president of Kellogg College, an Honorary Norham Fellow in the department of education and a member of its SKOPE – Skills, Knowledge, and Organisational Performance – research centre.

Michie is chair of the United Kingdom’s Universities Association for Lifelong Learning. He is also an honorary professor of economics in the education department of the University of Nottingham and senior fellow of Rutgers University in the United States. He is managing editor of the International Review of Applied Economics, a fellow of Britain’s Academy of Social Sciences, and was awarded an OBE for his services to education and lifelong learning.

Maria Slowey
Maria Slowey is emeritus professor in the School of Policy and Practice and founding director of the Higher Education Research Centre, Institute of Education, at Dublin City University in Ireland, where she has also served as vice president (learning innovation). She is co-editor of the book Global Perspectives on Higher Education and Lifelong Learners.

Slowey’s research and policy activities focus on comparative higher education and sociological analysis of equality and access to higher education and lifelong learning opportunities over the life course. She has published extensively and has been an expert advisor to a range of organisations including UNESCO, OECD, European Commission, European University Association and Council of Europe. She is currently visiting professor at the universities of Florence and Glasgow and senior editor of the journal Studies in Higher Education.

Hanne Smidt
Hanne Smidt is a senior advisor at the European University Association and at University West in Sweden. She has extensive experience in higher education policy and strategy and has worked across Europe and internationally to advance issues related to access, mobility and lifelong learning. Her expertise includes student-centred learning, digital transformation in education, and the role of universities in fostering skills for the future.

Smidt has been involved in research and policy initiatives that support flexible and inclusive learning pathways, and has worked with higher education institutions, policy-makers and others to promote lifelong learning as a core mission of universities. She will share insights on how universities and colleges can adapt to provide skills opportunities to learners of all ages.

Moderator

Brendan O’Malley, editor-in-chief of University World News.