“We are preparing students
for their future, not our past.”
John Fischetti,
The University of Newcastle, Australia
Professor John Fischetti has worked with transformational school reform, rethinking schooling, revamping teacher education, and modernising transdisciplinary leadership preparation for the past 40 years. He is a Professor of Leadership and School Transformation.
At the University of Newcastle he served as Head of School and Dean of Education for six years before taking on the role as Pro Vice-Chancellor for another 4 years.
Prof. Fischetti has been a member of Future Talent Council since 2021.
Future Talent Council sat down with Prof. Fischetti to gain his insights on the future of education and what lies ahead.
What do you think is the most critical challenge facing higher-education in 2025?
Transforming the degree structures, assessment processes, and pedagogical practices to align with the demands of the next 10 years to reckon with smart technologies (particularly AI) and the global diaspora of talent.
How well-prepared are the higher-ed organizations themselves for a Gen AI era?
Most instructions are adding guard rails and thinking about the current reality of “cheating” rather than seizing the opportunity to drive transformation across the administration, research, and teaching domains. Most staff are putting hand brakes on change making their institutions increasingly irrelevant in the marketplace of preparing tomorrow’s talent.
What is the most compelling data/insights about the current state of education, and career outcomes you have encountered in the past year?
The quintessential issue of our times is undereducation of those of us leading higher education (leaders, staff, and the students/communities we serve). We don’t learn in real time and most of our portals are transactions to comply with rules (safety, budget, etc), not changing assessment and pedagogy of driving transpupillary connections.