On 30th January 2024, a talk titled ‘Developing 21st Century Skills for the AI-driven Post-Pandemic World’ was held at Puan Sri Tan Kai Yong Auditorium, from 2pm to 3pm. It was attended by all Senior 2 students along with their class teachers.
The talk was presented by Prof. Shanton Chang, a Professor and Associate Dean from the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology at The University of Melbourne. His expertise in online behavior and dedication to education have earned him numerous teaching awards, making him a respected figure in academia.
The objective of this talk was to let students learn about the skills needed to navigate through the complexities of the post-pandemic world, embrace changes that technology and AI bring, seize opportunities, and thrive in the face of adversity.
Embracing changes:
With the advancement of AI, new jobs have been created recently, such as digital entrepreneurs and telehealth experts. Employers now put much more emphasis on employees being able to achieve results remotely and technology literacy has become much more important than ever before. He further pointed out that, to adapt to the current era, instead of focusing on developing ourselves to fit certain jobs, we should focus more on developing skills that could be applied to different jobs and fields.
Discovering one’s strengths:
Prof. Chang introduced 4 different sets of skills: socializing skills, IT skills, analytical skills and creative skills. He asked students to raise their hands to the skill set that resonated more with their strengths. Prof. Chang explained that those 4 skill sets can serve as a reference to students when choosing their field of interest for their further studies and also future occupation. He gave several examples of the courses and occupations that the 4 skill sets correspond to.
Prof. Chang encouraged students to take ownership of the skill set that they have and be the master of it, to find their ‘ultimate strength’ or, as he said, their ‘uniqueness’ to stand out in the competitive post-pandemic world. He advised students to pick the courses they are interested or strong in and avoid picking the ones they dislike, or, in other words, their weaknesses. He pointed out that their level of interest will heavily affect their performance in their courses of choice. When we are in our best-fitted field, only then can we maximize our skills and potential.
Proficiency in digital skills is a must:
In today's digital-centric world, digital skills are the basic skills that each individual should have. Prof. Chang integrated digital skills into the aforementioned skill sets, illustrating the important role of digital skills in contemporary endeavors.
Cultivating a diverse skill set:
To add more colors to one’s resume, Prof. Chang encouraged the students to pick another skill set as their second strength. He further explained that with a combination of different skill sets, we will have cross-disciplinary expertise and we can be more flexible in the workplace. He further listed some examples of his students who have successfully blended two skill sets and made a career out of it.
At the end of the talk, Ms. Louise Teow, the country officer for Malaysia, briefly introduced the University of Melbourne to the students, providing students with a glimpse into the opportunities for higher education in Australia.
《兴华月报》2024年3月号
No comments:
Post a Comment