Angela Cox – Borders College Principal.
I believe that the role of colleges in preparing our students to be Global Citizens has never been more critical.
Why? We live in a world where we still need to declare that ‘black lives matter’. The recent online abuse of the English footballers demonstrated that we still have a long way to go. We are emerging, hopefully, from the worst global pandemic since Spanish Flu and the socio-economic impact of this is being realised. These experiences and happenings are having a significant influence on individual beliefs, values and behaviours that will define how they engage as global citizens in the future.
We know that the rate of technological change means that core and meta-skills will be more important than having a technical skill, in being able to evolve and progress in your future career. As we all adapt to a new normal of upskilling and reskilling in line with technological advances, what are the skills and attributes someone will need to navigate their career through this increasingly complex global environment?
Advances in technology mean that we live in an interconnected global world. Generation Z are the most connected generation to date. As digital natives, they naturally access information from the internet and digitally converse with people across the world. This has many opportunities, not least because we are able to be more productive and responsive, but also many disadvantages.
Too many people now view ‘life’ through distorted social media posts which contribute negatively on their self-confidence and feeling of not fitting in with societal norms. There is an overdependence on Clickbait news that doesn’t present a balanced or often evidence-based position, which leaves people ill-informed and unable to engage in a reasoned debate.
