Read the interview:
As societal needs evolve, so too must the mission of higher education. In this clip, Brian MacCraith discusses how universities must redesign themselves to prepare graduates who are not only academically capable but also adaptable, ethical, and ready to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world. He emphasizes the shift from traditional knowledge transmission to cultivating graduate attributes—what some call T-shaped graduates—who can thrive in complexity and uncertainty. MacCraith outlines how institutional transformation must be driven by leadership at all levels and rooted in a shared vision of public value. He also reflects on overcoming resistance to change, underscoring the importance of articulating the broader purpose behind reform. For today’s university leaders, the message is clear: meeting the demands of society requires courage, collaboration, and a reimagining of how education can serve both individual flourishing and collective progress.
Well, because the world is changing so rapidly and because we're developing citizens, who will flourish in society, the education has to adapt in response to the outside world. I think that's critically important. I think again looking back over, you know, four or five decades ago, there was a very strong emphasis on really dissemination of information, making sure students were informed about knowledge. I think that has completely changed and there's a recognition that because information itself is changing so rapidly now that actually what we need to do is prepare the individuals, and that's why that transition to whether one calls it graduate attributes, or T-shaped graduates, and so on. This notion of the rounded individual and the ability of that individual to cope with the rapidly changing society becomes very important. Now, there's often controversy about this, and I face some of my some it myself in the past. This is not saying that one dispenses with academic knowledge. This is not saying that one dispenses with, you know, intellectual excellence. It means that it's a hybrid approach, but it's all about preparing well-informed, ethical, well-educated, rounded individuals who can flourish, who can take on the challenges of society and who can adapt to change. So, I think it's that notion of -that to me is the biggest transition in particularly in higher education in terms of that focus on the individual and their ability to flourish in society. Well, first I think it's a it puts a huge pressure and emphasis on the quality of leadership because I think those sorts of transformations have to come from leaders, and I don't mean just a single university president or vice chancellor. I mean, talking with leaders throughout the university itself. And this is where the notion of a shared vision in universities becomes critically important and, you know, accepting the fact that universities have that third mission, have that responsibility for engagement with society, but more important adding value to society. And you add value to society through maybe three channels; through the quality of the graduates that emerge and can be of service to society and advance society through the knowledge created through research, and again that knowledge advances society and and thirdly through direct engagement with society and joint initiatives and so on. All of those are an important part of the roles that universities can play. So, I think it starts with leaders creating the recognition, bringing the teams right across the university together to address these challenges. I remember when I faced it first myself, when we started talking - this is as far back as 2010, talking about graduate attributes. And there were criticism both outside and inside the university, that the university was becoming utilitarian, that the university was becoming an instrument of industry, which wasn't true at all. It was the responsibility to the students to make sure they could flourish, and the responsibility of adding value to society, and without compromising on academic excellence. So it's being able to articulate the story around this, and you know there were challenging discussions in various parts of the university, but ultimately in our university, every single academic rewrote their modules to adjust to these kind of new approaches and bought into it, and they had the satisfaction and and pleasure of watching the students that came through that flourishing in society afterwards.