{"id":13009,"date":"2018-07-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-07-31T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms.alj3.clients.lemonhq.io\/perspectives\/sparking-global-renaissance-education-one-year\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T06:25:42","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T06:25:42","slug":"sparking-global-renaissance-education-one-year","status":"publish","type":"perspectives","link":"https:\/\/cms.alj3.clients.lemonhq.io\/en\/perspectives\/sparking-global-renaissance-education-one-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Sparking a global renaissance in education \u2013 one year on"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) celebrating its first anniversary in May 2018, Opening Doors spoke to Professor Sanjay Sarma, MIT Vice President for Open Learning, about the Labs\u2019 inaugural 12 months and his aims for the future.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"How do you assess J-WEL\u2019s first year? <\/strong><\/p>\n

We had several goals. \u00a0One of them was to get a critical mass of sponsors for our work, which we have achieved.\u00a0 We had also hoped to get a certain amount of exposure, because this is an effort that will have a significant impact on world education. \u00a0We\u2019ve also made good progress there.\u00a0 These are all things to be proud of.\u00a0 But perhaps most importantly, the intellectual content of what we\u2019ve been doing has been thrilling. \u00a0It is both current, in terms of addressing many vital issues, such as the future of work, but is also fundamental, in that we are bringing fundamental thinking, based on science, to these problems.<\/p>\n

Have you been pleased with the response J-WEL has received from the global education community? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, we have seen interest from six continents, and people are telling us that the problems we are addressing are very, very pertinent. \u00a0If you take the \u2018future world\u2019 for example, you might think it\u2019s a question for the more developed markets, like the United States, but it turns out to be equally relevant to other parts of the world, too.<\/p>\n

Can you outline what are the biggest challenges facing education around the world? <\/strong><\/p>\n

We see two main themes.\u00a0 One is based on what we\u2019re learning from the science of learning. \u00a0The other is what we\u2019re learning from changing demographics, technology, and progress.\u00a0 Both tell us that education has to change, at all levels. It has to be much more blended. \u00a0It has to be much more hands on, but also much more fluid in its delivery. \u00a0All this means that every entity that\u2019s involved in education faces a monumental challenge.<\/p>\n