Globalisation will spur rising demand for continuing education, a top academic from the University of Nottingham has said.
Professor William Morgan, director of the university's Centre for Comparative Education Research and Commonwealth Education Documentation Centre, expected lifelong learning to become increasingly popular in developed economies such as Hong Kong.
Professor Morgan, who delivered a lecture at the University of Hong Kong School of Professional and Continuing Education this week on lifelong learning in an era of globalisation, said it allowed employees to cope with the 'narrowing down of time and space in terms of communication and cultures' brought on by globalisation.
'The things learned in schools are not going to be sufficient to cope with today's world,' he said. 'We have to think in terms of education as a current and continuing process throughout life, not only in terms of being able to upgrade our skills, but also about developing your mode of understanding.'
HKU SPACE and Nottingham launched the territory's first professional doctorate programme in lifelong education last year for teachers, administrators and management staff at educational institutions and trainers at commercial or voluntary organisations. Twenty-three students have enrolled so far.
Professor Morgan said studies in North America had shown an increased need for such training among people reaching senior positions in educational institutions.