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Covid-19:
How global developments affect universities.
The sustainability of local and national economies depends on a steady supply of skilled and educated people — people who have emerged from secondary and tertiary education institutions equipped with the knowledge and tools the world needs.
In the 4IR era, these tools have to include innovative and creative thinking and the ability to problem solve. We’re continually dealing with unusual and unprecedented circumstances (as Covid-19 has so clearly shown), and need to have everything we need to respond to these situations quickly and effectively. Universities such as UJ take this responsibility seriously.
If there’s one thing that defines 4IR it’s integration. We can no longer think of our world in silos. Everything is connected.”
Professor Amanda Dempsey, UJ School of Accounting senior director
4IR and
Covid-19:
How global developments affect universities.
The sustainability of local and national economies depends on a steady supply of skilled and educated people — people who have emerged from secondary and tertiary education institutions equipped with the knowledge and tools the world needs.
In the 4IR era, these tools have to include innovative and creative thinking and the ability to problem solve. We’re continually dealing with unusual and unprecedented circumstances (as Covid-19 has so clearly shown), and need to have everything we need to respond to these situations quickly and effectively. Universities such as UJ take this responsibility seriously.
If there’s one thing that defines 4IR it’s integration. We can no longer think of our world in silos. Everything is connected.”
Professor Amanda Dempsey, UJ School of Accounting senior director
MAKING 4IR PART OF THE CURRICULUM
In the last few years, Professor Amanda Dempsey, the Senior Director of UJ’s School of Accounting, has combined her passion for accounting education with her interest and love for 4IR. As a result, she’s been at the forefront of developing a host of new courses at UJ that deal with the intersection of the two.
The courses include 4IR perspectives for accountants and for professionals, courses on integrated reporting, as well as courses on blockchain technology. In late 2020 and early 2021, additional courses on AI and 4IR ethics will be launched. These courses are available online for anyone who is interested and take 40 hours each to complete.
“If there’s one thing that defines 4IR it’s integration,” says Professor Dempsey. “We can no longer think of our world in silos. Everything is connected. When it comes to accounting, we now have to take a more holistic view if we are to grasp the status of a business’s financial health and its possibility of a sustainable future.”
RESPONDING TO COVID-19
The same goes for universities, especially during Covid-19.
UJ has had to make use of, and integrate, all the tools and technology at its disposal in order to make education possible amid the pandemic. Lecturers are now hosting Zoom classes for up to 500 students at a time and the university delivered some 5,000 laptops to students at the start of lockdown so that they could continue to learn.
Covid-19 has also resulted in renewed appetite for courses that were already available online. “When we initially launched our online courses, we found that people were quite reluctant to study this way,” she explains. “But with Covid, everyone’s lives suddenly became virtual, and online courses now seem natural and necessary.”
UJ is using the technology available to ensure that the education of its students remains sustainable despite the upheaval that Covid-19 has caused. “Technology has been critical, and that’s why it will continue to be part of our curriculums,” she adds. “As much as we use technological innovations, we have to teach them. It’s technology that will help us to respond.