THE FUTURE OF MEDICINAREBERGET. In 20 years – how have the circumstances for learning changed and what teaching premises and other learning environments will be needed at Sahlgrenska Academy? Akademiliv visited the last of three workshops in which teachers and students tried to provide answers that will lead to a premises program for teaching in the future.
The workshops were conducted in order to create a basis for future efforts to identify the faculty’s future need for premises, which is part of the long-term efforts to develop our campus at Medicinareberget. The participants were experienced teachers and course coordinators from various departments as well as student representatives.
“I feel that we’ve had three very good workshops, with a high energy level, and we will get some very solid material from them for us,” says Andreas Eklöf from Inobi, the analysis and architecture firm, who is the pilot study project manager.
Supporting documents from the workshops will now be processed together with the premises inventory developed by the working team during the fall and result in a premises program that according to the plan will be presented to the Sahlgrenska Academy building council at the end of April. For the Clinical Training Center (KTC), there already is a pilot study and premises program within the framework of Sahlgrenska Life.
Looking both backward and forward
During the first two workshops, participants looked in part 20 years back in time to jointly create a picture of the parallel development track that has led us to the circumstances for learning that we have today – including the introduction of the iPhone, altered prior knowledge, increased stress among students, internationalization, digitizing and the introduction of new educational methods. When the group then was attempting to predict how all of these changes might play out in the next 20 years, members noted that digitization is likely to continue to change how we think and how we learn. Some of their conclusions were that we will see more streamed lectures and more game-based elements in our learning. Future students will need different preparation for their higher education; perhaps universities will need to collaborate more than today with primary and lower-secondary schools as well as upper secondary schools. Modern educational methods such as blended learning and the flipped classroom will become more common, while cathedral lecturing will decrease. Maybe online teaching will become standard – which in that case would make new demands on the physical environment on campus so that students will derive added value from coming here.
“Today the future is becoming extremely difficult to predict,” Inobi’s Erik Berg said during the working team’s third workshop. “This applies to global macro changes, but it especially applies in sectors affected by technological development in areas such as digitization and communications, which to an exceptional degree involve care and education. There is a great risk of making bad investments, and therefore flexibility and adaptability will be very important values.”
Focus on learning environments of the future
Today’s workshop focused on the demands that these future social and educational trends will make on our learning environments. The participants gather around tables and become involved in the day’s assignments. Post-it notes are used to record some important (“chairs that you can sit on” and “soundproofing if the teaching contains sensitive elements”) and some problematic aspects of environments for learning (“technology-hassles!” and “it can’t be too cold or too warm”). In the next assignment the groups list behaviors and activities that future learning environments must support, manage or counteract.
After that, the participants let creativity flow and create a real dream scenario for what the very best learning environment might look like in the future. “Study places of various designs for those who want to read in peace and quiet, for those who want to read with a classmate and for those who want to study in a group.” A recurring proposal is “a student reception area for students from many different programs.” “A cinema,” someone suggests in his drawing, “where many can watch streamed lectures together or prepare for their flipped-classroom lesson.” “A glass ceiling with solar cells on the exterior, because solar cells will probably be completely transparent in the future.”
Gradual implementation
The premises program now being developed takes into account the university’s strategic premises management plan that is in effect until 2040. The premises program will also consider other development opportunities that exist for Medicinareberget, Sahlgrenska Life and Naturvetenskap Life and that need adjustment as these projects become clearer,” says Andreas Eklöf:
“When the premises program is decided upon and clear, it will be implemented in stages. Some premises may be replaced by other learning environments in the near future, but the changes will happen gradually. The future does not change as fast as we humans often think it will change.”
You can see an overall summary of the first two workshops, where the participants looked 20 years back in time and 20 years into the future, here: https://sahlgrenskaakademin.inobi.se/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/skiften.pdf
TEXT AND PHOTO: ELIN LINDSTRÖM CLAESSEN
