The new academic year will begin in the fall, but it is not yet known whether students will be able to physically return full-time in-person.. Experts are divided on the issue. How badly the pandemic is still affecting the world will largely determine how universities function when starting in the fall of 2020.

Adaptation of universities

In order to survive, many universities began to rapidly cut their spending. For example, they ceased hiring new teachers, stopped building new campuses and put a halt to planning new events. Some universities even had to cut staff. At the same time, many educational institutions have approached the governments, seeking assistance and support.

Universities were also hit hard as countries sealed their borders and air travel came to a standstill. This was especially true for countries with a higher proportion of international students: Australia (28%), Canada (21%), UK (21%), New Zealand (15%) and France (13%). Under the circumstances, students themselves had to give up the option of learning overseas, in favor of local and national universities, although not all of them can offer them the same level of education as international universities. Thus, all the funds that students would have spent on education abroad will now remain in their home country.

The most likely scenario for universities in the next few months will be the transition to an online format: this will not only mitigate financial losses, but also allow their foreign students the opportunity to remain attached to their chosen foreign university. Picture a scenario in which in the early stages, such online education takes the form of short online courses, then, in future it has a good chance of transforming into full-fledged educational programs.

Will the classical university survive?

Classical teaching on university campuses is not just a class. It is an environment in which the young people socialize, acquire the contours of a lifestyle, and feel the sense of belonging to a large peer group. The pandemic will inevitably disrupt these relationships. In this regard, many universities can choose so-called blended education, which has already proven its effectiveness. Its essence lies in the combination of online and in-person learning. In other words, students partly receive knowledge remotely and partly within the walls of the university.

It can be assumed that after the long lockdown, students will happily rush to get education with renewed vigor. The driving factor would be the revulsion that has set in as a result of being constantly chained to the Internet, and also a total reassessment of values. Already, many students are complaining about how they miss their usual campus activities and real life.

Pandemic and transformation of the Universities

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted almost every area of ​​public life, and the education system is no exception. Since isolation has become the main method of fighting the spread of infection, most educational institutions have closed. Some universities have switched to remote teaching.

As a result, more than 1.5 billion students worldwide began an unplanned, forced vacation. The rest have successfully adapted to the new learning environment, having mastered the remote format of interaction with teachers, and have continued with their studies.

The teachers themselves admit that the online format was never fully developed, but this made it possible to assess the willingness of universities to break with the antiquated teaching methods and modernize the educational process. Thus, the pandemic became a catalyst for rapid change. However, even countries such as the USA and China with their strong economies, experienced difficulties in organizing online education despite the rather high level of technology development.

Scientific work at universities

According to statistics, the top 100 universities have recently seen an increase in scientific research. In the last five years, the number of scientific publications has gone up by a third. The greatest contributions were made by engineering and natural sciences universities. The activity of scientists working remotely at home has also grown significantly during this time. A recent survey found that it was isolation and telecommuting that allowed them to better concentrate on research and writing.

Furthermore, when we compare the volume of publications at technical and economics universities, then the difference is more marked.: The top technically orientated universities, have published 7,300 articles in recent years, while in contrast, economics universities have notched up no more than 1,500 papers.

It is crucial to note that there is not a single economics university among the top ten universities. All positions in the rankings are occupied by either technical or classical educational institutions without a particular specialization. At the same time, development of economic universities in recent times has been largely driven by postgraduate education programs.

Another benefit accruing out of the pandemic is the growing interest in self-education for enhancing qualifications, which has become especially noticeable in recent months. Publishers are seeing an increase in demand for teaching materials, and online course platforms are seeing an increase in student enrollment.