Interview
building up customer focused marketplace brands in the past, I’m excited about the opportunity to drive transformation in this sector, through new technologies and data. My main objective over the immediate term is thinking about how FutureLearn can develop educational services for our partners that offer more choice and flexibility for our customers to deliver affordable lifelong career based learning and skills.
What is your background within the tech channel? I’ve got a strong background in growing content rich digital companies, especially ones that are purpose driven. I’ve also had experience working to help bring the financial sector into the digital age and making it easier for the customer to navigate, which is exactly what I’m aiming to do within the education sector - just like fintech, education is now evolving into more of a marketplace and it’s all about how you make it the most beneficial and seamless experience possible for learners and partners.
How do you plan to drive business forward in your new role? In fintech, customers know what they are searching for, but a lot of edtech learners browse and don’t necessarily know what they want. Tis is where online platforms need to guide their customers more, helping them understand where they might want to start and go on to in their lifelong learning journeys. From our recently launched report on the Future of Learning, we know that online learning is not going anywhere, with 33% of Brits stating it’s their preferred way to learn a new skill. Terefore, making sure learners can get what they want from platforms like ours is an even bigger priority. To do this effectively, FutureLearn is going to be ever more focused
on improving the learning experience by creating learning pathways and enhancing the social learning experience, which has already set us apart from competitors. Te use of data and AI will help us to build this offering substantially. Another major focus is on giving partners the tools and services to achieve their goals as easily and seamlessly as possible. Tis means making it even easier for partners and educators to use digital tools and improve their online offerings.
What areas within the tech education sector are you focused on? FutureLearn has always had a clear focus on making sure the online learning experience is as seamless and engaging as possible for learners, educators and partners. As hybrid working and hybrid learning have fast become the norm, more people have realised this is more than just about bringing offline, traditional content online. We focus
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on how to deliver quality learning experiences that drive absorption of the learnings, increase course completion, and hopefully result in successful, practical application in the workplace or daily life. Pedagogically, we believe in the merit of social learning -
FutureLearn’s platform was built on this, combined with 50 plus years of remote and distance learning experience from Te Open University. We’ve tailored social learning at scale to ensure all courses maximise the power of global peer social interaction and bring content to life. Tere is a big opportunity to do so much more here as it’s an area that we excel in.
Please could you tell us how online learning platforms have evolved and how they enhance the learning experience? Online learning has grown far beyond its debut over a decade ago as the ‘MOOC’ or Massive Open Online Course. Where platforms once looked to service large cohorts of learners via synchronous courses, the industry has naturally progressed towards an asynchronous, personalised experience that’s more tailored to the individual. Learners are also looking for greater affordability as well as the
flexibility to learn any time, anywhere and in bite-sized modes. Tese changes have only accelerated over the pandemic, and we can see the move to this ‘on-demand’ style of digital learning is here to stay. We’ve also seen accelerated adoption amongst Gen Zs in recent
years. Tese digital natives have certain expectations around their online experiences and online learning is no exception. In our report, we found that nearly one in five people in the UK changed careers as a result of the pandemic, and over 80% of them did so with the help of online courses. With trends like the ‘Great Resignation’ and the general move away from a ‘job for life’, being driven by younger generations, as well as wider economic trends like the ‘great resignation’, online learning is fast becoming an invaluable tool for when learners are reassessing their career opportunities and skills portfolios. Te sector will have to continue evolving quickly in order to support people on their lifelong learning journeys as they look to access new skills across multiple stages of their lives.
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