The graduate of 2020, will face a very different world to the graduate of 2009. Just like graduates in history faced new challenges, and new boundaries.

How can our current education encourage graduates that face the future, adjust to it and thrive from it?. 1. Self- Education

Thomas Edison was home schooled, his Teacher thought he was “Stupid,” so he dropped out of traditional education, and his mother taught him. This did not stop Thomas Edison from inventing the Light bulb or the Telephone. Self-Education is imperative in today’s age. An age where the internet is a cheap, and innovative option to a printed school book and examinations based on theory.

Traditional education often covers the basics, but to go beyond the basics, we have to self-educate ourselves. Something far easier now, then in the days Thomas Edison went to school, or before we went online. We can learn “additional” skills from our own sources, that give us a plus which can allow us to excel in our work, seek opportunities and expand these opportunities. Something in an age of global competition, and less secure employment, could be the difference between earning a living, and barely surviving.

Sources are readily available for self-educators. Joining a Library, gives you access to free books, free ebooks are readily available on the internet. Languages could be learnt from friends whose main language is different to ours. Clubs, voluntary organizations and even just plain observing, educate us in ways a school book cannot. Ways that will not cost a fortune, but can like Thomas Edison, help us achieve the impossible and move forward in a World, were many people stop educating themselves. Life is a journey into knowledge, and learning to apply this knowledge could be the difference between thriving and surviving in tomorrow’s new economy.