The one thing we know about the future is that it comes too fast and it seems like it never comes in the way that we imagined. In a world that seems to be under a huge amount of stress politically, environmentally and economically, we need to accept and adapt to a future that is “fundamentally uncertain, volatile and unknowable” (Selwyn, 2021).
Technology forces change in all businesses and the Automotive Industry is not the exception to the rule. The accelerating technological advances happening worldwide constantly force the car manufacturers to adapt and change quickly, one of the biggest expectations of such adaptation is that education and training happens at the same rate.
On one hand, the Auto Industry is a major contributor to the global economic development while on the other, its respective supply chains for the manufacturing processes have major impacts on the environment caused by gas emissions, air pollution and greenhouse gases to name a few. Selwyn points out that Educational Technology can provide “possible environmental benefits”. It will be interesting to find out if by 2030 the use of technology has helped auto-makers reduce their large environmental footprint and if their inherent supply chains are also sustainable and environmentally conscious.
I can’t help but wonder what the future of the Automotive industry will look like in 2030. Maybe electric mobility and driverless cars deliver what they promise by then. How does education and training need to change to keep up with the demands in the industry? Maybe more computers and devices will be required for learning, programming, servicing and selling vehicles; perhaps by 2030 we will have to deal with an increased amount of ‘E-waste’ that we have not yet anticipated. We will see!
References
Hofstätter, T., Krawina, M., Mühlreiter, B., Pöhler, S., & Tschiesner, A. (2020). Reimagining the auto industry’s future: It’s now or never.
Macgilchrist, F., Allert, H., & Bruch, A. (2020). Students and society in the 2020s. Three future ‘histories’ of education and technology, Learning, Media and Technology, 45:1, 76-89, Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2019.1656235
Selwyn, N. (2021). Ed-Tech Within Limits: Anticipating educational technology in times of environmental crisis. E-Learning and Digital Media, 18(5), 496–510. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/20427530211022951
Selwyn, N., Pangrazio, L., Nemorin S., & Perrotta,C. (2020) What might the school of 2030 be like? An exercise in social science fiction, Learning, Media and Technology, 45:1, 90-106. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2020.1694944
It’s interesting to consider that 2030 is “less than ten years away,” but in an era of what seems like compound accelerated change, that could also be seen as “almost a whole decade away!” So much and so little may have changed by then.
I’m intrigued to see what direction you go, but regardless, environmental impact is such a key issue. It would be wonderful to get ahead of the curve on the topic, rather than playing catch-up.
Thank you for reading my post and for your comments Alisha. Best!
Thanks for these reflections, Luis. I’d be interested in hearing where you land with the questions that you pose at the end of the post. Where will we be, based on current trends do you think? Or, perhaps more relevant, what do we need to do to get there?
Thanks for your feedback and comments George.