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A New Year's Message From Our CEO

A New Year's Message From Our CEO
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BILLIONAIRE's CEO and co-founder looks towards the coming year and how - after a year of stop-and-start schooling, we could be thinking about learning differently. 

David Leppan (c) Piers Cunliffe

Of the many industries that have been disrupted over the course of the pandemic, our learning system may prove to be the most far-reaching. It is clear that the problems faced by humanity now cannot be solved solely by traditional disciplines, we need a diverse range of alternatives. 

So many of our early years are spent being educated. Much of what we are taught has to do with discipline, obedience and control as we are prepared for induction into higher education and, ultimately, as we are directed down a career path. 

Of course, we are taught to read and write, and to use mathematics to a certain degree, but we all recognise that much beyond these requirements, what we spend years learning, has little application in our lives. Frustratingly, much of what we need to be taught, isn’t taught. These key lessons are apparently life’s lessons and not something our education system believes are a priority.  

Much of our learning is about conforming, of thinking within the box and making sure we fit into society. The system is set up to standardise, to produce obedient soldiers and diligent workers.  

It comes as no surprise that real learning often starts after we leave our systems of education behind and venture out into life. Indeed, we often spend as many years or more unlearning what we’ve been taught.  

The future excites me as we are being freed of our requirement to become ‘manpower’ and this means that, finally, the syllabus of schooling troops and education minions has come to an end.  

The future is not about a career path, it may not even principally be about work. The future is about our individuality and my hope is we recognise each person for what they bring to the table.

Encouraging people to think rather than to repeat can only be beneficial for us as individuals and as a society.