Competencies of the ongoing future

​When we enter inquiry of «competency» in the search system, we do not even manage to finish typing the word, as we receive a great number of references to different articles, comments, opinion along with lists, tables, schemes and various classifications of competencies. The search request of so-called «competencies of the future» is especially popular nowadays.

This interest is caused by the speed of the modern world development, new demands and requirements of the society. Changes in science and technology quickly come to our life, forcing us to estimate the efficiency of today’s actions with respect to the future. Looking at the changes, we can see prototypes of those skills which are important to be formed at school.Today in cooperation with the leading higher education institutions of Moscow we’ve analyzed the competencies essential for the new evolving professions, and the competencies formed by modern school and made a conclusion that the gap between these two sets of competencies is increasing.  Leading experts of the World Economic Forum in Davos bring to our attention the most relevant professions and competencies of the future which are in great demand. – On-line multifinancier.- Social network manager. – Virtual / interactive teacher (tutor). – Designer of the «clever» environment. – Personal analyst (personal digital supervisor). – Ecourbanist / ecodesigner.  – IT-doctor.This list isn’t complete as it is hard to predict precisely in what directions of science, technology and economics there will be a breakеthrough in the nearest future which will result in demand of new experts training and new competencies development. We should realize that at school we do not form and students do not to gain skills they need to live in the new digital world.We also speak about so-called metacompetencies: design and dialectic thinking, emotional intelligence. These competencies are to be learned at school. And the force of changes pushes us to act «here and now».The teacher who has moved away and has lost connections with children is not in demand any more. So, what role and what functions would such a teacher perform in the modern educational organization? Probably, some of the teachers would be able to proceed with broadcasting «eternal» values to students, but the question is whether student would perceive and follow the teacher if this teacher is not on the same page with them? Many ideas  and ideals formulated by thinkers and philosophers of the past, perhaps, would be presented today in some other forms as a result of information and communication technology development.  If we speak of other part of such teachers, they should apply their skills in other professional fields but not education. Today school should respond to requirements and demands school graduates and be interested in preparing a graduate for the existing life realities. That is the reason why engineering and medical class programs are so popular in Moscow today. Studying according to the programs students explore practical cases on platforms of the leading profile higher education institutions and enterprises of the country. Here individual and group work, researches and experiments are used and students are creating independent loaders, mobile communicators for disabled people, devices of record ECG of high resolution and many other things. And we speak now about our school students, not about scientific research institutes!  All the above mentioned explains why Moscow Center for Quality of Education in cooperation with the teachers form Moscow schools has so actively begun to work on projects  transferring diagnostics to an electronic form, has already  developed diagnostics in virtual reality and has even taken first steps in augmented reality. By the way, one of the most popular diagnostics in the Center for Independent Diagnostics – physics in 3D, where students solve quite difficult physical tasks in the virtual world not even realizing that they are completing difficult tests.At the forum «City for Education» in September the same diagnostics in biology and chemistry, with an expanded experimental part, would be presented. We would also point out the success in transferring some parts of Russian State Exam papers to convenient «tablet-friendly» form. Without simplifying contents, we add many engaging details to tasks and questions, we speak about real use of skills in practical activities, we expand borders of child’s opportunities and abilities. The whole city of Moscow with its rich infrastructure and opportunities becomes our PPE.Thus, we should set new tasks in educational, consider competencies of the future and not wait for years 2025 or 2030, but to solve all the questions now in the real time situation. And we are to remember that all these competencies, we plan to cultivate in our children, should be cultivated in ourselves. The future isn’t simply nearby, it might occur to be just in the past if you missed something today.Pavel Kuzmin,Director of Moscow Center for Quality of Education (MCQE)