Higher education in the digital era

Should higher education institutions embrace the digital revolution as the key to a new future? Should they resist it as a threat to their very essence, or just ignore it as just another dot com bubble? Did Flemish universities and colleges miss the train already?
The latter certainly not (yet). Flemish institutions are intensively engaged in e-learning: by scientific research, through a wide range of pilot projects (up to the organization of their own MOOCs, the famous Massive Open Online Courses) and by thorough discussion and reflection.

The above was one of the conclusions made by the two Thinkers-in-residence who were invited in 2014 by the KVAB to explore the state of the art in Flemish Higher Education and to confront it with their own vision and experience. Thinkers Pierre Dillenbourg and Diana Laurillard are international top experts in the advanced use of ICT in education.
Both of them has cast his/her conclusions and recommendations into a final position paper, contained in this report. Diana Laurillard lucidly develops her thinking about blended learning in Flanders: blended learning requires thoughtful learning design in order to improve the learning of the student as well as the cost effectiveness of higher education. Pierre Dillenbourg firmly proposes a digital strategy for Flanders universities in order to strengthen and broaden their societal function by the optimal integration of digital technology.