【News Sharing】The Purpose of Higher Education

Source: B02 page, Macao Daily News

University rankings have proliferated in recent years. Against this backdrop, we should revisit an old question: What is the purpose of higher education?

In their attempt to pursue academic excellence, many Asian universities have chosen to copy what world-renowned universities do. While following top universities’ examples per se is above reproach, in reality this strategy has created many problems.

In the West, failure is not considered something to be ashamed of, but in Asia, there is a deep-seated fear of failure. But fortunately, Chinese people are beginning to ditch the stigma attached to failure.

Many Westerners think of Chinese people as shameless copycats while neglecting to consider their unique strengths—that is, Chinese people have an eye for opportunities and remain ambitious in face of risks. 

As international university rankings have become the hot topic, we believe it is more important than ever to draw upon ancient wisdom and rethink the purpose of higher education in a modern world. At first blush, the ancient wisdom that admonishes one to ‘Know thyself’ may seem out of place in an era that hungers for innovation. But upon closer examination, it quickly becomes clear that knowledge may become obsolete, but deep self-knowledge will be an eternal fountain of creativity.

As educators, we have the responsibility to help our students to first know themselves, rather than rush to change the world or judge others.

A university should be forward-looking and produce graduates who possess both self-knowledge and creativity. Graduates of the new century who have received training in discipline-specific education, general education, research and internship education, and community and peer education not only have a solid grounding in their chosen areas of study, but also possess interdisciplinary knowledge.

What a university does—educating students—is different from what a factory does—manufacturing products. A university should create favourable conditions to let the students’ individuality shine. If a university doesn’t want to be left behind in this fast-changing world, it must teach students skills that are future-proof, lead them outside of their comfort zones, and prepare them for risk-taking.

Written by UM Rector Wei Zhao