‘Creating a curriculum for the 21st century’: Hull College launches ‘digital transformation’
LEADING CHANGE: Hull College Principal and CEO Debra Gray MBE, left, and Executive Director of Digital Transformation Deborah Millar. Pictures by Tom Arran Commercial Photography
EXCLUSIVE by Rick Lyon
Hull College has launched a wide-ranging “digital transformation” to prepare its students for successful careers working with new and emerging technologies – now and in the future.
The college is introducing innovative technologies to enhance traditional teaching and learning across its curriculum.
Staff are being encouraged and empowered to embrace technology and the ways it can be used to help students fulfil their potential and make sure they are work-ready in the modern world.
The use of technology will be a key theme of all curriculum planning and development, with the college also investing in new equipment and software.
Debra Gray MBE, Principal and CEO of Hull College, tells The Hull Story: “We’re entering a period of rapid change with technology. We’re on the cusp of the fourth industrial revolution.
“There’ll be a transformation of the jobs market over the next 10 to 20 years, with further innovative use of technology and automation.
‘WE HAVE TO PREPARE OUR STUDENTS FOR THE FUTURE’: Debra Gray MBE, Principal and CEO of Hull College
“Our industries will have to change to accommodate this and it’s our job to prepare our students to be able to serve these industries.
“The very nature of work is transforming and, as a vocational college that trains people for work, we also have to transform. If we don’t, we won’t be serving the region and we certainly wouldn’t be serving our learners.
“Around two-thirds of our students typically go straight out into the workforce. They’re going to have to be ready, digitally, for what comes next - not just in the next two to five years, but to have a taste of what’s potentially to come in the next 10 to 15.”
Debra, who has been in charge at Hull College for nine months, is keen to stress the digital transformation will not signal a radical, immediate overhaul of the current curriculum. Rather, it will involve the introduction and implementation of appropriate technologies to support students and staff in the right areas.
Evolution, not revolution.
“It’s about building a curriculum that’s really fit for the 21st century,” she says.
EMBRACING TECHNOLOGY: Debra Gray and Deborah Millar, right, talking to The Hull Story’s Rick Lyon
“We’ll see new and emerging curriculum come out of this over time, but it’s about taking established curriculum, like the training of nurses, engineers and chefs, and ensuring digital is comprehensively interwoven into it. That’s what happens, and will continue to happen, in industry, so that’s what we need to do.
“There’s also potential for new areas of learning, like artificial intelligence and cyber security, which will evolve over the next 15 years. The truth is, the pace of change is so quick, we don’t know what we might be teaching in 15 years.
“So, we have to prepare students for jobs that don’t currently exist in the digital field, as best we can. That might just involve a discussion or a debate about what an industry might look like in 2030, but it’s about having those discussions.
“The college already has some spectacular curriculum. We’re looking to ensure that curriculum continues to match the needs of the labour market. Our businesses are going digital so, by definition, what we do has to incorporate digital.
“Every job will have a digital component and there are lots of digital tools now that enable you to do jobs that would have been manual before, so our students need to be immersed in those. It’s very much an evolution from what is already a very, very solid curriculum.
“It’ll be a significant transformation, but one based on very fertile ground that will take place over time.”
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The college is spending £300,000 to bring its Learning Centres up to standard with new equipment, but Debra insists the digital transformation is not based solely on financial investment.
Instead, it will involve making the best possible use of technology that is readily available to assist and enhance teaching and learning.
It will also involve training, encouraging and empowering staff to embrace technology.
“We have to make sure our staff are digitally enabled, so they can pass those skills on to our students,” says Debra. “Without really good digital teachers, you can’t have really good digital students.
“We’ll help the staff learn with compassion, humour and excitement, because a lot of technology can be transformative and can really help them.
“We’re not forcing technology for technology’s sake. It’s a tool, that’s all, and it’s about how we can use it in education, in work and in our lives.
MOVING WITH THE TIMES: Hull College
“We’ve set aside investment, but it’s much more about change over a period of time, because this really is the golden thread.”
Deborah Millar has been taken on in the new role of Executive Director of Digital Transformation to help lead the transition.
“My job is to help the staff use appropriate tools in the classroom, not in a forced way, but to help them engage their learners with technology,” she says.
“Ultimately, it’s about giving the students the skills and confidence to reach their potential. Never before have there been so many ways to reach our students, so it’s about raising awareness.
“Covid brought about a massive digital leap and now we realise something like that could happen again and we need to be prepared for it.
“It isn’t just about reaching students remotely, though, it’s about delivering a blended curriculum, so we’re producing rich teaching and learning content and ensuring students are engaged in class, using the technology they’ll be using in industry. It’s about giving them skills for life.”
‘CHANGING THE WAY WE TEACH’: Hull College Executive Director of Digital Transformation Deborah Millar with Principal and CEO Debra Gray MBE
An example has been the recent introduction of Microsoft Translator to ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) sessions.
The cloud-based tool is used to translate real-time conversations to help students better understand what classes are about. It is now being adopted across the college more widely, including in support areas, to help students for whom English is a second language.
“The ESOL staff have said we’ve changed the way they teach,” says Deborah. “There are about 24 learners and 14 different languages in one class and the staff have to explain to them all what each lesson is about, which is difficult and time-consuming. This free, simple tool helps them do that.
“It’s a really uplifting example of what we can do. We want to use the tools available for people to be able to reach their potential and allow their talent to shine.”
Debra believes the college now has a firm basis on which to build significant and sustained success, to benefit its students, staff, employer partners and the wider Humber region.
“The college’s trajectory is now, I think, stellar,” she says. “Not only are we stable, we’ve got a really strong platform to reach for the stars – and that’s exactly what we plan to do.”
Hull College is holding the first in a series of Future Skills Knowledge Transfer events at the city’s C4DI tech hub from 8am - 10am on Tuesday, February 7. The employer-focused event will discuss and aim to tackle key challenges faced by businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber. For more information, or to register your place, click here.