The Imperative of Life-long Learning for North America’s Future

Universities can no longer be in the business of solely educating a small segment of society's 18-to-22-year-olds, and companies can no longer expect that their employees' "education" ends before they are hired. To meet the demands of North America's democracies and of our 21st Century knowledge economy, institutions of higher education must transform themselves into more accessible centers of lifelong learning. The acceleration of technological innovation further requires universities, as well as companies, to create more creative pathways for developing a skilled workforce and helping individual learners upgrade their skills. This panel, “The Imperative of Lifelong Learning for North America’s Future,” addressed how universities and corporations are meeting this challenge, by re-imagining traditional learning practices and partnering together to foster lifelong education and workforce training.