(Vol3.No30.120416)

By Sophia Demetriades

The education landscape is rapidly moving towards a renaissance of program delivery. People are increasingly interested in personalised and customised programs suited to the individual of the 21st century.

An important idea in the definition of a university is the notion of academic freedom. Interestingly however, academic freedom is no longer the reality of today’s university practice. If academic freedom refers to the freedom of inquiry by students and faculty members as essential to the mission of the academy, it is long lost. No field is generalised and standardised and limited by beurocracy more so than the university.

In March 2012, The Economist wrote an article on American and Japanese students wisdom in relation to age. The study revealed that due to mentoring in Japan, students/  mentees, were equally as wise as their elders/ mentors, as opposed to wisdom being acquired with age in Americans. This is a wonderful example of the cultural representation of responsibility. In Japan, menthes are rewarded with the notion that they are wise when they learn the words of wisdom taught to them by their mentors. In America, one is not wee unless one is old, and society therefore take responsibility and opportunity away from their young ones by putting an age limit on on wisdom. If you cannot be wise in your youth, and if you cannot be respected as a wise person in your youth, could this not be seen as discouraging?

Yes we have less experience and less information as young in terms of time. However, the internet and free information along with it, has provided younger generations with an immense amount of opportunity for knowledge. They may not always know what to do with it, which is why they still need guidance, however they are very intelligent and learn very fast, so it is to the benefit of employers and organisations world-wide to invest in mentoring programs between younger and more mature employees.