Future Challenges for Academic-Industry Value Co-Creation Through Lifelong Learning

The presented research aims to explore future context of e-learning, needs of professionals, and how higher education can respond to those needs. This is an empirical study with a qualitative approach. We interviewed teachers and students about their perceptions of e-learning. The interviews were semi-structured and allowed for reflections. All students interviewed were currently employed in industry and active e-learners. A web-based horizon scanning was made to identify trends in order to understand future context. The study is part of an academic development project with the intention of strengthening academic capacity and company knowledge to stay competitive in an international setting. In this paper, we present several cornerstones for creating courses that are suitable for professionals. Administrative routines and procedures need to be adjusted in order to meet challenges from other actors and the needs of stakeholders. A seamless experience would be preferred from a consumer-oriented perspective, where flexibility is a key factor. This flexibility is manifested by the need to control their own workload to adjust the work-education balance. Locus of learning needs to be problematized. Students do not identify themselves as co-creators. This is a challenge to overcome in order to design for the work-study situation. Previous studies on distance learning have mostly focused on full time students in today's context. This study involves foresight and the situation for students in employment. The findings will be relevant for teachers in the design phase of a course intended for any type of student who is not a traditional full-time student, and for university management building a strategy for the future of e-learning.