Microcredentials ... the story, thus far!

I have always been a fan of short, directed student friendly learning experiences. Considering that I started teaching in Further Education in 1996 and immediately became caught up in evening adult education and the Internet revolution at that time ... you could say that I am biased. Which I am ...

There are many types of students, all seeking education and enablement - we all engage in different learning spaces at different times in our lives and education must reconfigure itself to recognise this.

Some students, want the whole experience - they need a degree or diploma to develop their foundational understanding and academic competence within a given discipline. It is, as it was, as it will always be. There is a clear space for students, needing to gain the professional framework upon which they build their careers and ambitions. Some do this in their relative youth, others are late comers - each, seeking the same experiences.

However, from my experience teaching in further education - there are also the lifelong learners and the seekers of the single essential opportunity. They may already have relevant experience, a degree or something else and do not want to digest the entire academic experience. They want the specific, skill, discipline, academic experience and vocational knowledge. We have all done this, sometimes as an intellectual hobby, often as a professional necessity.

There are of course, others that do not fit neatly into the above definitions. There are those who will try before they buy or transition from one course to an entire degree and vice versa.

The digital technologies sector is complex - we have degrees, diplomas and also professional certifications from a range of vendors and accrediting organisations. While tensions exist between the worlds of academia and vocational experiential education. I have always believed that they should co-exist and can do with relative ease, having accomplished this in my career for 25+ years.

Some of my academic colleagues may not like this, however - we have to recognise that after 25+ years, the vendor and certification bodies are not going away. Students require skills, vocational competence and academic criticality - Microcredentials are one tool in a potential academic arsenal to accomplish this.

The Open University has invested in Microcredentials ... as an academic in the School of Computing and Communications working with Amel Bennaceur and Jason Trott amongst others. We are developing a range of short courses (yes, Microcredentials) that attempt to offer the best of all possible worlds. Linking academic opportunity to professional credentials, exploring Coding, CyberOps, Network Engineering, Cloud Computing and DevOps. With many more to come in the future.

It is my view, there is a space where vocational can sit with academic and satisfy both. It isn't difficult and Microcredentials are one route to accomplish this. Of course, this is my biased and experienced opinion.