The Art of Disruption. Creative learning and disruption in the higher education sector

In an operating environment dominated by rapid technological change, the temptation to call this disruptive is even greater. In this paper, we draw on the disruption literature and the imagery from this, to view and understand significant changes shaping the current UK higher education sector. In particular, we note the way in which the main institutions in society are changing and note the new business models that have emerged relating to fees and commercialisation in universities. We also note however, the new possibilities for universities arising from market demand for new technologies and concomitantly, new job roles in the labour market, all of which require new responses
from universities. Focusing on the creative industries, where change has been marked, the ecologies have become crowded, and where incessant skill needs go hand-in-hand with changing student and worker characteristics, universities are faced with an acute pressure point. We argue here that this pressure point is such that the opportunity cost of not responding through disruption will be too great and will lead inevitably to a loss of market position. In this first in a series of think pieces, we look to challenge conventional thinking by considering what disruption might mean in the context of universities, and what sort of transformation is needed to secure universities’ provision and role in the creative economy.