For the last ten years or so, technology has been entirely shifting and reshaping various industries. Everywhere one looks, it seems that the impact of technology has been felt on some level. The education industry, for instance, has been dramatically changed in the last few years, with evolutions in aspects of education like the data science test or submission platforms being some of the most instrumental in the evolution of the education industry. The reality is that, as the whole world has gone steadily more and more tech-savvy, so have the people that exist within it. What this means for industries the world over is that they are finding themselves amid a transitory era that seeks to change not only the individuals behind them and supporting them, but the industries themselves.

For education specifically, the biggest change has come in the form of open education. Open education is essentially an extension of traditional education in that it has taken historically successful principles and turned them into a learning platform that technologically efficient generations can and do want to embrace. Paper textbooks have been replaced by digital versions – a similar thing has happened to the submission process in most higher education institutions. Entire courses are now offered online, giving students easier access to education around the world.

Millennials are combining technology and education in a way that was previously unheard of. Not only are students from the younger generations born into a world where technology means that a world of opportunities lay in the palms of their hands (literally, through their phone screens), but they expect everything that they encounter to have the same kind of technological proficiency as they do. Millennial students want to learn (perhaps more than any earlier generations) but it is the time that they lack; there is not enough time for them to schedule in the rest of their lives around university classes.

The students of today are vastly different to past generations of learners, and their presence is being felt long after they graduate and move into their respective career fields. In fact, since 2015, millennials are the most dominant generation in the workforce of today. The average millennial student works full time or insane hours at work, studies a full course load, and must find time to slot in personal and social time with loved ones as well as partaking in hobbies that make them happy. Because of this, many would-be students opt out of traditional learning methods and experiences because they simply do not have the time or the will to commit to them in the very tight schedule that they are offered.

This is where education and technology collide. The newest technologies in education have made various learnings and opportunities possible; from online classrooms to virtual textbooks, millennials’ tech-savvy lifestyle has kick-started a revolution that has combined education and technology to forge a future for education that is modernised, convenient, and efficient – all things that many millennials feel the traditional education system does not offer.