Nelson Duboscq, CEO, Digital House

On the future role of education in a highly digitalised world

What critical changes will the education sector undergo in the short and medium term?

DUBOSCQ: Teaching methods and educational objectives will have to change and adapt to present needs, or at least try to catch up to the maximum extent possible in the shortest amount of time. Also, data science, data analytics and other cutting-edge subjects should become a normal part of the formal curricula in Argentina, in addition to being taught in other complementary institutions. 

Teaching and learning methods need to be completely overhauled to make them suitable for the modern digital age; the old, static professor-student relationship is not suitable for the current labour market, and it is not within the individual social dynamics millennials are accustomed to. Theoretical knowledge will not lose its cornerstone position in the process of learning, but we will observe a stronger emphasis on practice: educational institutions will be about proving both what you have learnt and what you know to do. The importance of practical knowledge will keep growing in the coming years because many companies ¬¬¬¬– such as those in the IT sector – value practical experience much more than diplomas. 

Lastly, education will not end in people’s 20s. Education – whether to assert your position in your career or to completely change professional fields – will become a continuous process, with learning extending to our 30s, 40s and even 50s.

How have you handled resistance in the process of overhauling learning and pedagogical methods? 

DUBOSCQ: In the beginning, a higher degree of reluctance was received from schools and universities, while private firms and freelance workers were more likely to embrace the innovative learning methods we proposed. That initial resistance seems to be withering away, however, and the positive word of mouth about our graduates’ personal experiences has proven to be a great tool. Prospective students are attracted by the employability-enhancing skills we provide. Our post-study employment rates are very high because we offer what is in strong demand by the labour market, and that tangible result serves to erase all initial doubts. 

We have no full-time professors here, but professionals that come and share their everyday experiences with students. Our model does not push professors away from their traditional role as the main channel of knowledge transfer to students, but we stress the importance of practising what is taught by the professor to give all theoretical knowledge an immediate practical dimension. This is an educational method we have observed since the Middle Ages: to become like your teachers, you must be taught by them and work alongside them.  

In what ways must small and medium-sized entities (SMEs), large companies and the government address the process of digital transformation?

DUBOSCQ: The digitalisation of SMEs, large companies and the government is an inexorable process, and the question is not so much when it will start, but how to efficiently and successfully adapt to it since it has already begun. Companies of all sizes in all sectors that do not implement this qualitative change will simply fail to compete. The process of digital transformation must be fully embraced by companies if they want to stay alive in the market, as well as by the government if it wants to provide an efficient response to the needs of citizens. 

The challenge is not specifically with the technology itself, which is easily available on cloud computing platforms, but rather what to do with that technology. Thus, there is a need for solid education that provides individuals with the necessary skills to allow them to fully use and profit from the available technology. 

What is behind Argentina’s many success stories in the IT industry? 

DUBOSCQ: There is no one answer to that question, but perhaps a series of conditions. Some are circumstantial, like the large amount of capital present in the country throughout the 1990s that allowed high levels of investment in the sector. Other favourable circumstances are more structural, such as the relatively good education system in the country – especially in science, technology, engineering and mathematics – the existence of a large middle class with a very good knowledge of English, and the chronic crises that have driven average Argentineans to be resourceful and have a very entrepreneurial mindset.      

Argentina has the potential to make Buenos Aires a regional and international hub for services export. It is a global city from where high value-added services could be sold worldwide, changing our current export paradigm, which is heavily based on agricultural commodities. In addition, a services export-based model will also reduce demographic pressure on the capital city, bring more opportunities and distribute wealth more equally in the interior of the country.