Top 5 Trends in the Education Industry for 2023

The Indian education industry quickly adapted to the pandemic and switched to virtual learning almost overnight. The broader trends in the sector, such as shifting student preferences, the rise of edtech, and demand for digital skills, accelerated sharply.

But now that the pandemic has ebbed, will the institutions return to the old ways or look at a hybrid solution? Let's find out what's in store for the education industry in 2023.

How the Education industry is changing

The pandemic brought radical changes not just to educational institutes but also to the workplace, student preferences, and educator priorities. The one-size-fits-all approach to disseminating education won't work anymore. At the same time, institutes must cast as wide a net as possible and build communities to ensure the widespread diffusion of knowledge.

For this, they must partner with stakeholders, government, and technology providers to understand and cater to the learning needs of students. It will also help them improve student outcomes and benefit all the stakeholders by creating a robust talent pool.

Institutions must move beyond traditional classroom teaching and use emerging trends to transform themselves.

Top 5 trends in Education

Here are the leading trends that will dominate the education industry in 2023:

#1: Remote learning will remain an essential learning environment

Online/remote learning is here to stay, and while it will not replace classroom education entirely, it will act as a supplement for skills that are not taught in their institute. It will also allow students pursuing higher education to consume content at their own pace and fit learning into their busy schedules. Online learning platform revenue in India is expected to reach $9.79 billion in 2027 growing at a CAGR of 20.48%. In fact, companies looking to upskill their workers will actively invest in e-learning courses/platforms. And because online learning requires minimal infrastructure, it will continue to provide an easy and cost-effective alternative to classroom learning.

#2: Lifelong learning will drive subscription services

Today's technologies, processes, and business challenges are constantly shifting, and thus the employment landscape requires users to update their skills regularly. This has led both educators and learners to switch to an ongoing model of education where users buy a subscription from a learning aggregator, such as Coursera, Udemy, or Linkedin Learning, and take up courses as and when required. Users also retain access to previously undertaken courses, allowing them to brush up on the necessary skills.

#3: Bite-sized courses will arrest the falling attention spans

Research suggests that the average human attention span has reduced to 8.25 seconds and in comparison even a goldfish ranks higher at 9 seconds. With so many devices and applications competing for our time, it's no wonder that most users do not complete their courses. The average completion rate for online courses hovers around 15%, and the drop-off rates are astronomical. So how can institutes compete for student attention? Creating bite-sized lessons and courses that can be accessed when and where the user needs them. This ensures that even if the student does not retain the information the first time, they can easily go back and study the course quickly.

#4: Gamification and personalization will improve student experience

Storytelling is one of the best methods to boost learning, and the best educators utilize its power to imbibe important lessons in students. A visual form of storytelling used by most e-learning platforms boosts student engagement. Research suggests that it can even improve student productivity by 50%. Now, even classrooms are using gamification to create personalized journeys for students. Using AI and automation will further optimize student journeys and help create adaptive courses to meet the learners' needs and help them progress.

#5: Extended reality will support immersive learning experiences

There is considerable buzz around the metaverse and how it will revolutionize learning, work, and play. While that is some way down the line, some aspects of extended reality, such as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR), will start trickling into the education sector. It will help students absorb information much quicker and, combined with other trends like gamification and micro-courses, will transform education for the better.

Way Forward

The state of a nation's education industry is directly related to its human, social, and economic development. India has been consistently climbing up the global education rankings, moving two places up to 32 in 2021. Its institutes have also been featured in some of the top global ranking lists. And yet, there is considerable scope for improvement. India's literacy rate is 74.37%, and the unemployment rate is significant. It's now up to educational institutes to use the latest technologies to democratize knowledge and incentivize skills over rote learning.