Professor Michelle Simmons, Australian of the Year, Scientia Professor of Physics, UNSW, director, Centre for Quantum Computation, and Communication Technology
The Australian of the Year says the things that are the most rewarding are the ones that take a long time and require effort
Australian educators are asking big questions about how schools need to adapt to educate the next generation. The Association of Independent Schools of New South Wales has commissioned a report titled “CEO Perspectives: The Future of Schooling in Australia”. Produced in partnership with Knowledge Society, the project involves interviews with leaders about their priorities and ideas for change. The Deal presents some edited extracts.
Professor Michelle Simmons, Australian of the Year; Scientia Professor of Physics, UNSW; director, Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology
- The Future of Work
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17 jobs across 5 industries
Young people will need to work up to 17 jobs across 5 industries to earn a living
The facts and stats
- The Future of Work
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70 per cent
70 per cent of 15-24-year-olds currently enter the workforce through jobs that are unlikely to exist in the next 10-15 years due to automation
The facts and stats
- The Future of Work
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The number one driver of economic growth is cognitive development, not years of school or education completed
The facts and stats
- The Future of Work
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500-700
Estimate of the number of new schools Australia will need to build in the next 10 years
The facts and stats
- The Future of Work
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60 per cent
Percentage of people entering university using means other than Australian Tertiary Admission Rank
The facts and stats
What are the character traits and attitudes of people who are having the most impact in your field?
It’s people who are used to solving problems but have that kind of grit and determination. I’ve said this many times, but the things that are really the most rewarding are the ones that take a long time, require effort. Whenever you create new technology you have to understand many different aspects of it at a deep level, and you have to be able to take it from a concept all the way through to the actual practical building and then the modelling of it at the end. And that process of creating something, either working or not working, or working in a way that you didn’t expect, and then going through that many times, is really fundamental to understanding and learning it at the best level.
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Fact sources: How Young People Are Faring Report Card, FYA, 2015; New Work Order, FYA, 2015; Hanushek et al, Education and economic growth, 2008; Knowledge Society; Pilcher and Tori, Crunching the numbers, Mitchell Institute, 2018; New Work Smarts, FYA, 2017.
