Maria Garrido, TASCHA principal research scientist, and Lucas Koepke, TASCHA data analyst‘s work on advancing massive open online courses (MOOCS) for development was featured in the October 19, 2017 issue of Nature, “The shape of work to come.”
The article reports on transformations happening across the modern workplace that take advantage of digital technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, cloud computing, data analytics and mobile communications. Various topics are examined throughout the piece, including the automation of work, implications of sourced work conditions from platforms like Mechanical Turk, and closing the digital skills gap.
TASCHA’s 2016 research on the use of MOOCs to improve digital skills and employability is cited. Their research provides insight into who is benefiting from the “open” nature of MOOCs and factors contributing to the awareness and usage of online skills training across Colombia, the Philippines, and South Africa. It emphasizes how digital skills do not determine employability and workplace success but offer new opportunities.
As Garrido explains in the article, “Digital skills are an important piece of the puzzle, but they’re not enough.”