The Future of Education

Education from the period of its institutionalization through the structure of the University, in the 13th century, and the establishment of knowledge as social power through the diploma, the masters and doctorate, is directly connected with both the technology of each era and the socio-political events. From its first steps the university is associated with the production of paper, the translations of Aristotle’s manuscripts, the development of the national languages and the geopolitical revolutions which affect  its structure and social and technical existence. The exploratory and experimental structure of the university develops and gets completed in the 20th century where the phenomenon of its status as a product is intensified. Based on the latter the states can be divided into those States which provide free education and the ones in which the education is paid. In the digital era the university contributes to the development of the society of information by developing a powerful technology that has a social influence at work, in education and the free time of an individual. The University no longer relies on the paper substrate but in the digital ground. On the other hand, a series of events directly affect the structure and function of the university causing a new stage of its status. Those events hierarchical are: A) in relation to technological development : i) The distance education,  ii) the free distance education,  iii) self-education through smart machines but also through search engines and social networks  and B) in relation to the geopolitical events:  i) the development of competitive, regarding its excellence, universities of different countries  the such called Upcoming/Rising new powers such as China, India, Korea, etc.,  ii) the importation  of significant professors and researchers in these countries as opposed to reduce exporting their students.           Unquestionably the conditions are exceptionally strong and capable to cause a completely new form of the University. In this research the possible directions of the University will be formulated and analyzed as well as its implications to the teachers, the learners and finally the states in which they are located.  At the end we will discuss the issue of the important role the humanities studies have at this transitional stage. Through a many-years research, we are trying to give a rough presentation of the most significant and serious approaches and trends of these matters.