Welcome to Modern Matters
At NewCampus, we understand that if we want to accelerate social, environmental, and technological change on a global scale, we need to empower an inclusive new generation of modern leaders with the skills, insights, and connections to stay ahead. However, today’s news often leaves us cynical about the future, causing us to cry for reliable guides.
At Modern Matters (MoMa), we translate the noise from the newsroom into signals for the classroom and contextualise the different forces shaping our world, for you. Through our dialogues, conferences and this fortnightly MoMa publication, we provide you with fresh insights and perspectives to the topics that matter in the world.
In this MoMa blog, we look at the world’s issues through six core pillars that will be leading the change we are expecting in the next year. Join us in a global conversation navigating disruption in different industries, policies and communities, that are important yet just beyond your peripheral.
The six pillars of Modern Matters
Living Well
What is your idea of a life well-lived? While the notion of what a “good life” entails is subjective, the navigation and achievement towards a life well-lived is not arbitrary. Our knowledge of human psychology and inquiries into moral philosophy continue to guide us in our personal and professional quests to become the best versions of ourselves. The pillar of Living Well looks into how we lead our lives, our interpersonal relationships with friends, family and society, and how we ought to think about our position in relation to the world.
Business and Innovation
Creative destruction is the process by which the economy grows via innovation that disrupts incumbent businesses. And as history has shown, innovation can still be spurred, even in times of economic crises and uncertainties. Through creative destruction, some of the best-known disruptive products and services have emerged during times of crises. Think of Apple’s iPod during the dotcom bubble burst in 2000 and Alibaba’s online shopping mall, Taobao, during China’s SARS epidemic in 2003. This pillar of Business and Innovation will be keeping tabs on the trends and influences that will set the industrial landscape for the next decade.
Policy and Society
Today, while governments and the public policies they roll out affects all aspects of our lives, politicians and their parties come and go, and their positions on issues can change due to circumstances. How, then, do we ensure that governments make lasting impact on society? The best way to do so is to change public opinion, steering it toward the betterment of society. When you change the beliefs of the people, politicians and political parties change with them. From small-group collective decisions to policy changes in countries, and global governance, the pillar of Policy and Society go beyond what’s reported in current affairs. This pillar delves into critical issues such as public policy, globalisation, the environment, and civil rights.
Work and the Workplace
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is set to transform and bring challenges to businesses and the workforce, but the most significant change of all is the new set of skills that the future workforce demands. Projections for the job landscape from the World Economic Forum highlight that “human skills” — such as critical thinking, active learning strategies, leadership and social influence — will become increasingly relevant. By 2022, it is estimated that more than half of the world’s workforce will have to undergo reskilling to meet this new demand in skills. Coupled with a future workplace where machine-human interactions will become the norm, this pillar of Work and the Workplace will cover what it takes for one to be able to future-proof themselves, their jobs, and their careers.
Science and Technology
The scientific enterprise does not only seek to advance our understanding of how the world works. Through the endeavours of scientists, engineers and technologists, the products of scientific research has brought about great benefits to the economy and society. But it has also created “bad” unintended consequences. Technology, then, is not value-free, and when the issues that society faces comes into contact with science, science may not provide us with all the answers. As we celebrate the achievements of science and technology, we must also be critical of its use.
Culture and the Arts
When it comes to forging personal identities and strengthening a community’s sense of purpose, culture and art are the means to achieve these things. From the theatres, art galleries and museums to public libraries, both culture and art present multiple opportunities for learning, entertainment, leisure, and personal growth. Our history and future selves are defined by our cultures, and our imagination and creativity, expressed by the arts. To truly understand what it means to be human is to also embrace our cultural roots and our arts.
Follow our publication to follow our discussions, or learn more about the NewCampus membership and what we do.
