Mid Sweden University

In the current discussion on the reformation of higher education for continuous lifelong learning, there are several reports on the importance of opening up higher education. As highlighted by lifelong and work-integrated learning this is one of the main challenges in the rapidly growing knowledge society, where the Corona pandemic has acted as a catalyst for technology enhancement. One often-mentioned idea is that of work-integrated learning and to practice what is preached inside the university. Other emphasised ideas are flexibility, continuity, and the possibility to study anywhere and anytime (Rientes et al., 2023). However, there is no consensus on how professional development in higher education should be redesigned to best support continuous professional development. This study is part of the third phase in a modified four-phase Delphi study (Mozelius et al., 2023), building on suggestions by a global panel of experienced researchers in the field of lifelong learning. After a survey in the first phase, and a reading assignment in the second phase, data has been collected by structured interviews. Interview questions were partly created around the themes in the survey answers and the themes in the reading assignment literature.

The aim of the study is to analyse and discuss the Delphi expert panels' views on the need for reformation for quality lifelong learning in higher education. The research question that guided the study was: "What are the experts’ suggestions for a redesign of higher education to create conditions for continuous lifelong learning?”

Interview answers have been analysed according to the Grounded theory methods of Open coding and Axial Coding. In the initial Open coding phase, the focus was more on a general reformation of higher education for lifelong learning. Preliminary categories in the Open coding phase were later aggregated into 1) ' Digital literacy' 2) 'Multi-modal learning delivery' 3) 'Infrastructure' with the subcategories, 4) 'Quality considerations', 5) 'Pedagogical change', 6) 'Continuous lifelong learning', 7) 'Accessibility', 8) 'Equity, diversity, inclusion (EDI)' and finally, 9) Miscellaneous with the subcategories of 'Economy', 'Financial aspects' and 'The Corona pandemic'.

In the Axial coding phase, the same data were reanalysed with 6) 'Continuous lifelong learning' ' as the central or axial category. Other important supporting categories in this study were found to be: 'Infrastructure', 'Pedagogical change and multimodality', 'Accessibility', and 'Financial aspects'. All of these categories, based on the experts’ views, warrant deeper study for insight into possible formation of higher education. More research is needed to understand these crucial aspects of continuous professional development inside and outside of the university.