Sebastian shares his thoughts on the future of education in a Huffington Post piece from January 28, 2014, titled Self-Driving Education. Here’s a short excerpt from the original post:

The digital era makes it possible to acquire skills and knowledge on-demand, in small chunks, when we need it. Every free hour can now be used to advance one’s skills, using our mobile device. Perhaps we can learn while we are passengers in our self-driving cars.

This makes this new medium much more susceptible to lifelong learners, who wish to continue to educate themselves throughout their career. Young people love to flock to campuses. But once in a job with a family and a mortgage, taking time off and relocating to a residential campus can be challenging.

I venture that digital education will be a game changer. In the US, adults stay in the same jobs for an average of 4.1 years. They assume seven different careers during their lifetime. Digital education will provide education to people throughout their lives, to stay current in an ever-changing business and technology landscape.

Digital education might be our best and only hope to reduce the growing job skills gap. McKinsey estimates that by 2020, there will be 85 million open jobs worldwide for skilled and partially skilled labor. The present system offers no scalable answer to this challenge, and CEOs of major corporations are desperate.

I admit this is all just a guess. The path of innovation often leads to surprises. But I am convinced that this new medium opens up a potential to redefine the basic fabric of higher education. As a committed educator, I am 100 percent dedicated to explore this new medium, to the full benefits of all the students in the world.

Read the full piece for more of Sebastian’s take on digital education, the job skills gap, and innovation. Explore the Udacity course catalog, including our Data Science and Web Development course tracks, for courses that will advance your education and your career in tech!