Introduction

Civilization is entering a historically unprecedented global economy characterized by a fusion and synergy of technologies that are blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres. Educators at every level are faced with the increasing challenge of developing young people’s capacity for unceasing reinvention over six decades of working life in order to face an uncertain and changing workplace and to take on occupations that do not yet exist. The 60-Year Curriculum (60YC) centers on a crucial aspect of the lifelong learning and employability challenge—what roles higher education can play in the organizational and societal mechanisms by which people can upskill later in their lives when they do not have the time or resources for a full-time academic experience that results in a degree or certificate. Creating this transformational evolution of higher education requires developing novel services for adult learning while working through formal instruction, or informally in daily life, and then applying insights from the new organizations delivering those services—within and outside of higher education—to the related tasks of improving preparation for initial jobs and of having a satisfying life after retirement.