Common wisdom holds that every profession will undergo profound changes due to technological changes exemplified by Internet, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Digitalization. Education is hardly exempt from this trend. Therefore the question must be asked: Will this trend mean a new role for professors as the century advances? If so, what will this new role be? Finally, is this new role compatible with our traditional expectations of teaching?.

According to Peter Senge, an MIT(Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Business Professor current teaching practise in which teachers talk and students sit quietly, “as is they were training to work in a factory”, is passive and not suited for current educational needs.

Senge cites the example of Singapur and the transformation of its educational model which involved a radical change from the previous professor-centred model to a model based on a teachers who offers students challenges and the students suggesting possible solutions. The teacher roles changes from an unquestionable expert to a facilitator who designs methodology by making both offline and online resources available to the students.

In this view teachers should become guides to knowledge, pointing out areas of great interest and helping students avoid more questionable sources of information. With so much free content available on the Internet, students need someone with criteria and wisdom to filter, organise and curate and help students to interpret what is interesting for students.

Furthermore, this guided process will serve as a model for students in the future.
Interestingly, in an educational future marked by technological changes the skills that students will need most are the so-called soft skills which involve awareness, communication and cooperation which perfectly complement hard skills and digital competences.

Contrary to the fears of some and despite some current experiments with robots, future teachers will probably not be robots armed with artificial intelligence, because now more than ever, human soft skills such as enthusiasm, empathy and emotional intelligence will be the characteristics which define the teachers who can truly motivate students and spark critical thinking.