Degrees are obsolete by design … when knowledge has the shelf life of a banana

In a world defined by rapid advances in science, technology, and the very structure of work, a university degree can become obsolete faster than a banana browns on your kitchen counter. The old paradigm of “earn your diploma, land a career, follow a predictable path” no longer makes sense in what many call an Age of Disruption. What we value at the moment as useful knowledge, once stable enough to organize into four-year degree programs, now evolves so quickly that much of what students learn in their freshman year is outdated before they step into their sophomore classrooms.

This is a recurring theme among educators, innovators, and futurists who see the breakneck speed of change reshaping how we learn. The question is not whether fields such as the sciences, technology, engineering, or the humanities are transforming, but how fast and how radically. Instead of static curricula, forward-thinking voices champion fluid learning experiences that adapt to emerging technologies and evolving social needs. Their conclusion? The diploma as we know it is overdue for retirement.

As we wrote in Manifesto 25:

Degrees are obsolete by design. Many static degree programs, designed for fixed fields with clear endpoints, are outdated or obsolete before students even finish their first year. Traditional diplomas fail to keep up with accelerating change and often do not capture the depth of real-world skills and achievements. A concerted shift toward a new, decentralized system is needed that values creativity, problem-solving, and real impact over time spent in a classroom. Learners need dynamic recognition systems that adapt with them, rewarding growth and contributions that reflect the ever-changing demands of the world.

A degree in chemical engineering or marketing presumed a stable body of knowledge and practice. But as we race forward, these fields can morph into something unrecognizable within a few short years. Traditional diplomas can’t keep up; they are an artifact of a slower age, more adept at signaling seat time than demonstrating genuine, future-ready skills.

In the Age of Disruption, the real currency is adaptability and imagination. We’re hitting a wall, often dubbed the Technological Singularity, but it might be more accurate to describe it as a limit of human imagination. Can we even envision the technologies and possibilities that lie beyond our current capacity to predict? As machines learn, entire industries shift, and new challenges emerge, our best tool is not a static credential, but a learning mindset that keeps pace with (or even outpaces) the next wave of change.

Yet this is not a doomsday scenario. It is an impulse to rethink what “qualification” means. We need new approaches, interacting within a decentralized system that places creativity, problem-solving, and tangible impact above classroom hours. Instead of pointing to a diploma as proof of mastery, learners should be able to showcase evolving portfolios of projects, innovations, and collaborations that demonstrate they can thrive under uncertainty. Failing, pivoting, and experimenting become necessary rites of passage, not black marks.

In such a system, educators morph into curators and facilitators, guiding learners through custom pathways rather than standardized curricula. Formal credentials still have their place, but they must be dynamic. We should be able to “level up” in real time, based on our contributions and capabilities, rather than wait for a single ceremony that proclaims we are “done.” After all, no one ever truly finishes learning.

So, what do we do when a university degree has the shelf life of a banana? We embrace radical reinvention. We stop treating education as a box to check and start seeing it as a continuous, creative process that extends beyond campus walls and transcends narrow disciplinary boundaries. We expand our definition of intelligence to include emotional resilience, ethical reasoning, and collaborative capacity. We harness the human ability to reinvent ourselves; and in doing so, we find new possibilities even as the horizon keeps shifting.

Five pathways beyond diplomas:

1. Rethinking credentialing through dynamic portfolios. One way to move beyond static degrees is to adopt continuous, real-time assessment models that grow with learners. Instead of earning a diploma at the end of a fixed program, individuals build dynamic portfolios that showcase their evolving capabilities. As they complete projects, collaborate on teams, or develop new solutions, these achievements are added to a living profile accessible to employers, peers, and educational institutions. This approach values a learner’s ongoing growth rather than confining their accomplishments to a single piece of paper, and it offers transparent evidence of what they can contribute in a rapidly changing environment.
2. Embracing micro-credentials and open badges. In a decentralized learning ecosystem, formal credentials can still serve a purpose, if they are flexible enough to adapt. Micro-credentials or digital badges awarded for specific skills, accomplishments, and contributions provide a more granular view of a learner’s journey. A software developer might accumulate badges for expertise in emerging coding frameworks, while a social worker might earn credentials in specialized counseling methods. These smaller, targeted recognitions reflect genuine progress and demonstrate readiness for real-world challenges, whether they occur within or outside traditional institutions.
3. Peer review and collaborative validation. Learners often rely on instructors or administrators to validate their progress, but a strong alternative is to adopt collaborative models of feedback and assessment. In a “flat” educational structure, feedback flows freely among peers, mentors, and community members who have direct insight into a learner’s contributions. This approach mimics real-world teamwork, where successful outcomes depend on collective input. Platforms that facilitate peer review and group reflection can create a culture of continuous improvement, reducing reliance on top-down authority while empowering learners to refine their skills in immediate, meaningful ways.
4. Integrating human-centered technology. Technology can streamline these innovations and make them scalable. Decentralized, blockchain-based networks, for example, offer a secure way to track achievements without a central gatekeeper. Learners can store their credentials in a personal digital wallet, which remains valid across different institutions and industries. Meanwhile, AI-driven recommendation systems can help learners identify areas for growth, serving as personalized “learning navigators.” These technologies don’t replace human guidance but enhance it, freeing educators to focus on personalized mentorship, well-being, and complex problem-solving rather than administrative tasks.
5. Moving from “one and done” to lifelong learning. Perhaps the most significant shift is recognizing that nobody ever truly finishes learning. Degrees traditionally imply an endpoint, but in a world where technology and social realities are perpetually in flux, education must remain fluid and continuous. Institutions can become hubs for life-long learning, offering frequent “level-ups” that reflect new competencies earned through work, service, or independent research. The real question is not whether a person has a diploma, but how they continue to develop their capabilities and how their growth is recognized and shared.

The old assumption that an intensive burst of study early in life is enough to equip us for decades of work no longer holds. Our world evolves too quickly, and the pace of innovation demands continuous skill-building and re-skilling well beyond a two- or four-year program. Education must expand its scope to become a lifelong process rather than a single “one and done” credential. This requires a fundamental shift in both structure and purpose: rather than institutions that primarily serve eighteen-year-olds on a campus, we need fluid networks that support learners of all ages, with flexible entry points, schedules, and curricula that adapt to changing industry and societal needs. Such a model breaks away from the notion of finishing your education by a certain age and encourages people to view learning as an ongoing, iterative journey.

When education is dispersed throughout life, it challenges the term “higher education” as we know it. If universities become hubs for ongoing growth rather than a single phase, we may need to find new language that goes beyond “continuing education,” “distributed education,” or even “learning ecosystems.” The implications are significant. Funding models, accreditation processes, and campus infrastructure would all need a complete overhaul. The student-faculty relationship might become more fluid, with learners entering and leaving structured programs repeatedly over the course of their careers. Faculty themselves may take on more roles as coaches, project collaborators, co-learners and community organizers, rather than traditional lecturers. This transformation would also demand technological tools that seamlessly integrate lived experience, work outcomes, and project-based achievements into ongoing assessments of skill and knowledge. The result would be a fundamentally different conception of education: one that stays relevant no matter where you are in life, or how quickly the world changes around you.

This moment demands a response that isn’t bound by old norms. It invites us to imagine beyond the technological thresholds we can barely see, to build systems that adapt as quickly as our world does. Manifesto 25 issues this call not as a challenge to the status quo alone, but as an affirmation of what’s possible when we value growth over stasis, impact over seat time, and creative boldness over predictable patterns.

Read and sign Manifesto 25 at https://manifesto25.org