The Relationship Between Technology and Higher Education

The term technology pertains to the application of new discoveries and inventions for the improvement of human civilization. In the broadest sense, technology can be regarded as the application of knowledge about a given field to improve the quality of that field by introducing new techniques, tools, and materials; the progress in this direction can thus bring about an expansion of the boundaries of the existing system. Technology pertains to all the things made or altered as a result of modern man’s discovery for the purpose of bettering his way of living. It can also be taken as the collection of knowledge about any particular area of human activity performed with the aid of various machines.

Technological change and innovation have been part of human history since its beginnings. It has been present since the earliest times and has been responsible for the development of great men like Columbus, Buddha, and many others. In the present age, it is present in almost every sphere of human endeavor, including business, science, medicine, engineering, communications, and so on. It is a very important part of higher education especially in the technological industries which have the main goal of improving people’s lives through the use of knowledge.

The scope of technological knowledge is vast because it covers all the practical applications of scientific discoveries. In this regard, the history of science can be considered to be the history of technology, because all branches of science were born out of the technological innovations that were made by the inventors. The scope of technological know-how is indeed enormous and it continues to grow as time goes by. However, it is often overlooked because it is often confused with the abstract realm of mind. It must therefore be emphasized that knowledge is always practical, that is, it comes in the form of doing and it is useful to the accomplishment of practical ends.