Emergent skills in higher education: From know-how to know-where, know-who, know-what, know-when and know-why

New models and strategies have been on trial for the advantage of emerging information and communication technologies over the last decades. Among these, a particular group of technologies impacts the way time and space constraints are now consider. Additionally, the information and knowledge society requires new skills to both the professional and the learner. In particular, considering a higher education context, the need to deal with change, innovation and evolving models of competition and collaboration brings new challenges. Although higher education keeps a traditional background of sharing ideas, experimentation and reflection about impact and future applications of available knowledge, it lacks the ability to embed within its own practices both its work and ideas as also efforts from its community. Presential teaching, organisational structures, administrative processes, curricula organisation and knowledge sharing strategies are now put on pressure by an increasing number of high education newcomers who fail to adhere to the current status and learn the skills that the so called information and knowledge society may require. A huge challenge is on place, based on a transition from processes to information based activities, from an individual approach to a collaborative one, from a knowledgeoriented learning to a skill-oriented learning. It seems that the network both for individuals, organisations and also for organising the learning in higher education is a central concept: connecting people and sharing knowledge not efforts The use of virtuality, considered here as the desmaterialisation of learning settings and experiences, provides the opportunity to cope with time and space constraints and to innovate both on practices as on what individuals need to know-how. This paper discusses the skills that may emerge from adopting a virtual approach to higher education and its impact to know-how, turning it in a complex (from our current viewpoint) know-where, know-who, know-what, know-when and know-why relationship network.