In 1970s, knowledge economy began to appear. It is "an economy based on science and technology, with the possession and allocation of intellectual resources and the production, distribution and use (consumption) of knowledge as the most important factors." Compared with industrial economy, the characteristics of knowledge economy are closely related to on-the-job postgraduate education in two aspects. First of all, innovation is the soul of knowledge economy. Knowledge economy depends on knowledge appreciation, and the continuous innovation and application of knowledge is the power and core of knowledge economy. Innovation not only refers to creating new knowledge or technology, but also includes applying new knowledge and technology in economic activities. Knowledge innovation includes two activities: invention and application. In the past, it took a long time for new science and technology to be applied to production. Since 1970s, this period has been shortened to about five years, and research, development and application have gradually merged. Secondly, the world economy is gradually moving towards integration. The high-tech industry represented by information technology industry is the pillar industry of knowledge economy, and it has become an irreversible trend to promote the gradual formation, development and integration of the global market. These two points have the most profound influence on in-service postgraduate education.

Under the influence of knowledge economy, in-service postgraduate education has undergone and will continue to undergo profound changes, mainly in the following aspects:

1. The status of in-service postgraduate education has improved and developed rapidly. Knowledge economy is mainly driven by the creation and application of knowledge. On-the-job postgraduate education shoulders the heavy responsibility of cultivating high-level creative talents and directly participates in the production process, which will become the most important education stage. The scale of on-the-job postgraduate education in developed countries in the SO era was still relatively small, and it had been greatly expanded in the 1980s. At the end of the 1980s, the number of on-the-job postgraduate students in the United States had reached 1S0, and 300,000 master's degrees in arts and sciences, 70,000 master's and doctoral degrees in professional fields and 30,000 doctoral degrees in philosophy were awarded every year. About 6,543,800 bachelor's degrees have been awarded, and 400,000 in-service postgraduate degrees have been awarded, with a ratio of 654.38+00:

4. On-the-job postgraduate education in the United States no longer belongs to elite education, and has begun to transition to popular education. In-service postgraduate education in Japan, Germany, Britain, France and other countries has also become a very important part of the higher education system. Similarly, in-service postgraduate education in developing countries has developed very rapidly. There are many reasons for the expansion of on-the-job postgraduate education, among which the influence of knowledge economy is extremely important.

2. Collaboration will gradually become a widely used in-service postgraduate training mode. The traditional on-the-job postgraduate training mode can be called "teaching-scientific research" mode, and universities or research institutions undertake on-the-job postgraduate training. This model easily leads to the disconnection between on-the-job postgraduate education and productive labor. Since the 1970s, a new training mode has emerged in developed countries such as the United States, Britain and Japan, that is, universities and enterprises jointly train on-the-job graduate students, that is, the so-called "teaching-research-production" mode. Although this model has not yet occupied a dominant position, it represents a new development trend of on-the-job postgraduate education. At present, this mode is adopted by domestic engineering masters.

3. The training specifications of in-service graduate students will change. The traditional mission of on-the-job postgraduate education is to cultivate scientific research talents, and both doctors and masters focus on the cultivation of academic research skills. Knowledge economy greatly shortens the cycle between knowledge innovation and application, and makes the application value of master's degree increasingly prominent. In a few years, it will be similar to the current undergraduate course, training practical talents, or becoming the preparatory stage of doctoral education. Postgraduate education in developed countries has shown a practical trend, such as 1967. Britain includes Master of Philosophy (MPHIL) and Doctor of Philosophy (PHD).

Research-oriented in-service graduate students 1.8726 million, professor-oriented graduate students 1 person.

35.64 million people. By 1987, there were 47,267 research-oriented in-service graduate students and 6 applied masters.

94.83 million people, and the number of the latter has surpassed that of the former. With the increasing application of postgraduate education, doctoral education will also give up the current pure academic research mode, and the innovation and application of knowledge will receive the same attention. 4. Knowledge economy will promote the internationalization of on-the-job postgraduate education. Internationalization is an important trend in the development of post-war world higher education, especially in-service postgraduate education. Take the United States as an example. In the academic year of 1994- 1995, 45.5% of foreign students registered in American universities.

26.35 million people, 1960- 196 1 school year is 5.5%.

3 1.07 million, an increase of 752. Most international students are studying for on-the-job graduate degrees, and the ratio of on-the-job graduate students to undergraduates studying abroad in Ivy League member institutions is 4. 3:

1。 In the era of knowledge economy, with the further integration of global economy, the international exchange of in-service postgraduate education will be more frequent and the degree of internationalization will be deepened day by day.