Some companies are criticizing higher education for not adapting their education in a way that is relevant for the jobs the students will actually work in. How can universities to a larger degree educate students that have relevant competence and are prepared for their future work?
Practical professional research should be combined with applied scientific methodology; the rigorous learning of the scientifc methods is the start and foundation. After acquiring these methodical tools, research could gradually focus on problems of professional practice.
Focusing on applying learnt theoretical knowledge into more practical implications helps develop a variety of practical skills needed for the job market.
Hassan Izzeddin Sarsak Thank you for your input. My students are also very happy when they get to know practical implications and real life examples.
On the one hand, to promote competencies that will be fundamental in professional life, such as: teamwork, leadership capacity, public speaking, ... On the other hand, the guidance of the university student on complementary training activities, which can be useful tools in your future as professionals, I think it should also be a line of work for universities. Finally, the realization of internships in companies, will bring the students of the last courses closer to the professional reality.
Practical professional research should be combined with applied scientific methodology; the rigorous learning of the scientifc methods is the start and foundation. After acquiring these methodical tools, research could gradually focus on problems of professional practice.
Francisco Martínez González Ademilade Aboginije Stephen I. Ternyik Thank you for your input. We have some students that come back to take their masters degrees after years working. These students often take their degree while still at work. They often represent some of our very best students. A key factor seems to be their strong and clear understanding of context to see theory through.
In a college where I taught we had made it mandatory to have a final capstone project which involves use of knowledge, skills and abilities acquired from all the courses in the major and applying them to solve a practical problem which usually involves designing something, building it and making it work. This final project is often demonstrated in front of an audience, sometimes involving industry professionals. This is one way of making education more practical and making the students job-ready in the field. Another method is via the use of internships during the Senior year of a bachelor's program. Students get one semester of experience working in an actual industrial setting, helping professional collect data, analyze and interpret the results. These are some examples by which one can make the education relevant. In addition the college also held annual meeting with the community which involved city officials, industry experts and professors from other universities so that they can give input to the curriculum and make it more useful.
Srini Vasan Thank you for sharing your experience. It is very interesting to read.
Any respective university owns a special program for market jobs. So, you can see each year there is a new program and a new method. They update themselves from time to time to catch the market needs as well as the community needs of these titles or certificates.
The changing world is a universal topic of interest, with particular resonance to higher education. Colleges and universities research change, teach about change, and often impact current and future change. To support students to live in this ever-changing world, those of us who work in higher education strive to provide solid, relevant preparation at the baccalaureate and graduate levels. We proactively and thoughtfully integrate and rely on educational technologies — in curriculum and instruction, labs, assignment design, libraries, support services, and more. Technology will play a significant role in our ability to achieve these aspirational but increasingly vital goals. By harnessing the possibilities of technology and by implementing curricular and organizational enhancements, we can amplify the transformative power of higher education as we prepare our graduates for future success in the ever-evolving world of work.
Shurooq Talab Jaafar Rashmi Pramanik Thank you for your detailed input. It is all very interesting.
In my personal perception, it is important to generate more laboratories, real entrepreneurship programs, competitions as an olympiad and use of simulators. This, regardless of whether it is hard or soft sciences.
The competences of students in the business world must be aligned with tangible experiences and complex contexts (and not only with a thick conceptual basis).
As a university professor, I personally use platforms such as PhET simulations to explain transdisciplinary aspects, combined with real experiments in R & D & I.
Juan Pablo Ramírez-Galvis Thank you for sharing this interesting information.
The relevance of professional training to societal requirements is a long-standing discussion that Latin American universities are not willing to take on effectively. In the forestry field (my original profession) J. Coufal (2019) suggests that Forestry would be at the bottom of a theoretical scale of professional actions and I think the same. https://academic.oup.com/jof/article-abstract/117/2/180/5365765
In a broader societal context of greater social significance P. Matshe and V. Mahlangu (2014) discuss the need for the South African education curriculum to take into account not only the post-apartheid reality of the country, but also the needs of the 21st century http://www.richtmann.org/journal/index.php/mjss/article/view/5082
Judith Butler in a recent visit to Chile made a very appropriate interpretation from my point of view, for the reluctance of the academy to consider society as a reference of relevance "university, whose inside (teaching rites, hierarchies of knowledge) is challenged by an outside made of struggles and revolts around the incomplete meanings of democracy" and professional performances (paraphrasing and complementing democracy).
Hernán Peredo Thank you so much for your input. As a young student I was challenged by one of the professors who asked me: "Why do you contaminate your good thinking with practical examples?"
Students are expected to have a deep knowledge, skill proficiency and positive attitude about the discipline they are in. Moreover, these expected outcomes of education should be relevant to the world of work. To this end, the respective program curriculum/ curricula should emanate from assessment of real gaps in the world of work, and experiential learning needs to be valued.
Derrida has mentioned in one of the essays written by him “On the future of the profession of University without condition”: theUniversity claim and ought to great in principle, an unconditional freedom to question or even to assert, or going beyond still further, the right to say publicly all that is required by research, knowledge
and thought concerning truth. The university professes the truth and that is its profession. It declares and promises an unlimited commitment to the truth. The class act of University is to preserve and impart Research, Knowledge and absolute questioning.
University should not become a supermarket of knowledge, where
customers take non-essential items with the necessary. It is our shared responsibility to stop the commodification of knowledge.
Gurudutta Japee Ali Raza Thank you for your input. The freedom of thought and the right to be critical in the quest for truth is essensial. At the same time universities need to be relevant. The balance is of importance.
On average across OECD countries, 83% of the population with tertiary education is employed. ... Although the gap narrows among people with higher levels of education, the employment rate of women is far below that of men at all levels of education.
How does education affect employment rates? - OECD iLibrary
… social mobility Youth survey of graduate employment and social mobility in Greater China To understand how the massification of education has affected the labour market and social mobility in Greater China...
Mok, K. H. (2016). Massification of higher education, graduate employment and social mobility in the Greater China region. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 37(1), 51-71.
Vocational vs. general education and employment over the life cycle...
Hampf, F., & Woessmann, L. (2017). Vocational vs. general education and employment over the life cycle: New evidence from PIAAC. CESifo Economic Studies, 63(3), 255-269.
Entrepreneurship education has the potential to enable youth to gain skills and create their own jobs. In Tunisia, a curricular reform created an entrepreneurship track providing business training and coaching to help university students prepare a business plan.
Premand, P., Brodmann, S., Almeida, R., Grun, R., & Barouni, M. (2016). Entrepreneurship education and entry into self-employment among university graduates. World Development, 77, 311-327.
Bridging the soft-skill gap from education to employment through internships...
Washor, K. S. (2015). Bridging the soft-skill gap from education to employment through internships.
The study investigated the impact of entrepreneurship education on employment generation and the effect of entrepreneurial skill acquisition on entrepreneurial performances. It also examined the impact of the university attendance on employment generation among Nigerians...
Adetayo, O., Oke, A., & Aderonmu, O. (2015). Assessment of entrepreneurship education and employment generation among university graduates in Nigeria. Assessment, 7(23).
… This article looks at the relationship between gender and higher education outcomes in terms of the employment success of graduates....
Vuorinen-Lampila, P. (2016). Gender segregation in the employment of higher education graduates. Journal of Education and Work, 29(3), 284-308.
This may be achieved through adopting active learning techniques, more focus should be placed on case studies ,analytical skills, and critical thinking.
The professors and teachers' experience and their participation in practical projects in the labor market are necessary for the required experience in the market to be transferred to students through them.
Great contributions and reference work shared here. Cheers D A Gayan Nayanajith
M. Sohaib Ali Siddiqui Thank you. D A Gayan Nayanajith has shared many relevant articles here.
This is a competence framework used for gauging Project Managers' competence in its core areas but I am sure this framework is transferable and can be used both by students and people interested in using a framework to measure relevant competencies.
https://www.apm.org.uk/media/2274/apm-competence-framework.pdf
Because they focus on what employers need and expect from the workforce, particularly those workers who hold a college/university degree.
The university can assist by instilling more confidence in the students, assure them her supports and guidance every time. and also give prizes as a token for the well-done job/studies to the outstanding students. and can further provide an enabling environment for learning.
Through workshops and conferences and providing field trips.
There are two important aspects which all universities should implement.
One is self reflexive skill and second is Discipline of Learning
In any century these two will suffice the purpose.
Providing programs that develop their capabilities, giving them opportunities to participate in exhibitions and conferences.
Shurooq Talab Jaafar Mundher Alsaaidi منذر السعيدي Thank you for your input.
I think development of simulation-based education (SBE)* practices will play an important role in preparing students for future jobs.
* SBE mirrors currently used practices/technology/environment of employers in educational setup. It is useful in providing real job environment in a virtual space where students can practice, experiment, and experience their future job duties. Although SBE is mostly applied in medical universities to train future doctors/nurses/etc, there are different variations including platforms fitting business studies as well by creating and practicing on virtual companies (business/marketing/finance simulations).
To bring the required competence among graduates of a certain program, one should begin the curriculum development process from rigorous needs assessment of organizations/schools where future graduates will be assigned to after graduation.
https://er.educause.edu/articles/2017/10/the-role-of-higher-education-in-the-changing-world-of-work
https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2014/may/22/universities-must-produce-graduates-who-are-ready-for-workplace
Abdelkader Mohamed Elsayed Thank you for the excellent link.
Hi Kjartan,
You have asked a very important question. I think you will find this study useful: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/51330
Cheers,
T
Today we are teaching/educating a generation of youngsters for the work or jobs which are not available currently, which will arise in the future because of the transition we all are going through. And we have very limited ideas about the Future of Work. That is the biggest limiting factor for today's universities. With the changing time and changing demographics, we have to adapt to a more inclusive approach towards the Future of Work.
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