Universities face the challenge that their students might not be learning what they need for their future work life. This is a problem that is already bringing about, claimed by some, alternative and more relevant ways of preparing for future work. Some universities are meeting this challenge by creating more interaction with potential future workplaces. One such strategy is to demand that the students do real life development work on a workplace as assignments and exams. How do you and your university challenge your students to prepare for a rapidly changing world?
Since I am sure that traditional old lectures are far away from the real markets, I always encourage my students to know how the world is advancing day by day.
For instance, I always tell them about Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, Cloud Computing (CC), Digital Image Processing, Internet-of-Things (IoT), Internet of Everything (IoE), Object-Oriented (OO) Programing, to name a few.
We have it in my country and it is yielding much dividend. For students to graduate they must spend 6 months on Industrial Work Experience with some company. Also for the Department to be accredited to run, the provision for the 6- month Industrial Training must be clearly spelt out in its program and must be functional.
Obianuju P. Umeji
Dear Prof. Kversøy!
Indeed this is a problem that is getting more prominent. At the university I am affiliated with there has been a privatization process going on for a couple of years now. As part of this process two university of applied sciences has been merged with the Lappeenranta University of Technology: Saimaa and Lahti University of Applied Sciences:
1) LUT Group: https://www.lamk.fi/en/lamk-oy/lut-group
2) News (2018). "Boards of LUT Group approve group strategy 2025" 25 Sept. 2018. LUT University, available at: https://www.lut.fi/web/en/news/-/asset_publisher/lGh4SAywhcPu/content/boards-of-lut-group-approve-group-strategy-2025
3) The turbulent changing environment inside the university sector forces university to partner up with companies:
a) File -enclosed on the PoDoCo - initiative
b) LUT University with M-Files Corporation: https://www.m-files.com/en/other-industries
The government has been reducing funding from the universities and this act stimulates new initiatives by the institutions concerned:
The Climate University: " Multidisciplinary digital learning in sustainability challenges – flexible study paths to the working life" Available at: https://blogs.helsinki.fi/climateuniversity/about/
Yours sincerely, Bulcsu Szekely
Obianuju P. Umeji Bulcsu Szekely Thank you for the input. It is very interesting to see how other universities are handling this challenge. Here at OsloMet we are facilitating collaboration between many of our students and workplaces. We are experiencing that this is strengthening the learning outcome for our students and is making us more popular with some business leaders that employ our students. Relevance is important and is this challenge I think is making us better.
Internships with the industries are a good way to keep the students knowledgeable about what the most recent developments are. Also invite industry leaders as guest lecturers in junior/senior level undergraduate classes.
Thank you Kjartan.
Furthermore, the students submit their written reports on return from Industrial Training (IT). They also present a seminar on it telling all they did and what they learnt. Some students even critically assess their IT employers in their report.The reports are scored by staff. It is indeed quite motivating for post graduation life.
Obianuju P. Umeji
Obianuju P. Umeji This seems like a very wise way of doing it. Thank you for sharing. At our university we think this way of thinking and doing will be more and more important in the future.
Dear Kjartan Skogly Kversøy
Hello
What a good question you asked!!!!
Thank you
Its useful answers will certainly be useful
It seems that helping learners to realize the importance of independence is very crucial. Teachers should liberate learners from the bounds of the classroom by teaching them liberatory autonomy skills, critical and reflective thinking strategies.
Reza Biria I support you input. The students are often even surprised when they understand the potential consequences of thinking for themselves, trusting their own judgement, acting bravely and taking initiative. One of my classes even asked me if they could take over the teaching fro a period of time. I had to think about what this meant. I had encouraged independence, critical thinking and living out their autonomy. Now I was challenged to step back for some time and let my class of students explore their freedom and develop their own learning processes. I must say it was challenging for me as well, but the fruits of the development of my students was very impressive. If I dare to give my students some power, they empower themselves and understand responsibility differently in a constructive way.
Dear Bulcsu Szekely,
It seems your school is an extreme case where the solution is merging the institutions instead of directing the students in the way to go. The attention is directed to the management rather than the products. I think Government should always carry out its own obligation.
Obianuju P. Umeji
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Rashmi Pramanik Thank you for you input. I agree. Spark is a nice tool. Learning by doing and creating, and having tools that facilitate this, are key elements.
The responses of @Obianuju P. Umeji are valid. However, from experience, I have realised that many of the students hardly find good placements where they may actively engaged to learn the practical aspects of what has been taught in class.
Several factors are attributed to this but this stands out: the industries are not willing to engage them. Hence, there is a need to "lobby" and enhance collaboration with the industry.
Going forward, Universities must embrace emerging technologies to help in this regard. This too needs a lot of political will to make it happen as there exist several bottlenecks for this to be achieved.
Jude Steven Ejepu It is a challenge that workplaces are not willing to accept our students. This is often also the case in Norway. The unions have a tradition for lobbying for this since the industry often needs reminders that their future workforce needs to get relevant education. It also means that when our students actually are permitted to engaged they need to clearly understand this privilege and act accordingly. We at the education institutions also need to prepare our students in a way that our students are perceived as competent. We have a large potential for developing further regarding this.
This is an interesting question! I think teachers at university focus more on teaching "a content" of the course they teach and ignore important other aspects that may be more important such as preparing the students for a rapidly changing world.
I think, it's important to think early about this question and don't wait for the final project of 6 months to develop some key skills of the students. That is, teachers should adopt, from the beginning, an appropriate way of teaching that develop and encourage the autonomy and the critical thinking of the students besides their motivation. I think spending few months in an industrial environment can help the students acquire some experience and deeper knowledge regarding their field. However, this does not necessarily develop their knowledge about themselves and about their capacities and what are able to realize. I think a good teaching strategy is to let students discover themselves and their capacities so that they can be able to face any challenging situation in the future and adapt to any change rapidly. This can be done better in a class where a teacher can control closely how the students are progressing in such development. Simulating a real world project can be a good teaching activity for example, to achieve that purpose.
Hayet Si Salah Thank you for your valuable input. I strongly support your views in this matter.
Kjartan Skogly Kversøy you are welcome! Thank you for your valuable question ! I hope more participations to this discussion.
Dear Colleagues,
You will find that there is no need "to challenge" your students to prepare to a 'rapidly changing word'. Most of your students, both students with good marks in your classes and other students who put most attention on activities outside the classes will demonstrate higher adaptability to the demands of the "changing work" that you can imagine and than you are capable yourselves.
The major real challenge is to expose the students to the basic features of organizations which will never change. An example is a genial article by Sitkin et al., 2011 (enclosed). Students should recognize that beyond digitalization, industry 4++, fine slicing the value chains, sustainability codes etc. that are the simple human passions and desires, like struggles for power, independence, suitable guidance, proper understanding the situation in which where group efforts or individual efforts have greater costs/outcomes ratio and, last but not least, how to apply in 'a rapidly changing world' the simple ethical rules like "Do not do to your neighbour (colleagues, bosses, subordinates) the things you hate".
This is the real challenge of teaching in a classroom nowadays -- to develop in your student a habit to search for and the skills to find ethical and efficient solutions to eternal business/management problems put into 'new technological clothes'.
start to teach alongside creativity and digital literacy ...
- professional development
- curriculum and lesson plans
- Supported by a vibrant community of practice
- https://theblog.adobe.com/preparing-students-for-a-rapidly-changing-world/
You are welcome... Many thanks for initiating the discussion... We need to adapt for innovations and changes...
Since I am sure that traditional old lectures are far away from the real markets, I always encourage my students to know how the world is advancing day by day.
For instance, I always tell them about Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, Cloud Computing (CC), Digital Image Processing, Internet-of-Things (IoT), Internet of Everything (IoE), Object-Oriented (OO) Programing, to name a few.
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