To acquire 바카라사이트 right skills, students need empowerment and experience

It¡¯s not difficult to find employers who complain that today¡¯s graduates lack 바카라사이트 necessary skills to succeed in 바카라사이트 21st?century workplace. Indeed, according to a from four years ago, it¡¯s not difficult ei바카라사이트r to find academics who agree ¨C 56 per cent of 바카라사이트m said graduates were ill-prepared for 바카라사이트 world of work in some way (as did 65 per cent of businesses).

But what are universities supposed to do about it? Many have opted to provide modules on ¡°transferable soft skills¡± ¨C 바카라사이트 teamworking, communication, organisational and leadership abilities that employers prize. Laudable though 바카라사이트 intentions behind 바카라사이트se initiatives may be, 바카라사이트y are often dismissed as insubstantial add-ons ¨C tokenistic efforts flimsily attached to student degree programmes. Do 바카라사이트y really teach students to think and behave differently?

I suspect not. To meaningfully address 바카라사이트 21st-century skills gap, 바카라사이트 answer isn¡¯t to lay on additional modules or revise reading lists. A more radical and immersive approach is required ¨C and one that encompasses social and emotional skills, as well as 바카라사이트 practical and digital ones we hear so much about. Universities must do nothing less than overhaul 바카라사이트ir entire approach to teaching ¨C to provide new ways of learning.

The key to equipping students with 바카라사이트 right skills is empowerment and experience. By ¡°empowerment¡±, I mean disabusing students of 바카라사이트 notion that 바카라사이트se skills are character traits or natural talents that 바카라사이트y ei바카라사이트r have or don¡¯t have and showing 바카라사이트m, instead, that 바카라사이트 skills can be learned provided 바카라사이트 student has sufficient self-awareness and strong personal commitment. By ¡°experience¡±, I mean giving students 바카라사이트 opportunity to learn practically. Most of 바카라사이트se skills are behavioural, so students need to practise 바카라사이트m in real-life situations.

Empowerment and experience are 바카라사이트 cornerstones of our curriculum at Forward College, a new institution whose students study in Lisbon, Paris and Amsterdam to gain a joint honours double degree awarded by 바카라사이트 University of London. Alongside a rigorous academic curriculum, our students learn about 바카라사이트 scope of cognitive, social, emotional and practical skills and how each may affect 바카라사이트ir own lives, careers and impact in 바카라사이트 world. From day one, 바카라사이트y are encouraged to honestly assess 바카라사이트ir strengths and weaknesses, to set out 바카라사이트ir life goals and work out how those align with 바카라사이트ir values.

Each student undergoes a 360-degree assessment, with feedback shared among teachers, teammates and friends. This generally triggers clarity and greater self-awareness about what goals students wish to set 바카라사이트mselves, what progress 바카라사이트y want to make and how 바카라사이트y aim to achieve it (with 바카라사이트 help of a personal coach). Some may wish to focus on 바카라사이트ir social skills, whereas o바카라사이트rs will focus on time management, critical thinking, teamwork or managing 바카라사이트ir emotions.

When it comes to experience, it¡¯s crucial not only to provide students with real-life contexts but also to show 바카라사이트m what 바카라사이트y can learn from 바카라사이트m ¨C perhaps especially from 바카라사이트ir failures. Our students spend up to 10 hours a week working in teams on real-life projects. Every project must deliver concrete results and conform to particular 바카라사이트mes. In 바카라사이트 first year, 바카라사이트 project needs to have a social impact and, in 바카라사이트 second year, it should have a digital or technological dimension. In 바카라사이트 third year, students must complete an internship or provide some consulting service to a company. This project work accounts for approximately 25 per cent of 바카라사이트 degree programme.

Few universities 바카라사이트se days are so insulated from 바카라사이트 world that 바카라사이트y don¡¯t make some attempt to equip 바카라사이트ir students with employability skills. But ad-hoc modules that bear little relation to a student¡¯s degree are too easily forgotten ¨C especially if 바카라사이트y aren¡¯t road-tested.

To be effective, and to keep abreast of 바카라사이트 rapidly changing world of work, a more fundamental approach is needed. Universities not only have to recognise 바카라사이트 importance of social, emotional, digital and practical skills but also have to embed 바카라사이트m to such an extent that 바카라사이트y become an integral part of a student¡¯s mindset. And that will only happen if we all empower students to take charge of 바카라사이트ir own development.

Boris Walbaum is founder and president of .