Visibilization of Graduating Student Employability Skills via ePortfolio Practices

2022 ◽  
pp. 191-231
Author(s):  
Marcelo Fabián Maina ◽  
Lourdes Guàrdia ◽  
Federica Mancini ◽  
Denisse López B.
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
High Impact ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Employability Skills ◽  
Skills Gap ◽  
East African ◽  
The Core ◽  
Study Programs ◽  
Innovative Solution

Embedding employability skills into the core of higher education is a priority worldwide to reduce the skills gap and better equip graduates for entering or progressing in the workplace. This chapter presents an innovative solution based on high impact e-portfolio practices developed within the H2020 EPICA project oriented towards making employability skills visible. It also reports on the implementation of a new methodology for assessing and micro-credentialing employability skills tested in three East African universities. The pilot carried out in a variety of study programs is described along with the measures taken to address the spread of COVID-19. Lessons learnt, transfer possibilities, and organizational implications are also reported as a final note on the experience. This high impact learning experience aims to inspire academic institutions to innovate by integrating e-portfolio and micro-credentials along with fresh pedagogical practices and strategies that better align the future workforce with societal and economic demands.

scholarly journals Graduates’ employability skills in East Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-184
Author(s):  
Lourdes Guàrdia ◽  
Federica Mancini ◽  
Pedro Jacobetty ◽  
Marcelo Maina
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
East Africa ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Employability Skills ◽  
Skills Gap ◽  
East African ◽  
Skill Sets ◽  
Graduate Employability ◽  
Components Analysis ◽  
Sub Saharan

This paper reports a study about the perceptions of the academic community, employers and civil servants regarding graduates’ employability skills in East Africa. Specifically, it focuses on the mismatch between skills acquired in Higher Education (HE) and those in demand by employers, and explores factors influencing the situation. A mixed method approach was implemented including a survey and a set of focus groups. The questionnaire on employability skills was distributed among regional stakeholders attending the Open Day events organised by three East African HE Institutions. A Principal Components Analysis was applied for the categorisation of the most in-demand skills and the identification of four major workplace skill sets. To gain further insights into the stakeholders’ perceptions of the graduate employability skills gap, 11 focus groups were organised at the same universities. The general results showed that employability skills were mostly perceived as insufficiently developed during the students’ progress in their programs. The final results enabled a better understanding of the nuanced relationship between labour market valuation and graduates’ acquisition of each skill set. It also allowed us to identify problems and barriers, and suggest possible solutions to overcome the shortcomings experienced by the sub-Saharan HE system.

Increasing the Visibility of Graduate Students' Employability Skills

2021 ◽  
pp. 253-275
Author(s):  
Lourdes Guàrdia ◽  
Marcelo Fabián Maina ◽  
Federica Mancini
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Employability Skills ◽  
Skills Gap ◽  
Learning Models ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact

This chapter highlights the contributions of the EPICA project in reducing the skills gap of graduate students in sub-Saharan Africa. It presents the solution designed and implemented to improve the quality of employability skills development and visibility to prospective employers. The first part of this chapter provides an overview of the skills gap between higher education institutions and the workplace in sub-Saharan Africa. It includes the description of the specific eAssessment pedagogical framework and methodology supported by the EPICA ePortfolio as a transition tool designed to address this gap. The second part of the chapter outlines the challenges that could hinder the solution's implementation and the full exploitation of its benefits. Solutions and recommendations are also discussed with the aim to increase the impact in the EPICA stakeholder community and encourage the implementation of the proposed solution in other universities, especially those adopting blended and online learning models.

scholarly journals AN EMPIRICAL REVIEW ON THE GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES AND READINESS FOR EMPLOYABILITY AMONG THE ENGINEERING GRADUATES IN THE HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS (HEIs)

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 8-25
Author(s):  
Masoud Rashid Al Hinai ◽  
Abul Bashar Bhuiyan ◽  
Nor Azilah Husin
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Current Literature ◽  
Employability Skills ◽  
Skills Gap ◽  
Graduate Attributes ◽  
Policy Guideline ◽  
The World ◽  
Source Of Information

The graduates’ readiness for employability has become a major issue for HEIs in the world due to growing concern from governments and industries on the quality of the graduates. As thus, this paper intends to determine the most required skills for Engineering graduate’s readiness for employability. Therefore, the main objective of the current study is to determine the skills required for Graduates’ Readiness for Employability for Engineering graduates. Specifically, this study intends to review the most current literature to specify the most required skills for the readiness of Engineering Graduates for Employability in the Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) in the world. The study reviews the current literature on graduates’ readiness for employability especially for engineering graduates as the main source of information. The study is designed to analyze and determine the engineering graduates’ readiness for employability required skills. The literature utilized for this study covers the latest literature (from 2014 to 2019) extracted from Google Scholar, ProQuest, and Scopus. The three main keywords used were ‘higher education’, ‘employability skills ‘or ‘readiness for employability skills, and ‘skills gap in the world. The study determines the engineering graduates’ readiness for employability required skills for the HEIs in the world. It analyses the most influential required skills for the graduate readiness for employability that will be considered as an empirical study on the graduates of the engineering colleges in the world. The study conceptualizes graduate readiness for employability requirements from the latest literature and papers. The results of the study will fill the gap in understanding the main required engineering graduates’ readiness for employability skills in the world. This study is intended to determine the most required graduates’ readiness for employability skills for engineering in the HEIs in the world. Besides, it will be used to advise a policy guideline for HEIs and researchers for the understanding of graduates’ readiness for employability skills requirements in the HEIs in the world.  

scholarly journals A reflection on future directions: Global international and intercultural competencies in higher education

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-75
Author(s):  
Md. Shahriar Islam ◽  
Kerry Stamp
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Core Curriculum ◽  
High Impact ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
The Core ◽  
Intercultural Competencies ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approaches ◽  
Inclusive Excellence

In the final article of the special issue, we offer a reflection on the ideas presented by the authors and recommendations for future research on implementation and assessment of Global, International, and Intercultural (GII) competencies in higher education. Themes identified from the articles include the intersection of GII competencies and inclusive excellence in higher education, the importance of integrating GII learning into the core curriculum, and the high impact of interdisciplinary approaches. Parallel recommendations for future scholarship include: further application of the inclusive excellence framework to GII competencies research, additional study on methods for integration of GII learning into core curriculum, and attention to successful strategies for application within interdisciplinary settings.

scholarly journals Theoretical Review on The Graduate Attributes and The Readiness for Employability Among Engineering Graduates in The Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) in Oman

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-139
Author(s):  
Masoud Rashid Al Hinai ◽  
Abul Bashar Bhuiyan ◽  
Nor Azilah Husin
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education System ◽  
Employability Skills ◽  
Skills Gap ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Graduate Attributes ◽  
Gulf Countries ◽  
Policy Guideline ◽  
Higher Educational

The Omani higher education system has enlarged noticeably since 1970 both in the number of students and in the infrastructure.  As a result, there has been a big investment to provide quality higher educational institutes capable of providing suitable graduates to fulfill the requirements of the labor. The mean purpose of the higher education system is to provide the nation with the quality education that meets the requirements of the 21st century with graduates having readiness for employability skills and competencies. However, The skills gap between HEIs graduates and industrial requirements in Oman and other regional Gulf countries is seen as one of the most important factors that affect the employment of graduates in the private sector because the graduate readiness for employability did not consider the graduate attributes factors which influence graduate readiness for employability. Therefore, the main objective of the current study is to determine the effects of the graduates’ attributes on the readiness for employability and justified with existing theories in the higher educational institutes in Oman. Specifically, this study intends to determine the influencing factors that contribute to the readiness of Engineering Graduates for Employability in the Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) in Oman. The study reviews the current literature on the effects of graduates’ attributes on the readiness for employability especially for Omani engineering graduates as the main source of information. The study is designed to determine and analyze graduates’ attributes factors and elements. The literature utilized for this study covers the latest literature (from 2013 to 2019) extracted from Google Scholar, ProQuest, and Scopus. The four main keywords used were ‘higher education’, ‘graduate attributes ‘or ‘readiness for employability, and ‘skills gap and justify with most relevant theories in the particular area’. The study summarized the empirical review on the graduate attributes which analyses the effects of graduate attributes on the graduates’ readiness for employability that will be considered as an empirical study on the graduates of the engineering colleges in Oman. The study explored review findings on the graduate readiness for employability framework from different graduates’ attributes and provisions perspectives. The results of the study will fill the gap in understanding the main graduate attributes factors affecting the attainment of graduates’ readiness for employability skills which has justified with most relevant theories in the particular. The study also recommends a policy guideline for ensuring of readiness of engineering graduates for employability in the HEIs in Oman.

scholarly journals Assess the Engagement with 3D Virtual Learning Tools during the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8632
Author(s):  
Wen-Jye Shyr ◽  
Hung-Ming Liau ◽  
Chia-Chen Hsu ◽  
Chia-Hung Chen
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
User Satisfaction ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Virtual Learning ◽  
Learning Technologies ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
Physical Experiments

The recent growth of learning technologies has catalyzed the surge in investments in e-learning systems across higher education to revolutionize pedagogical practices. Thus, the implementation of 3D virtual learning tools has become an indispensable, standard methodological tool in higher education. More recently, the enforcement of restrictions and emergency lockdowns to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic compelled higher education institutions worldwide to cope with and meet the requirements of online education while preserving the quality of the learning experience at an equal pace. To develop a 3D physics laboratory, the appropriate equipment for physical experiments was first collected; then, the design software was applied to construct the 3D model. Software was then developed to edit the 3D experimental environment. Two practical tests were performed on the completed setup to verify the disadvantages and feasibility of the experiments. The present study develops and validates the incorporation of user satisfaction approaches to examine the quality of the most influential 3D learning tools during the coronavirus outbreak. The findings of this study confirm that 3D laboratories can positively influence learning attitudes when it comes to physics and improve learners’ understanding of physics concepts; they also confirm that 3D laboratories are a suitable tool for teaching physics experiments. Finally, the difficulties and solutions encountered in the development of the 3D laboratory are outlined as a reference for subsequent studies.

Pengelolaan Data Terintegrasi Berdasarkan Instrumen Akreditasi Perguruan Tinggi 3.0 Menggunakan Zachman Framework

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ardhin Primadewi ◽  
Mukhtar Hanafi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Self Evaluation ◽  
The Core ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Performance Report ◽  
Total Data ◽  
Zachman Framework ◽  
The Government ◽  
Data Gap ◽  
Education Performance

Higher education in Indonesia is regulated by the government with the Higher Education Accreditation (APT). In APT 3.0, Higher Education is required to be able to present performance data in the form of a Higher Education Performance Report (LKPT) as a reference in making a Self-Evaluation Report (LED). However, it is necessary to have an in-depth analysis to determine the gaps in the data required by Higher Education according to the APT 3.0 standard. The process of integrating the samples refer to the Zachman Framework (ZF). The results of this simplification that the data is available in support of APT 3.0 approximately 79% of the total data both inside and outside the core business of Higher Education and is well managed in an integrated database. The remaining 21% of the data that are not available is spread across several information systems, especially SIMMawa, SIMHumas and Cooperation, and SIMAKU. This shows that the change in accreditation standards that have been in effect since April 2019 has created a significant data gap for Higher Education. This research also produced an alternative model of integrated data management that can be used as input for Information System developers in the Higher Education scope.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document