Three Years of Collaboration
InnovEd4TS, Innovative Education for Transferable Skills, is a project funded by the programme Erasmus+ as a Strategic Partnership. It was launched in 2019 as a stepping stone in the founding of the Circle U. alliance and involves five universities members of Circle U. (Université Paris Cité, Aarhus University, University of Oslo, Humboldt Universität, UCLouvain) in partnership with the University of Lisbon.
A discussion around the need for integrating transferable skills into the core curriculum was presented by Tina Bering Keiding, Professor, Centre for Educational Development and Niels Lehmann Vice Dean of Education at the Faculty of Arts at Aarhus University. According to Tina Bering Keiding, "To focus on an innovative approach carries the risk of understanding transferable skills as something that can only be acquired under specific conditions by extraordinarily creative teachers and students, when in reality these skills are already embedded in the curriculum through selected course learning outcomes with emphasis in Transferable Skills". She further adds, "We need to find a balance between implicit and explicit skills but also between different educational approaches; while more traditional learning methods encourage individual learning systems and a lecture based learning as part of our modern notion of intellectual culture, teamwork and collaboration are key for the development of transferable skills."
Inspiring Innovative Teachers
An online repository (genial.ly) was developed by the University of Lisbon with the aim to share the findings from the initiatives. Through this tool, teachers will have access to the framework, the booklet, the initiatives and the recommendation report. The repository can be used for inspiration when designing new initiatives and for the development of these skills in their teaching practices. When inspiring innovative teachers, it is important to be aware of the challenges and opportunities which are described in the repository.
Sharing Perspectives from Employers and Students
Through panel discussions moderated by Viktoria Nagy and Jonathan Weitzman, professors from Université Paris Cité, with Mehdi Gharsallah, Director of Methods and Data, from France's Cour des comptes and Arnaud Lizé, Associated Partner, Ernst & Young Consulting revealed that creativity, problem solving, teamwork and digital literacy are essential transferable skills. It was recognised that it is often hard to attest these skills, notably teamwork, during the interviewing and recruitment processes. Although not in the framework, the skill "learning to learn" was mentionned, especially in the digital market given the need to be agile and adaptable in this sector.
Five students including Sandeep Bhupal, a master's student, Gaël Fortin, PhD student and Kaur Sandeep, student researcher from Université Paris Cité joined the conversation. "Never heard about transferable skills until after college", states Kaur. For her, it was the moment classes stopped, that she realised there were things missing in her arsenal of skills. "When the evaluation process is solely given to the teachers, students lose confidence (...) We should teach how to reach a subject, not just teach a subject, learning how to learn, reliance on the process of learning and not the learning itself is key, focus should be on the process of attaining the skills in the curriculum," adds Kaur Sandeep.
The Way Forward
The challenges for higher educational planning are clear : the acceleration of speed at which knowledge is evolving, globalisation transforming education to a saleable currency, the complexity of problem-solving across disciplines and the uncertainty of having to adapt to an unknown future.
In the framework of the Week for the Future of Higher Education in Paris in January 2023, Circle U. will address with Teaching and Learning Centres, Centres for Teacher Education and Teachers Training, as well as with Language Centres the way forward to put transferable skills on the agenda, build upon the recommendations that InnovEd4TS has delivered and use the outputs of the project.
