How Do Partnerships Between Academia, Communities and Organisations Foster “Real World” Learning?

Harte, Patrick; Hosanoo, Zuberia; Borthwick Saddler, Sarah; Hill, Emma; Fonseca, Ana Paula

Abstract

Education takes place within dynamic and multifaceted complex systems. Recognising the volatile-uncertain-complex-ambiguous (VUCA) environment, the digital transformation of the higher education sector calls for a novel approach to curriculum and employability. Drawing on the complexity and the chaos theories, this research focuses on the Business School at Edinburgh Napier University which has developed an innovative and impactful Employability Skills Programme (ESP) that all undergraduate students undertake. The ESP was created based on consistent employer and stakeholder feedback that students graduated with subject and sector knowledge but lacked understanding themselves and the skills they have to offer the ‘real world’.
In their second year of study, students engage with a Forage virtual internship, the leading pre-skilling platform for early talent, to embed professional and employability skills prior to engagement with employers in Work-Based Learning or similar projects in their third year. Virtual experiential learning though this digital platform enhances students' skills gap using digital internship projects, brings forward students’ connections with external organisations and enhances their understanding of the world of work.
Through access to students’ pre-submitted, non-assessed reflective commentaries and subsequent thematic analysis, it is clear these partnerships are vital to foster access and inclusion to learners' needs to prepare them for the complex business world. Digital literacy and a non-linear and organic curriculum can contribute to learners interacting with each other in different ways.

Citation

Harte, P., Hosanoo, Z., Borthwick Saddler, S., Hill, E., & Fonseca, A. P. (2023, April). How Do Partnerships Between Academia, Communities and Organisations Foster “Real World” Learning?. Presented at AMPS: Applying education in a complex world, Toronto, Canada (online)

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (published)
• Conference Name: AMPS: Applying education in a complex world
• Start Date: Apr 26, 2023
• End Date: Apr 28, 2023
• Acceptance Date: Oct 16, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jan 19, 2024
• Publication Date: 2024
• Deposit Date: Jul 3, 2023
• Volume: 1
• Pages: 167-178
• Series Title: AMPS Proceedings Series
• Series Number: 33
• Series ISSN: 2398-9467
• Book Title: Applying Education in a Complex World: Teaching and Learning
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/3089172
• Publisher URL: https://amps-research.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Amps-Proceedings-Series-33.1.pdf