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Enhancing learning outcomes from industry engagement in Australian engineering education
Get PDFIndustry engagement, commonly implemented as a 12 week industry placement during a vacation towards the end of the degree, has traditionally been a provider-mandated component of externally accredited professional engineering degrees in Australia. Such placements are intended to bridge knowledge and capability gaps between academic study and engineering employment and contextualise the final phase of academic study. Changes in the composition of Australia’s engineering industries have made it progressively harder to source such placements. In-curriculum exposure to engineering practice has also been expected, but has been delivered with considerable variability. In 2014 the authors completed a national project, led by the Australian Council of Engineering Deans (ACED), with peak industry bodies and several partner universities, funded from the Commonwealth Department of Industry Workplace Innovation Program, to explore how improving industry engagement could contribute further to engineering graduates’ learning outcomes and employability. The data collected from the engineering students and employers, reported in this paper, can now be regarded as baseline data on industry engagement, against which subsequent developments can be referenced. For the first time, students’ ratings of the value of different methods for industry engagement are shown to be related to their ‘authenticity’. Several industry-inspired in-curriculum interventions were also trialled at partner universities. Guidelines for good practice were developed from melding the experiential findings with theoretical perspectives. In the years since completing the project, the accreditation body, Engineers Australia, has updated and intensified its focus on engagement with practice (including changing its language from ‘exposure’ to ‘engagement’), and many engineering faculties have significantly enhanced their models and requirements for work integrated learning and industry engagement. This paper outlines these changes and examples of new implementations, including virtual and electronically-mediated methods that also reflect ongoing changes in engineering industry practice.
 
Beyond employability skills: Developing professional purpose
Get PDFRapid transformation of the workplace and a highly competitive labour market has changed the nature of graduate employability. In addition to discipline related knowledge, students now need to be proactive and adaptable in identifying career opportunities. This paper presents a conceptual model that views employability as determined by an overarching professional purpose mindset. This mindset reflects a person’s commitment to developing a professional future aligned to personal values, professional aspirations and societal outlook. Four specific mindsets are encapsulated within professional purpose (curiosity, collaboration, action and growth) and relate to three domains of development (self and social awareness; navigating the world of work and networks). Two studies were conducted to explore the professional purpose model. Study one was a qualitative study in which 33 undergraduate students (19 female; 14 male) explored their career decision making. Focus group and interview data showed that each of the four positive mindsets operated in many students’ proactive career related behaviours. However, for other students, alternative mindsets negatively influenced their career related behaviour. In the second study, 42 academics (28 male; 14 female) identified unit learning outcomes in existing curricula related to the three domains of development. All domains were evident but outcomes for navigating the world of work received most emphasis. Implications of the findings for further development of the professional purpose model are discussed
Editorial
Get PDFWelcome to Volume 10 of the Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability.
This is a momentous year for the Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability – having started from scratch in 2010, this journal was established as an outcome of Curtin University’s ‘Curriculum 2010’ curriculum renewal initiative, particularly to create a forum where teaching academics might engage in scholarly reflection and research associated with graduate employability, a relatively new field in Australia at that time. In 2010, we welcomed contributions about any aspect of higher education teaching and learning which related to the broad topic of graduate employability, including but not limited to:
Graduate employability and how it can be measured;
The relationship between graduate employability and the achievement of graduate attributes, employability skills and preparation for global citizenship;
Teaching and learning experiences, resources and assessments which enhance graduate employability;
Industry partnerships and perspectives;
Life-long learning.
As we go forward, it is appropriate to note our achievements to date: this year, the journal will have been publishing for ten consecutive years: we published sixty-four peer-reviewed articles by May 2019, and ten editorials, and we have just published our first special issue (with plans for more). We are all interested not just in publications, but their impact. Citations clearly take time to build so focussing on our first six years (2010 to 2016) our thirty-three peer-reviewed articles were cited (in total) 570 times, and five articles were cited more than 40 times (to May 2019). Our most highly cited article to date – with 78 citations – is Catherine Caballero and Arlene Walker’s “Work readiness in graduate recruitment and selection: A review of current assessment methods”
Adieu, Principes Humanitaires: Nouveaux principes pour un nouvel environnement
Get PDFFor more than 150 years, the international community’s assistance to those affected by various humanitarian events has been guided by four clear and succinct principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence. These principles have guided not only the ways in which the international community has responded to natural and human-induced disasters — they have also shaped the humanitarian system more generally. The geneses of these four humanitarian principles lie within Henry Dunant’s account of the violent Battle of Solferino in 1859. This account led to the establishment of the Red Cross and the first Geneva Convention, which together gave rise to the humanitarian principles. These humanitarian principles were conceived to guide the work of the International Committee of Red Cross, but they have since gained near universal adherence within the humanitarian sector, and have been utilised to justify both action and inaction by those responding to humanitarian crises. Whilst important and necessary at the time of their inception, the maturing of the humanitarian sector, along with the increasing complexity and intensity of humanitarian events, requires a reconsideration of their relevancy and usefulness. This paper argues that these four principles are no longer fit-for-purpose to guide and shape the international community’s humanitarian actions. We argue instead that four new principles would better direct humanitarian action in the current environment: equity, solidarity, compassion and diversity. We discuss the deepening complexity of modern humanitarian emergencies and resulting declining suitability of each of the four original principles, before considering the four new suggested principles.Depuis plus de 150 ans, l’aide de la communauté internationale aux personnes touchées par divers crises à caractère humanitaire a été guidée par quatre princi-pesclairs et concis : l’humanité, l’impartialité, la neutralité et l’indépendance. Ceux-ci n’ont pas uniquement guidé les réponses de la communauté internationale face aux catastrophes d’origine naturelle ou humaine, ils ont aussi façonné de manière plus générale le système humanitaire. La genèse de ces quatre principes humanitaires se trouve dans la description de la sanglante bataille de Solférino faite par Henry Dunant en 1859. Ce témoignage a mené à la création de la Croix-Rouge et à la première Con-ventionde Genève, qui ensemble ont donné naissance aux principes humanitaires. Ces derniers ont été conçus pour diriger les travaux du Comité international de la Croix-Rouge, mais ils ont depuis remporté l’adhésion presque universelle du secteur humanitaire et ont été utilisés par ceux qui répondent aux crises humanitaires pour justifier l’action autant que l’inaction. Bien qu’ils aient été importants et nécessaires à l’époque de leur création, l’évolution du secteur humanitaire, ainsi que la complexité et l’intensité croissantes des crises humanitaires, exigent que l’on réexamine leur per-tinenceet leur utilité. Cet article soutient que ces quatre principes ne sont désormais plus adaptés à leurs rôles pour guider et façonner les actions humanitaires de la com-munautéinternationale. Nous proposons à leur place quatre nouveaux principes qui dirigeraient plus efficacement l’action humanitaire dans le contexte actuel : l’équité, la solidarité, la compassion et la diversité. Nous abordons la complexité accrue des urgences humanitaires modernes et le déclin subséquent de la pertinence de chacun de ces quatre principes, avant d’étudier les quatre nouveaux principes proposé
Gaga: Notes on the Management of Public Identity
Get PDFLady Gaga distinctively exemplifies the contemporary celebrity in popular culture because of the extent of her fame as well as because of the peculiar persona she presents to her audience of both fans and onlookers. In this paper, I discuss how the persona of the person born as Stefani Germanotta was created and subsequently maintained in a variety of ways related to her naming as Lady Gaga. Invoking the work of Erving Goffman, my discussion extends beyond an analysis of the effectiveness and fame of Lady Gaga’s presentation of self to the ensuing essence of her persona itself, that is, of Lady Gaga as Gaga rather than gaga. Not merely a brand, Lady Gaga is in more ways than only economic also what Lady Gaga has become to herself and to others. As the performer slips in and out of the many public personae she has created in her name, I argue, she has become Gaga to the public at large and, with only minimal qualification, among her once personal friends as well as in the privacy of her socially constituted self. The truth that has to be acknowledged today is that Lady Gaga has indeed become Lady Gaga
Improved levels of critical reflection in Pharmacy Technician student work-placement assessments through emphasising graduate attributes
Get PDFThis study investigated the effect of activities to promote awareness of specific prioritised graduate attributes on the quality of reflection displayed in work-placement reflective blog assessments for Pharmacy-technician students. Previous related research showed an increased tendency to frame placement experiences in terms of graduate attributes when they are made more explicit in the curriculum. Now, a thematic analysis of reflective writing from control and research groups, using a priori codes of ‘reflection’ and ‘graduate attributes’ explored the impact on the depth of critical reflection, and its relationship to explicit discussion of graduate attributes. The findings show an improvement in the quality of reflection, with significantly higher levels of critical reflection in the research group (37%), compared to the control group (20%), and lower levels of the non-reflective categories of thinking such as thoughtful action. Furthermore, in 62% of research group cases, there is overlap between critical reflection references and explicit graduate attributes references. Overall, the quality of reflective writing has improved through framing experiences in terms both of graduate attributes, as well as core theoretical knowledge, leading to increased focus on personal development and consequences for future action
Assessment-led reform: Creating a sustainable culture for WIL
Get PDFThis paper describes a process of assessment reform designed to enhance Work Integrated Learning (WIL) approaches for two science courses at an Australian university. The project used a mixed-method approach involving online surveys, interviews, focus groups and workshops to gather student, industry and course team knowledge and understanding of WIL approaches to curricula. The investigation centred on the perceived value of collaborating with industry to facilitate enhancements in authentic assessment and on the barriers to, and challenges in, achieving successful outcomes. The action-research project, WIL-on-Campus (WoC), found that assessments oriented toward the inclusion of authentic tasks and processes, that contribute to the employability learning and job-readiness of students, is deemed important to students, industry and academics. However, reforms to assessment practice and process are required. For greatest impact, this study found that assessment reform processes require two critical interdependent factors: the socialisation of the shared institutional value of embedded WIL approaches to assessment, and the provision of top-down support to enable academic course teams to implement the ‘imposed’ changes. Further to this, while academics viewed the changes in approach to assessment design as challenging, they also noted that a shift is timely and believed that a course-wide WIL approach is possible and advantageous
Does university prepare students for employment? Alignment between graduate attributes, accreditation requirements and industry employability criteria
Get PDFOne of the primary goals of tertiary education is to prepare students for employment. There is debate as to whether university courses adequately provide students with 21st century workplace skills (Kaminski, Switzer, & Gloeckner, 2009; Kivunja, 2014). In a rapidly changing workforce, institutions must constantly adapt to maintain the practical utility of their courses. A thematic analysis was conducted to explore the degree of alignment between graduate attributes, accreditation requirements and industry employability criteria in nursing, psychology and education courses at an Australian University. Graduate attributes were obtained from the Course Approval and Management System. Relevant accreditation requirements were sourced from the respective bodies. A search of advertised job positions for the three discipline fields was conducted from a popular job-search engine (SEEK) to ascertain employability criteria. This analysis identified clear alignment between the university’s graduate attributes and the standards articulated by accreditation bodies for psychology, nursing and education. However, there were differences between graduate attributes and the employability criteria identified by job searches across the three disciplines. Analysis of the employability criteria suggest that employers seek and prioritise graduates who possess practical competencies and 21st century skills such as problem solving and communication. However, there was little to no mention of cultural understandings and attitudes towards inclusion and diversity, both a core graduate attribute and an aspect of professional accreditation. The findings of this study may inform the development of future graduate attributes that better reflect preparedness for the workforce. Alternatively, a reflection on graduate attributes and professional accreditation criteria might produce job advertisements that better reflect work contexts in an increasingly diverse society
THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT
Get PDFInteractive narratives—such as story-driven, choice-based video games—provide a space for playing with tropes and genre. Players are invited to collaborate in the creation of these stories, and can thus exercise their agency to interact with and subvert, harmful tropes and genre conventions. Here I specifically explore the use—and potential subversion—of problematic conventions regarding character death, such as the conflation of queerness and tragedy commonly known as ‘Bury Your Gays’ as explored in Life is Strange (DontNod 2015), and Carol J. Clover’s concept of ‘The Final Girl’ in the horror genre as explored in Until Dawn (Supermassive 2015)
Evaluation of a leadership development program to enhance university staff and student resilience
Get PDFUniversity life presents challenges that can negatively affect the health and wellbeing of students and staff. Resilience is critical to managing challenges and thus is increasingly viewed as important for university students, graduates and employees. To date research on resilience has tended to adopt a view of resilience as an individual issue with little consideration of the socio-cultural factors that influence an individual’s resilience. To address this gap a leadership program to enhance both staff resilience and their capacity to lead resilience enhancements for students from an ecological perspective was developed. The program, piloted in three universities across Australia, assisted staff in understanding the nature and importance of resilience, the contextual factors that impact on resilience and the leadership practices that help drive change in the higher education context. Both academic staff and professional staff involved in leading co-curricula student experiences participated in the two-day leadership program. This study, part of a broader program evaluation, adopted a mixed methods approach to investigate university staffs’ levels of distress, resilience, and leadership practices. Pre- and post-intervention survey data indicated the program was positively received and most participants felt confident to lead curricula and co-curricula changes to enhance resilience within their work context. Implications for university educators, researchers and leaders are discussed