Higher education for a sustainable world

Purpose: The paper aims to explore the nature and purpose of higher education (HE) in the twenty-first century, focussing on how it can help fashion a green knowledge-based economy by developing approaches to learning and teaching that are social, networked and ecologically sensitive. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents a discursive analysis of the skills and knowledge requirements of an emerging green knowledge-based economy using a range of policy focussed and academic research literature. Findings: The business opportunities that are emerging as a more sustainable world is developed requires the knowledge and skills that can capture and move then forward but in a complex and uncertain worlds learning needs to non-linear, creative and emergent. Practical implications: Sustainable learning and the attributes graduates will need to exhibit are prefigured in the activities and learning characterising the work and play facilitated by new media technologies. Social implications: Greater emphasis is required in higher learning understood as the capability to learn, adapt and direct sustainable change requires interprofessional co-operation that must utlise the potential of new media technologies to enhance social learning and collective intelligence. Originality/value: The practical relationship between low-carbon economic development, social sustainability and HE learning is based on both normative criteria and actual and emerging projections in economic, technological and skills needs.

Advanced education and training in bioenergy in Europe

The paper explains how bioenergy education and training is growing in Europe. Employment estimates are included for renewable energy in general, and bioenergy in particular, to highlight the need for a broadly based education and training programme that is essential to build a knowledgeable workforce that can drive Europe's growing bioenergy sector. The paper reviews current provisions in bioenergy at Masters and PhD levels across the 27 members of the EU (EU27) plus Norway and Switzerland. This identifies a very active and expanding bioenergy education provision. 65 English-language Masters Courses in bioenergy (either focussing completely on bioenergy or with significant bioenergy content or specialisation) were identified. 231 providers of PhD studies in bioenergy were found.Masters Course offerings have grown rapidly across Europe during the last five years, but where data is available, enrolment has been quite low suggesting that there is an oversupply of courses and that course organisers are being optimistic in their projections. Existing provisions in Europe at Masters and PhD levels are clearly more than sufficient for short term needs, but further work is needed to evaluate the take-up rate and the content and focus of the provisions. To ensure talented graduates are attracted to these programmes, better promotion, stronger links with the research community and industry, and increased collaboration among course providers are needed. Short Courses of two to five days are an excellent way of meeting post-experience training needs but require further growth and development to serve the needs of the bioenergy community. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.

Is psychological androgyny necessary for the hospitality graduate to become a manager?

The study examines the personality attributes hospitality employers deem necessary for new graduates’ success. Psychological androgyny—that has rarely been applied in a hospitality management context—underpins the study. Findings were that the smaller companies by employees expected androgynous characteristics from the graduate, while the medium and larger companies by employees expected higher levels of expressive—typically feminine—behaviours. These findings are not congruent with the existing literature, which has so often highlighted a “masculine supremacy effect.” The study concluded that psychological androgyny is a useful framework for the exploration of what hospitality employers expect from their graduate recruits.

An integrative approach to developing an intercultural awareness strategy in a multicultural university

Universities are increasingly diverse places; in terms of staff and students, their nationality, ethnicity and religious backgrounds. HEIs need to find ways of ensuring that this diversity adds to the life of the institution and to the development of graduates as employees in a global workplace. The paper offers a case study of one way of developing an intercultural strategy at a UK university. The university concerned has a highly multicultural and multinational staff and student population. Over many years the university has worked to celebrate and embed this diversity into the culture and values of the institution; in its learning, teaching, business operations and relationships. The university wished to develop its intercultural awareness strategy in an inspirational and vibrant way, one which was informed by research and practice. The paper proposes a new integrative approach to developing an intercultural strategy, and summarises some reflections on the process of creating the intercultural awareness strategy which may be of use to other institutions. Analysis showed that in order to make the strategy effective there had to be commitment from senior management to match innovative practices at an individual level. It is also clear that such a strategy must include formal policies and procedures, as well as more informal channels to allow people to express intercultural differences and shared values. The critical role of middle management in strategy implementation is also discussed.

Learning to reflect through technology, to enhance employability

"Reflection, if managed in an ordered way, can provide great opportunities for learning, understanding and clarifying thought, both in one's personal life and in learning and professional development." Moon, J (1999). Aston Business School's (ABS) 12cmonth professional placement programme has a number of espoused learning objectives, including helping students: 1. To benefit from the integration of university study and work experience in ways which facilitate critical reflection on each ofthese aspects. 2. To build a personal awareness of their own interests, competencies, values and potential. These objectives focus students' development to self-reflect critically, to make sense of their experiences/learning whilst undertaking their placements. Students complete a placement year Reflective Learning Journal, supported by the workplace supervisor, through regular meetings where objectives are agreed and reviewed. As well as reflection providing opportunities for students to make sense of their learning, it is also challenging! ABS is undertaking a pilot in 2008/9 to encourage students to engage with reflective practice, but employer feedback indicates an ability to think and analyse is often missing from the skill sets of graduates. Business students are using the PebblePad e-portfolio system as a tool to record their learning, reflect on their experiences in the workplace and to create their journals.

Your students have excellent knowledge and skills but they don’t think about them...:a reflective learning project

This paper describes two phases of a project set up to encourage students to be more reflective about their studies and their career goals. it takes as its starting point a discussion with employers about the Jack of reflection that they observed in otherwise highly skilled management graduates. The project.examin!ld.a number of processes, including mentoring, logbooks and learning style questionnaires to gauge which was the most effective in inspiring students to be reflective. Having identified the best methods the project entered a second phase which involved rolling out the findings to large numbers of students. The challenges of doing this are analysed in the paper.

Work-based HE pathways for the electrical power engineering industry

Aston University has been working closely with key companies from within the electricity industry for several years, initially in the development and delivery of an employer-led foundation degree programme in electrical power engineering, and more recently, in the development of a progression pathway for foundation degree graduates to achieve a Bachelors-level qualification. The Electrical Power Engineering foundation degree was developed in close consultation with the industry such that the programme is essentially owned by the sector. Programme delivery has required significant shifts away from traditional HE teaching patterns whilst maintaining the quality requirement and without compromise of the academic degree standard. Block teaching (2-week slots), partnership delivery, off-site student support and work-based learning have all presented challenges as we have sought to maximise the student learning experience and to ensure that the graduates are fit-for purpose and "hit the ground running" within a defined career structure for sponsoring companies. This paper will outline the skills challenges facing the sector; describe programme developments and delivery challenges; before articulating some observations and conclusions around programme effectiveness, impact of foundation degree graduates in the workplace and the significance of the close working relationship with key sponsoring companies. Copyright © 2012, September.

What do students really think? Understanding postgraduate students' perception of service quality

This paper explores the components of Service Quality in HE from the Business School Postgraduate student perspective. A six-dimensional scale measuring Service Quality is developed based on focus group and survey data. Our findings highlight that postgraduate students are highly outcome oriented; the award of a reputable degree to gain employment is more important than learning for life. Whilst developing employable graduates, Business Schools must not neglect the core service; teaching & learning. In the long-term this contributes to employability rates and the reputation of institutions. However, as student satisfaction is an increasingly paramount objective, balancing the core service and factors perceived as important by postgraduate students is key.

Tradition versus technology:careers fairs in the 21st Century

The traditional methods of graduate recruitment do not adequately meet the needs of the changing profile of students and graduates. As industry becomes internationalized, the needs of employers are also changing. Graduate recruitment is in response to short term needs and varying levels of experience are required. A case study method was used in Dublin Institute of Technology to evaluate effectiveness of a virtual careers fair in providing greater access to job opportunities for students and graduates. Access by employers to potential employees was also measured. Findings showed that while access improved, other issues requiring attention emerged.

Is Bologna working? Employer and graduate reflections of the quality, value and relevance of business and management education in four European Union countries

This article focuses on the relevance of undergraduate business and management higher education from the perspectives of recent graduates and graduate employers in four European countries. Drawing upon the findings of an empirical qualitative study in which data was collated and analysed using grounded theory research techniques, the paper draws attention to graduates' and employers' perceptions of the value of higher education in equipping students with discipline-specific skills and knowledge as well as softer 'generic' skills. It also highlights the importance of formal 'work-based' learning within undergraduate curricula in providing students with the skills and experiences required by employers operating within a global workplace. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Engineering the future:CDIO as a tool for combating retention difficulties

With the demand for engineering graduates at what may be defined as an unprecedented high, many universities find themselves facing significant levels of student attrition-with high "drop-out levels" being a major issue in engineering education. In order to address this, Aston University in the UK has radically changed its undergraduate engineering education curriculum, introducing capstone CDIO (Conceive, Design, Implement, Operate) modules for all first year students studying Mechanical Engineering and Design. The introduction of CDIO is aimed at making project / problem based learning the norm. Utilising this approach, the learning and teaching in engineering purposefully aims to promote innovative thinking, thus equipping students with high-level problem-solving skills in a way that builds on theory whilst enhancing practical competencies and abilities. This chapter provides an overview of an Action Research study undertaken contemporaneously with the development, introduction, and administration of the first two semesters of CDIO. It identifies the challenges and benefits of the approach and concludes by arguing that whilst CDIO is hard work for staff, it can make a real difference to students' learning experiences, thereby positively impacting retention. © 2012, IGI Global.

"We don't need no education" - Or do we? Management education and alumni adoption of strategy tools

Despite concerns about the relevance of management education, there is relatively little evidence about whether graduates use the management tools and concepts they are taught. We address this gap with evidence from a survey of business school alumni adoption of tools typically taught in strategic management courses. Our findings show that four educational characteristics-level of formal education, frequency of management training, specificity of strategic management education, and time elapsed since formal education-drive adoption of strategy tools. Specifically, features such as postgraduate over undergraduate qualifications and frequent exposure to management training predispose greater user of strategy tools. However, other factors, such as time elapsed since formal education, are not as great a predictor of variation in use. We conclude with a predictive model of the relative weight and importance of educational and demographic characteristics on strategy tool adoption and discuss our findings in light of the relevance debate. © The Author(s) 2013.

Practically oriented design projects in mechatronics engineering:a case study of design experiences and outcomes

This paper discusses and presents a case study of a practically oriented design project together with a few examples of implemented design projects recently incorporated into an undergraduate system course at the mechatronics engineering department in Ah-Balqa’ Applied University. These projects have had a positive impact on both the department and its graduates. The focus of these projects is the design and implementation of processor-based system. This helps graduate students cross the border between hardware design and software design. Our case study discusses the research methodology adopted for the physical development of the project, the technology used in the project, and the design experiences and outcomes.

Educating for sustainability in language degrees:a tale of 2 case-studies

Purpose According to the 2014 joint report drafted by the Quality Assurance Agency and Higher Education Academy (QAA/HEA), universities have a key role to play in the development of sustainability literate graduates who can contribute to an environmentally responsible society. In this paper, the authors aim to assess language students’ understanding of sustainable development (SD) issues. Design/methodology/approach Study 1 surveys two cohorts of final year language students about to enter the graduate job market, and Study 2 surveys first year language students before and after the inclusion of SD content in one of their modules. The questions to the students are provided along with qualitative and quantitative results. Findings Results suggest that only 48% of language graduates are currently aware that they will need to take account of the environmental impact of their work as professional practitioners, and 52% do not consider it appropriate to learn about SD during their degree. However, results also suggest that incorporating SD early on in the language curriculum could contribute positively to the development of sustainability literate graduates. Originality/value While many language departments are aware of the importance of integrating sustainability into their curricula, and while employers are increasingly demanding sustainability literate graduates, there is little evidence that language students leave university with a real understanding of sustainability issues. This paper presents evidence of the current situation as well as a novel way to integrate sustainability into the language curriculum in order to remedy the situation.

Learning to research - researching to learn

Learning to Research Researching to Learn explores the integration of research into teaching and learning at all levels of higher education. The chapters draw on the long and ongoing debate about the teaching research nexus in universities. Although the vast majority of academics believe that there is an important and valuable link between teaching and research, the precise nature of this relationship continues to be contested. The book includes chapters that showcase innovative ways of learning to research; how research is integrated into coursework teaching; how students learn the processes of research, and how universities are preparing students to engage with the world. The chapters also showcase innovative ways of researching to learn, exploring how students learn through doing research, how they conceptualise the knowledge of their fields of study through the processes of doing research, and how students experiment and reflect on the results produced. These are the key issues addressed by this anthology, as it brings together analyses of the ways in which university teachers are developing research skills in their students, creating enquiry-based approaches to teaching, and engaging in education research themselves. The studies here explore the links between teaching, learning and research in a range of contexts, from pre-enrolment through to academic staff development, in Australia, the UK, the US, Singapore and Denmark. Through a rich array of theoretical and methodological approaches, the collection seeks to further our understanding of how universities can play an effective role in educating graduates suited to the twenty-first century