Professional capabilities for twenty-first century creative careers : lessons from outstandingly successful Australian artists and designers

Artists and designers are positioned at the centre of the 21st century creative economy. In order to recognise and make the most of the opportunities afforded by this new era, artists and designers still require the creativity, disciplinary depth of knowledge, and technical skills traditionally possessed by professionals in these fields – skills which are a core strength of higher and further art and design education. However, they may also require a range of other, ‘21st century’ creative capabilities which are harder to define, teach for and assess, and are not the focus of traditional art and design pedagogies. This article draws upon the findings of nine in-depth interviews with award-winning Australian artists and designers about their careers and working practices, along with recent international research about the characteristics of the 21st century creative career, in order to highlight the importance of certain professional capabilities for art and design. It discusses the implications of these findings for art and design educators in universities, and curricular and pedagogic considerations associated with embedding these capabilities into undergraduate courses.

Estruturação e gestão das carreiras dos militares das Forças Armadas Portuguesas

Em 1990 foi aprovado o primeiro Estatuto dos Militares das Forças Armadas. Desde então, o contexto político, económico e social têm moldado o enquadramento legislativo que enforma o Estatuto e a carreira dos militares das Forças Armadas, com especial relevância para o novo Estatuto aprovado pelo DL n.º 90/2015 de 29 de maio. Nesta investigação, efetuámos o enquadramento do estatuto aprovado pelo DL n.º 34- A/1990 de 24 de janeiro, analisámos as diversas alterações legislativas decorridas no período em apreço, com ênfase no DL n.º 90/2015 de 29 de maio, identificando as alterações provocadas no desenho e nos mecanismos reguladores de carreira. Por último e de forma prospetiva, procurámos identificar eventuais constrangimentos ao desenvolvimento das carreiras dos oficiais das Forças Armadas, para contribuir para uma melhoria da gestão de carreiras. Abstract: In 1990 it was approved the first EMFAR . Since then, the political, economic and social context have changed the legislative framework that shapes the Statute and the careers of armed forces personnel, with special relevance to the new EMFAR approved by Decree 90/2015 of 29 May. In this research, we've made the framework of the rules approved by Decree 34-A/1990 of 24 January, we looked at the various legislative changes elapsed in the period under review, with emphasis on the Decree 90/2015 of May 29 , identifying the changes caused in the career’s design and regulatory mechanisms. Finally and in a prospective way, we tried to identify possible constraints to the development of the officer’s careers to contribute to the improvement of career management in the Portuguese Armed Forces.

From certificate chasing to genuine engagement : the contribution of curriculum design to students' career intent in a subfield

Many students enter business degrees without a defined career goal beyond working in the business world and adopt a scattergun approach to employability by accumulating certifications accessed through individual subjects. Yet, space and time limitations commonly prevent extended exposure to rewarding and interesting career subfields within main specialisations. This case study draws on student feedback collected over three years exploring students’ career interest following an elective human resource development subject in the final stage of a human resources major. Project-based curriculum provided students with scaffolded learning while undertaking key multiphase human resource development tasks. Subsequently, students reported human resource development career interest and intent, attributed to more realistic appreciation of human resource development’s activities, scope, and values. The paper makes an important contribution illustrating how curriculum design can transform instrumentalism into logically, emotionally, and intuitively based career engagement. Further, human resource development is a study and career area little mentioned in higher education or careers literature.

Enriching architectural design education through interactive displays and local community engagement

Designers have a social responsibility to deal with the needs, issues, and problems that their clients and communities are confronted with. Students of design require opportunities to reflect on their role as social facilitators to develop an attitude towards community engagement through different phases and aspects of their careers. However, current design courses are challenged by compressed timeframes and fragmented scenarios of different academic requirements that do not actively teach community engagement. This paper outlines a participatory and technological approach that was employed to address these issues within the teaching of Architecture and Urban Design at the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. A multi-phase community based research project with actual stakeholders was implemented over a two-year period. Approximately 150 students in the final year of the Bachelor of Design-Architecture; 10 students in the Master of Architecture and 15 students in the Master of Design-Urban Design have informed and influenced each others’ learning through the teaching and research nexus facilitated by this project. The technical approach was implemented in form of a bespoke digital platform that supported the display and discussion of digital media on a series of interactive touch walls. The platform allowed students to easily upload their final designs onto large interactive surfaces, where visitors could explore the media and provide comments. Through the use of this technical platform and the introduction of neogeography, students have been able to broaden their level of interaction and support their learning experience through external structured and unstructured feedback from the local community. Students have not only been exposed to community representatives, but they also have been working in parallel on a specific case study providing each other, across different years and courses, material for reflection and data to structure their design activities.

Middle-aged and elderly Finnish households considering moving, their preferences, and potential downsizing amidst changing life course and housing careers

We examine the moving and housing preferences of middle-aged and older in Finland, a country where population composition and movement through the life course are changing. A logistic regression reveals that middle-aged, moderate income residents, renters, those who have lived in their houses only a short time, and residents who are generally dissatisfied are most likely to consider moving. Downsizing appeals to residents with lower incomes who live alone, and who have been in their current houses longer. All potential movers agree on the importance of transportation access and a neighborhood grocery store; however, those preferring to downsize are also interested in house and neighborhood design as well as services that will allow aging in place. Income limitations may create affordability problems for some potential movers.

Meeting the Needs of Adult Learners in a Faculty of Education Careers Curriculum

Adult learners are a discrete population with specific needs and characteristics. The context of this project is a Career Services office in a Faculty of Education at a Local University [pseudonym]. The office serves a population of students from various programs within the Faculty, with the majority of students enrolled in the Bachelor of Education program. As a result of the current job market for teachers in Ontario and Canada, it is important to be able to communicate effectively with students to support them in their job searches. The purpose of this project was to identify the needs and characteristics of adult learners, and to identify ways that the current Career Services curriculum could be improved to better support adult learners. In order to engage this population of students, it is important to ensure that the content of the course addresses and meets their needs. To provide a more personalized learning environment, online resources were considered to allow students to participate more, providing a more convenient and suitable method of delivery for our intended audience, and a sample website was created to host the online resources. In addition, the entire Career Services curriculum was formalized by producing a curriculum document to outline the goals and outcomes of the program to ensure that the content will facilitate the achievement of those goals. What resulted is a hybrid, online and in-person program for Career Services, and a more robust curriculum that considers the needs of our adult learners.

Design and Evaluation of a "Pharmacists in Schools" Community Outreach Programme: A Pilot Study.

Aims: To design, evaluate and pilot a novel programme that would allow school children to become “pharmacists for the day”,encouraging them to recognise the importance of science, to contribute to the Department of Health‟s Building the Community Partnership strategy and University Outreach to the community and to provide undergraduate pharmacy students with teaching experience and an opportunity to build their CV.

Methods: Concept and formulation development, branding work,schools visits,questionnaires and semi-structured interviews.

Results: Suitable formulations were developed and prepared by school children on visits to their schools. The children seemed to enjoy the experience and their teachers gave both positive and constructive feedback. Pharmacy undergraduate students felt they had gained valuable experience that will benefit their future careers.

Conclusion: The Pharmacists in Schools outreach programme has now been successfully piloted and launched and will now be fully implemented in 20 schools in the local community.

Bohemian graduates in the UK: disciplines and location determinants for entering creative careers

The human capital and regional economic development literature has become increasingly interested in the role of the ‘Bohemian occupations’ on economic growth. Using UK higher education student micro-data, we investigate the characteristics and location determinants of creative (bohemian) graduates. We examine three specific sub-groups: creative arts & design graduates; creative media graduates; other creative graduates. We find these disciplines influence the ability of graduates to enter creative occupations and be successful in the labour market. We also highlight the role of geography, with London and the South East emerging as hubs for studying and providing Bohemian graduates with more labour market opportunities.

Structures and relationships: women partners' careers in Germany and the UK

Purpose – This paper aims to highlight differences in women's experiences of advancement to partnership in accountancy firms in Germany and the UK and consider the ways in which such differences may be constituted by the institutional context in which they occurred. Design/methodology/approach – This research is based on 60 semi-structured interviews with women partners in Germany and the UK. Techniques adopted from grounded theory were applied. Research limitations/implications – This qualitative research is context-specific and given its cross-national, interdisciplinary nature is limited to the extent that findings cannot be generalised beyond the studied scope. Practical implications – The study points to cross-national differences in women's career advancement in accountancy firms. The findings support extant research suggesting that structured performance evaluation and hiring systems – while not without flaws – are likely more gender-neutral. In addition, the study highlights the potential of headhunters and recruitment agents as an important tool for women to navigate their way out of career culs-de-sac. Originality/value – This research provides unique insights into women partners' experiences of career advancement and, through its interdisciplinary nature, demonstrates the usefulness of employing institutional frameworks in qualitative in-depth studies of this kind

Strategies for combating gendered perceptions of careers

Purpose – Earlier work on career choice has identified that career choice involves gendered processes which lead to differentiated career outcomes for women and men. However, this literature remained anaemic in offering career counselling strategies for addressing the negative impacts of these processes. The paper aims to explore the creativity cycle and other tools derived from personal construct psychology (PCP) and other feminist literature as potential means for dissolving gendered perceptions of various professions and organisational practices. Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper. Findings – The paper argues that PCP can provide a theoretical and methodological framework for discussing how dichotomous and gender identified the perceptions of professions can be and how such perceptions might be challenged. Practical implications – This theory and its techniques allow us an exploration of the flexibility of one’s constructions system, which determines a person’s ability to construe alternative views and to develop new ways of understanding oneself and others. Originality/value – The PCP’s potential as a technique to combat gendered perceptions of a career is examined.

Aligning IS programs with industry: linking business analysis curricula design with the professional body

Aligning information systems (IS) solutions with business goals and needs are crucial for IS activities. IS professionals who are able to work closely with both the business and technical staff are key enablers of business and IT alignment. IS programs in higher education (HE) institutions have a long tradition of enabling graduates to develop the appropriate skills needed for their future careers. Yet, organizations are still having difficulty finding graduates who possess both the knowledge and skills that are best suited to their specific requirements. Prior studies suggest that IS curricula are often ill-matched with industry/business needs. This study reports on the business analysis curricula (re) design which was undertaken to align it with a key professional body for the IS industry. This study presents the approaches taken in the (re) design of the module, and provides a discussion of the wider implications for IS curricula design. The results show a positive outcome for the HE and professional body partnership.

Perceptions and misperceptions of computing careers

Two issues were addressed. 1. Women are underrepresented in computing courses and in the computing workplace. Despite almost two decades of recognition of the issue and of intervention to correct it, the proportion of women in computing continues to decline. 2. There is a shortage of people with appropriate skills and qualifications in computing, and, more specifically, a need for people with particular personality attributes. There is an increasing demand for computing personnel to have good communication and interpersonal skills, but the predominant personality types of computing people do not include these characteristics. The research relating to the underrepresentation of women was conducted as a series of interviews with university students, female computing professionals and secondary school girls. The main findings of these studies were: 1) schoolgirls are interested in careers that are interesting and varied and provide opportunities for interaction with others; 2) schoolgirls perceive computing as involving working alone; 3) women working in computing describe careers that are interesting, varied, and people-oriented; 4) tertiary computing students equated 'computing' with 'programming'; and 5) single interventions are unlikely to result in individuals in the targeted group deciding to study computing. The perception of schoolgirls that computing involves working alone, which is reinforced by many tertiary computing courses, suggested that the type of person who is likely to be attracted to computing is one who would prefer to work alone. It was predicted that schoolboys would have similar perceptions of computing. Thus, computing is likely to attract students who would prefer to work alone. For various social and stereotypical reasons addressed by previous research, these students will be predominantly male. In the final study, preferred Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Strong Interest Inventory personality types were suggested for computer programmers, systems designers and systems analysts. The existing literature and the 'types' of 72 study participants tended to confirm that 1) certain personality types are overrepresented in computing; 2) these types are well suited to programming and design tasks; and 3) there is an underrepresentation of individuals who have the combination of analytical, communication and people skills that are required particularly of analysts but also of many others working in computing today. Interviews with participants supported the earlier findings that computing careers are perceived by students to be technical and involve working in isolation, but for many computing people this is not the reality.

CADET - Centre for Advanced Design in Engineering Training

BACKGROUND : The Centre for Advanced Design in Engineering Training (CADET) is a partnership of Deakin University and the Gordon Institute of TAFE that will improve access and pathways into careers to address Australia’s critical engineering skills shortage (Walton, C). Local high schools, Belmont High and Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College are included as strategic partners. CADET is proposed to be a teaching and learning facility providing a project focused modern engineering approach to students at regional schools and TAFE as well as Deakin’s degree programs. CADET will emphasize engineering design and development through virtual and physical modelling, simulation and prototyping – skills at the heart of the 21st century engineering challenges, and will serve as an attractor to engineering and related professions.

PURPOSE : The purpose of this paper is to present an argument toward the development of a Centre for advanced design in engineering training. CADET is proposed to increase the awareness and attractiveness of engineering as an education and career option, particularly for women, in regional schools, provide under one roof state-of-the-art engineering design, modelling and prototyping facilities, facilitate access and articulation pathways between school, VET and Higher Education, increase the physical capacity to serve student demand in western Victoria, and reinvigorate engineering as an essential component of a skilled regional economy.

DESIGN/METHOD : The evidenced based argument towards the proposed centre for advanced design in engineering training is based on a detailed literature review as well as a research study with industry representatives in engineering design. The learning principles of the model are also investigated and aligned to the proposed centre.

RESULTS : CADET is a change to the way engineering has traditionally been taught. The outcomes of CADET will be to provide a broad range of contemporary/relevant teaching programs, improve the social benefits gained from teaching programs, improve retention rates, advance partnerships that link with rural and regional victoria, and collaborate with local communities to encourage governments to support regional capacity building. Through focus group interviews and open discussions with industry and academia over the past 12 months on the integration of design skills in engineering education, results indicate that the following key skills are essential elements required for a successful project oriented design based learning curriculum are creative & innovative skills, successful industry engagement, and awareness of design skills in early years. Feedback also showed that 80% of the industry representatives are looking to recruit graduates who acquired design-equipped skill and 60% indicated that they want graduates who acquired knowledge through projects.

CONCLUSIONS : CADET projected benefits are significant at the strategic and operational levels. They include access for more women in engineering, facilitates articulation pathways between VET and HE, targeted recognised critical current engineering skills shortage in Australia, improvement of regional access, attractiveness and participation in tertiary education, achievement of a significant improvement in the teaching-research nexus.

Project-oriented design-based learning: aligning students’ views with industry needs

This paper focuses on the alignment of students' views on project-oriented design-based learning (PODBL) with today's industrial needs. A Collaborative relationship between academic institutions and industrial expectations is a significant process towards analytical thinking (linking the theory and practice). Improving students' knowledge as well as the students' transition into industry, requires efficient joint ventures by both learning institutions and industry partners. Project-based learning (PBL) is well developed and implemented in most engineering schools and departments around the world. What requires closer attention is the focus on design within this project-based learning framework. Today design projects have been used to motivate and teach science in elementary, middle, and high school classrooms. They are also used to assist students with possible science and engineering careers. For these reasons, design-based learning (DBL) is intended to be an effective approach to learning that is centered on a design problem-solving structure adopted for a problem-oriented project-based education. Based on an industry design forum, which the authors conducted in Melbourne, Australia in 2012, a research study was performed to investigate the industry and academic requirements for students focusing on achieving design skills. To transform the present situation in the academic teaching and learning environment and to fulfill industry needs, this research study also investigated the students' views on design skills.

Trained to think- trained to design

With new changes to the role and view of design, design professionals are now a part of greater thinking and action on issues that are traditionally outside of the designer's realm. How does design education adapt to this reality? Russell Kennedy explores this and the role that the Icograda Education Network plays in the future of design education. Highlights of this article were originally published in Cumulus' DESIGNER: Careers and Professionalization.