ShareLarge audience participation in the Skills4EmployabilityDays webinars
A three-day online event, Skills4Employability Days: Embedding soft skills in university curricula: equipping graduates for employability, was held from 7-9 October, within the framework of the European Erasmus+ Skills4Employability project, of which AQU Catalunya is a member.
More than 300 people registered for the webinars on 7 and 8 October, including mainly academics, quality managers and experts from Spain and fourteen other countries. Over the course of the three days, the project objectives and the guides that are currently being drawn up were explained, with the focus on the introduction and assessment of soft skills to enhance employability within the context of higher education.
The session on 7 October, titled "The relevance of soft skills. Keynote on dual training to embed soft skills", was led by Christiane Hinrichs and Beatrix Holzer, both from Ruhr West University of Applied Sciences and managers and experts in dual studies and training in Germany. In their presentation they explained the dual system of training in Germany, which has come a long way since the seventies up until the present day, where it combines a university education and practical training that involves a high level of cooperation and engagement with the business community. A total number of 215 people participated in the session.
The presentation on 8 October, titled "Embedding soft skills in curriculum. Keynote on soft skills training and assessment", was given by Josep M. Duart, professor of Psychology and Educational Sciences at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) and a quality assurance expert. The session dealt with defining and identifying training and monitoring strategies and the assessment of employability skills. The presentation covered issues including a new paradigm for skills assessment, the need for their integration in curricula and contextualisation in professional situations, the involvement and motivation of students in their learning process and the regular measurement of knowledge and understanding, skills and attitudes. Around 150 people participated in the webinar.
The session on 9 October consisted of a workshop for the partners in the project and QA experts. A total number of 18 participants worked together in small groups on various soft skills previously defined within the project as being fundamental for employability. The results, which are set out in tables, identify the aspects and levels of work that these soft skills require at higher education level.
The presentations and conclusions of the working groups are now available and can be consulted.
Feedback from the participants in the first two webinars was as follows: