The resource pack Competent student – Experienced graduate is the outcome the project “Competent student – experienced graduate: international workshops on key competences for the labour market” implemented by 6 partner institutions in the years 2020-2022 with the financial support of Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange NAWA. The project was a response to the contemporary challenges of the international labour market and the need to develop a new formula for building students’ competence and to test it in practical conditions. The aim of the project was to develop student’s labour market key competences by their participation in international workshops, performing practical tasks in a multicultural group, and participation in study visits to international companies and public institutions. Once the realisation of the project has been completed the resource pack Competent student – Experienced graduate can be used by higher education institutions to complement the regular courses they offer to successfully develop students’ competences needed at the labour market.
Educational resource pack Competent student – experienced graduate consists of 5 syllabi, 5 students’ reports on the workshops implementation and 20 student’s reports on the hypothetical realization of the same theme in another partner country. Each module corresponds to 30 hours /2 ECTS of learning/teaching, making it 150 hours/10 ECTS in total. The material is designed to be used in two variants: it can be implemented as a whole or individual modules may be incorporated into regular courses; moreover, it can be used with blended learning techniques to maintain the international environment of the classes and perform company visits as adapted to the local context. The modules correspond to 5 project workshops in which students acquire/develop specific competences needed in the labour market. The entire course develops and consolidates students’ transversal skills: group work, taking responsibility, active learning and teaching others, active listening, self-assessment, public speaking and use of office software. The entire course develops and consolidates students’ transversal skills: group work, taking responsibility, active learning and teaching others, active listening, self-assessment, public speaking and use of office software.
Competent student – Experienced graduate resource pack booklet
Competent student – Experienced graduate pages format
The findings from the research confirm that workshops were very effective. The students reported gaining knowledge during each workshop; the workshops combined with field trips (experiental and active learning) proved to be most effective. As far as skills and abilities are concerned, significant increase was observed in e.g. conflict management skills but almost none in language skills. However, it was not the purpose of the project to focus on developing language skills as such, it was rather about using English in a cross-cultural context, eliminating communication barriers, being understood by others, being open to initiate communication with others, listening and being perceptive to culturally divergent others.
Raport z badań KOMPETENTNY STUDENT