Building Employability Skills for Graduate Students

Abstract

Universities have recently been placing a greater emphasis on employability of their graduates. Academic discussions have introduced concepts such as transferable skills, employability, co-creation, active and networked learning, and sustainable transformation as strategies for bridging the gap between university studies and full-time employment after graduation. Collaborative initiatives with companies and organizations have become increasingly prevalent in university curricula, and administrative units have been established to help students transition from students to employees or entrepreneurs (Clark, 2015). This calls for innovating education, for example through increased emphasis on networked learning ((Dohn, Hansen, Hansen, de Laat & Ryberg 2021). This paper will present a case study that explores the effects of exposing university students to different environments than the traditional university campus and lecture rooms. The aim is to investigate whether this change of surroundings and introduction of different educational tools can broaden students' perspectives on their own capabilities and skills in co-creating solutions through, for example, collaborative engagement (NLEC 2021). The focus is on engaging students to address (wicked) problems in new contexts, which are often situated within sustainability and sustainable transformation frameworks. To accomplish this, the students are equipped with skills acquired at AAU and applied in diverse contexts (employability), and they are encouraged to think ‘outside the box’ through co-creation. This includes adapting to diverse sets of norms, values, and agendas, as well as hidden power alliances, when working and co-creating with external partners in a different context.