The effectiveness of an interdisciplinary postgraduate-taught program in terms of employability

IF 3.5 2区 教育学 Q1 EDUCATION, SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES
Alberto Striolo , Adrian Jones , Craig Styan
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引用次数: 2

Abstract

The business sustainability of technological companies such as those operating in the extractive sector requires multi-faceted talented individuals able to invent and deploy cutting-edge technologies, minimize environmental footprint, secure financial stability, achieve and maintain the social license to operate, among other challenges. These requirements echo those needed for addressing grand challenges such as the Sustainable Development Goals presented by the United Nations. However, traditional educational programmes are structured within the silos of well-defined academic disciplines. This lag between industrial need of individuals proficient in a variety of disciplines, and the professional figures prepared by most academic establishments could be due to a combination of several factors, including (a) the difficulty of offering programmes that require expertise from across several academic departments, and in some cases universities; (b) the perceived lack of interest among students for learning about interdisciplinary challenges; and (c) the possibility that graduates from interdisciplinary programs might not be easily hired by corporations operating in related disciplines. Reflecting on the efforts required to establish the postgraduate masters’ program in ‘Global Management of Natural Resources’ (GMNR), we suggest a possible pathway to overcome the first of these hurdles. After five years of offering the GMNR program, we assess the latter two perceived hurdles using the responses to a questionnaire distributed among the graduates. In particular, we quantify whether the graduates have experienced benefits or hurdles in their professional careers directly related to their graduation from an interdisciplinary program. The results could help the community develop and when necessary improve interdisciplinary programs, which could allow industries to overcome their future challenges, and perhaps contribute to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

跨学科研究生授课项目在就业能力方面的有效性
科技公司(如采掘业公司)的业务可持续性需要多方面的人才,他们能够发明和部署尖端技术,最大限度地减少环境足迹,确保金融稳定,获得并维持经营的社会许可证,以及其他挑战。这些要求与应对联合国提出的可持续发展目标等重大挑战所需的要求相呼应。然而,传统的教育项目是在定义明确的学科框架内构建的。工业对精通各种学科的个人的需求与大多数学术机构编制的专业数字之间的差距可能是由于几个因素的综合,包括(a)很难提供需要多个学术部门,在某些情况下甚至是大学的专业知识的课程;(b)学生对学习跨学科挑战缺乏兴趣;(c)跨学科项目的毕业生可能不容易被经营相关学科的公司聘用。反思建立“全球自然资源管理”(GMNR)研究生硕士项目所需的努力,我们提出了克服第一个障碍的可能途径。在提供GMNR项目五年后,我们通过对毕业生的问卷调查来评估后两个可感知的障碍。特别是,我们量化了毕业生在他们的职业生涯中是否经历了与他们从跨学科项目毕业直接相关的好处或障碍。研究结果可以帮助社区发展并在必要时改进跨学科项目,这可以使行业克服未来的挑战,并可能有助于实现联合国可持续发展目标。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
8.80
自引率
17.90%
发文量
30
审稿时长
31 days
期刊介绍: Education for Chemical Engineers was launched in 2006 with a remit to publisheducation research papers, resource reviews and teaching and learning notes. ECE is targeted at chemical engineering academics and educators, discussing the ongoingchanges and development in chemical engineering education. This international title publishes papers from around the world, creating a global network of chemical engineering academics. Papers demonstrating how educational research results can be applied to chemical engineering education are particularly welcome, as are the accounts of research work that brings new perspectives to established principles, highlighting unsolved problems or indicating direction for future research relevant to chemical engineering education. Core topic areas: -Assessment- Accreditation- Curriculum development and transformation- Design- Diversity- Distance education-- E-learning Entrepreneurship programs- Industry-academic linkages- Benchmarking- Lifelong learning- Multidisciplinary programs- Outreach from kindergarten to high school programs- Student recruitment and retention and transition programs- New technology- Problem-based learning- Social responsibility and professionalism- Teamwork- Web-based learning
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