{"title":"The effectiveness of an interdisciplinary postgraduate-taught program in terms of employability","authors":"Alberto Striolo , Adrian Jones , Craig Styan","doi":"10.1016/j.ece.2023.06.006","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>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.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48509,"journal":{"name":"Education for Chemical Engineers","volume":"45 ","pages":"Pages 1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5000,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"2","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Education for Chemical Engineers","FirstCategoryId":"95","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1749772823000313","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EDUCATION, SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES","Score":null,"Total":0}
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.
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