ERASMUS+ PROJECT | HUB4GROWTH

Heightening University/Business Partnerships

FOR smart and sustainable GROWTH in Asia

Developing

Employability and

Enterpreneurship in

Higher Education

Handbook 2017

Co-funded by the

Erasmus+ Programme

of the European Union

Handbook 2017

3

Contents

Introduction ....................................................................................... 4

National Level ..................................................................................... 4

University Level .................................................................................. 5

Faculty/School Level ........................................................................... 6

Case Studies: Experience from Higher Education in Europe

Greece ................................................................................................ 7

Lithuania ........................................................................................... 11

United Kingdom ............................................................................... 13

Case Studies: Experience from Higher Education in Asia

Cambodia ......................................................................................... 23

Mongolia .......................................................................................... 25

Vietnam ............................................................................................ 26

Useful links for further reading ........................................................ 34

Developing Employability and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education

4

Introduction

The present Handbook provides examples of

good practice in enterprise and employability

activities in the Higher Education in three EU

countries: Greece, Lithuania and the United

Kingdom and in three Asian countries:

Cambodia, Mongolia and Vietnam. They all

participate in the Erasmus+ Heightening

University-Business Partnerships FOR smart

and sustainable GROWTH in Asia

(HUB4GROWTH) Project funded by the

European Commission.

In this introduction we will provide examples

of how governments and national

organisations support university-enterprise

relations and the development of

employability of university students. We will

also analyse a few examples of support which

is offered by universities and faculties/schools.

National Level

University-enterprise links as well as

employability and entrepreneurship have

been the main developments in many

countries for a few years now. Many

government organisations and agencies

dealing with the Higher Education (HE)

published a number of reports on the topic

and provide support to universities in order to

develop more effective links with enterprises

and employers.

In 2010 Higher Education Funding Council for

England (HEFCE) asked universities to publish

short statements on the support they provide

to students to enhance their employability1.

Universities were also asked to provide data

about graduate employability and publish Key

Information Sets (KIS) to help students

anticipate their employment prospects after

particular courses of study.

The National Centre for Entrepreneurship in

Education (NCEE)2 was created to support the

HE to build its entrepreneurial future in the

1 See http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/year/2010/CL,122010/ 2 See http://ncee.org.uk/

UK. They provide a range of services ensuring

UK higher education remains at the forefront

of enterprise and entrepreneurship.

Quality Assurance Agency for Higher

Education (QAA)3 works with universities,

colleges, employers, and employer

representative bodies to make sure that

quality assurance of higher education is

relevant to employers. Employers are

important partners for universities and

colleges in research and development, both as

providers of placement and work experience

opportunities to students and as partners in

workforce development and continuous

professional development. Increasingly,

employers not only shape students' learning

experiences, but are involved in universities'

and colleges' governance and planning

processes. With an increasing tendency to see

higher education as a product with a price tag,

there is understandably growing interest in

the extent to which academic programmes of

study promote students' employability and

earning power. QAA also published a number

of documents and reports on the issue of

enterprise and employability – some of the

documents are provided at the end of this

document in Further Reading.

It is important to note that in order to assist

students in assessing their employability

prospects as a result of pursuing a given

discipline, the Higher Education Academy

(HEA)4 and Subject Centres have compiled

Student Employability Profiles. Each profile

identifies skills that can be developed through

the study of a particular discipline, based on

Subject Benchmark Statements. These skills

have been mapped against input from

employers.

In Lithuania, the government adopted

Innovation Development Programme 2014-

2020 with the main objective of building

innovative society by developing new

knowledge and its application, enhancing

3 See http://www.qaa.ac.uk/home 4 See https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/

Handbook 2017

5

business innovation potential of business,

promoting the creation of value networking,

development and internationalization and

increasing efficiency of innovation policy-

making and implementation and promote

innovation in the public sector.

On the 1 of April, 2014 the Government of the

Republic of Lithuania approved the new

edition of the concept of the establishment

and development of Integrated Science,

Studies and Business Centres (Valleys). The

valleys enable successful use of scientific

knowledge for the development of new

products or technologies, bring business and

academia cooperation up to the front. In this

way, the state would achieve greater business

participation in all innovation cycles from

basic research to the introduction of new

products into the market, as well as increase

of private sector's investment in R&D and

innovation would be encouraged.

The Lithuanian government also passed the

Act on Research and Studies (No. XII-2534,

adopted on 29 June, 2016). Section II, Article 8

of the Act stipulates that each university is

obliged to offer support to students on the

issues of employability. Also, each university is

obliged to implement the monitoring of

employment of its graduates.

There is National Career website which

provides all relevant information in Lithuania5.

In Greece, nationwide entrepreneurship and

employability initiatives are currently

developed mainly at the regional level

(Athens/region of Attica).

University Level

Universities develop enterprise and

employability activities through curriculum

development and policies, e.g. strategic

planning, university missions, guidance or

other documents. In Greece,

entrepreneurship was promoted mainly

through career offices, which offered

5 See https://karjera.lt/

courses/modules on entrepreneurship and

how to setup a company in Greece. These

courses/modules were offered as electives

and open to all students. Career offices

operated a database of interested possible

future employers and produced reports on

the employability of graduates.

Many universities in Greece support a system

of placements and participate in the EU

Erasmus+ Mobility Programme.

In Lithuania, the monitoring of enterprise and

employability activities are implemented by

career centres. At the Mykolas Romeris

University the Career Centre6 is an integral

part of the Centre of Academic Affairs of the

University. It functions at the level of the

university and establishes cooperation with

state institutions and other public and private

organisations. It works with students,

employers, graduates in providing information

about internships and jobs, organising

meetings, seminars and events with

employers7. MRU Career Centre monitors and

analyses employability data and provides

assessment of learning outcomes gained

through adult informal education and

recognition of competences.

In the United Kingdom, universities have

different system for enterprise and

employability activities. There are many

examples of good practice which were

covered in numerous reports8. London

Metropolitan University’s new Strategic Plan

outlines five star Student Promise – five

initiatives aimed at helping students to get

the most from their time at the university. It is

important to note that the first star deals with

‘Get to work’ promise, that students will have

6 See http://www.mruni.eu/lt/universitetas/struktura/karjeros_centras/#tab_1 7 For example, organised „MRU Career Laboratory 2016“, training cycle „Personal career management“ and other events and seminars. 8 See Enhancing employability through enterprise education: Examples of good practice in higher education (2014) at https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/resources/enhancing_employability_through_enterprise_education_good_practice_guide.pdf

Developing Employability and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education

6

access to work based learning opportunities

during their studies which will count towards

their degree. “This will involve real work

experience while studying to give you

practical knowledge and skills on top of your

academic qualification”.9

Like many other universities, London Met has

Careers and Employability Service10 which

offers careers information, advice & guidance,

Job Shop (information and advice about Met

Temps & Job Shop Online). It also organises

employer events and information about

volunteering opportunities. Apart from this

service, London Met has an Accelerator11, a

business incubator, which provides students

and graduates with all the advice, support,

networks, knowledge and resources they

need to start their own business. London Met

also has a webpage which is addressed to

employers explaining how the university can

help employers, recruit students, how

businesses can benefit from London Met's

Work Related Learning (WRL) programmes or

get involved in any other activities.12

You will also find several case studies of

University-Enterprise cooperation in

Cambodia, Mongolia and Vietnam.

Faculty/School Level

In all three EU countries discussed in these

Handbook, many faculties and courses

integrated placements in their curriculum:

placements are becoming compulsory on all

courses at London Met, while at other

universities they can be optional. In Greece,

for example, employers are providing

students with a «certificate of employment»,

while at London Met students complete

reports which are assessed by their academic

staff.

9 See http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/why-london-met/student-promise/ 10 See http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/about/studentservices/careers-and-employability/ 11 See http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/about/supporting-business/accelerator/

In order to sustain a network of employers for

student placements, academic staff on each

course establish and maintain direct contacts

with employers. These employers are often

invited to deliver presentations and

workshops to students, participate in other

university events, visit organisations and

exchange information. Academic staff often

invite employers to participate in curriculum

development and enhancement, regular

course approvals organised by quality

assurance department.

Faculties and schools encourage

entrepreneurship through incubators and

accelerators and voluntary work. Academic

staff are actively involved in sharing

experience with employers and publishing the

results of the research. They organise

business idea competitions, entrepreneurship

days and exchange of experience.

Many faculties and schools support the

development of student agencies. For

example, the WOW Agency13 was created at

the former Faculty of Life Sciences and

Computing at London Metropolitan University.

It has now delivered over 100 projects for a

wide range of businesses from start-ups /

SME's / Social Enterprise through to large

blue-chip organisations.

There will be more examples of good practice

of developing university-enterprise relations

and employability in the information provided

below.

Dr Alex Krouglov, London Metropolitan University

12 See http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/about/supporting-business/employers/ 13 See http://www.wow-agency.uk/

Handbook 2017

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CASE STUDIES: EXPERIENCE FROM HIGHER

EDUCATION IN EUROPE

GREECE

Greece is a country that was struck especially

hard by economic crisis. Universities currently

operate under conditions of extreme financial

stringency. This gave rise to different

strategies for the development of

employability and entrepreneurship.

Employability has been developed at the

university/faculty levels especially through

curriculum development (although it is largely

a question of university leadership to promote

relevant policies). Entrepreneurship policies at

the university level – which were still in their

infancy when the crisis started – came to an

almost complete halt. Nationwide

entrepreneurship initiatives are currently

developed mainly at the regional level

(Athens/region of Attica).

Developing Employability

CASE STUDY 1: University of the Peloponnese.

Up until 2012 the University of the

Peloponnese had both an entrepreneurship

and employability strategy. They were

incorporated in the mission statement of the

university, were seen as the foundation of the

«third mission» of the university.

Entrepreneurship was promoted mainly

through the Career’s Office, which offered

courses on entrepreneurship and how to

setup a company in Greece. They were

electives open to all students. The Office

operated a database of interested possible

future employers and produced reports on

the employability of graduates. The

employability initiative came to a halt, as the

university was obliged – as a result of the

restructuring policies – to let go the majority

of its administrative personnel.

Employability, however, is still promoted

through the university programme for

practicums/placements in Greece (internships

in the case of the Faculty of Nursing), which

are offered to students on a voluntary basis.

Furthermore, students are able to seek work

placements in Europe through the EU Erasmus

programme operated by

International/Erasmus Office of the university.

The Erasmus EU funding is topped-up by the

university which covers travel expenses of the

students participating in the project. Faculties

make different use of these opportunities,

according to the way the specific programmes

of study are structured.

In the Faculty of Social and Education Policy,

placements are integrated in the curriculum

as an optional educational activity that

confers 5 ECTS credits. It is not compulsory, as

students may opt to complete their own

research design, instead of a placement.

However, there is high demand for

placements, as employers are providing

students with a «certificate of employment»

which seems to be of considerable value in

the labour market and provides students with

work experience in their field of study.

Placements are supervised by academics, and

at the end of the placement period the

employer is asked to complete a

questionnaire on the overall performance of

the student and the skills s/he has developed.

This feedback process allows the faculty to

take into consideration the employers’ views

regarding skills and to amend curriculum as

necessary. It is to be noted that employers

are not directly involved in curriculum

development or otherwise engaged (i.e. in

workshops, etc.). They are however invited to

talk to students regarding career prospects in

the framework of «career days» periodically

organised by the faculty.

Developing Employability and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education

8

Other curriculum provisions that appear to

have an impact on students/graduates

employability are those related to the

development of soft skills. Students are

required to prove the knowledge of English or

to complete modules of the English language.

The modules offered to students are English I

and II and English for Academic Purposes I and

II. All four modules are integrated in the

curriculum, and English for Academic

Purposes II is compulsory – in the sense that

all students are required to pass it to graduate

(even if they have a proficiency or equivalent

English language degree). Furthermore,

students’ assessment methods have been

increasingly diversified in the last years,

including presentations and research based

essays along the traditional exams that used

to be the norm in the past.

Developing entrepreneurship

Athens has been transformed into a dynamic

point of reference for the, still nascent, Greek

start-up ecosystem. The role of the EU in this

development has been indirect but decisive.

The Greek start up community really took off

in 2012 when the JEREMIE funds were

established in Greece and made available

venture capital for the funding of innovative

companies that could offer new products for

the crisis-stricken Greek economy.

Athens was the obvious and more convenient

location, as it is home to the largest, oldest

and more prestigious public universities in

Greece (National and Kapodistrian University

of Athens, National Technical University of

Athens, Athens University of Economics and

Business) where the majority of the technical,

business, marketing and sales talent of Greece

is gathered. Greek scientists and researchers

are part of many EU and state-funded projects

and generate patented products. Developing

entrepreneurship through incubators and

accelerators in Athens is helping them bring

these products to the market.

One such initiative is the “invent* ICT” project.

It is an “incubation” and “graduation” project,

funded jointly by the EU and the Greek

government. The project was developed in

cooperation with the Greek General

Secretariat for Research and Development,

taking into account the presence of Greek

engineering - ICT faculties/departments in EU

research projects and the poor

commercialisation of research outputs. It was

launched at the end of 2016, pulling together

the resources of the Technical University of

Athens, the Municipality of Athens and the

Union of Mobile Companies of Greece. Its aim

is to support researchers and graduates to

start-up businesses in Greece and impede

further “brain circulation”. The project

published an open call/competition through

which 30 business ideas will be selected. The

teams will be coached and monitored over a

12-month period with a view to prepare a full

proof business idea and relative plan that can

be launched in the market. Currently the

engineering faculties of the University of

Pireaus and of the Democritian University of

Thrace participate in the project but it is

expected that next year the programme will

include the engineering/ICT faculties of other

Greek universities as well.

As another best practice example we may cite

the case of the Athens University of

Economics and Business and its incubation

centre ACEin.

Handbook 2017

9

CASE STUDY 2: ACEin

The Athens Center for Entrepreneurship and

Innovation (ACEin)14 is the incubation centre

of Athens University of Economics and

Business (AUEB). It offers support to

researchers and potential young

entrepreneurs in order to develop innovative

business ideas and bring them to the market.

ACEin puts significant effort in supporting

students pursuing either undergraduate

studies or executive master’s/doctoral

degrees and researchers who wish to turn

their innovative entrepreneurial ideas or

scientific research results into a sustainable

business model and subsequent start-up

company.

The centre helps new ventures to move from

the stage of idea in developing the concept

and exit to market progress, while increasing

the chances of success through constant

interaction with the market. This process of

progress, development and maturation of

each new business idea for a product or

service indicates that each group requires a

different approach to teaching, mentoring,

support services and networking activities.

ACEin offers a variety of services, as follows:

Education: A carefully designed mixture of

lectures, team assignments/ workshops, case

studies and action learning. The courses are

jointly taught by faculty members of AUEB

and specialised industry experts.

Networking: Organisation of various

networking activities at national and

international level, team development

activities, access to the European network of

University-based incubation centres,

networking and dissemination activities,

14 See https://acein.aueb.gr/

participation in international exhibitions and

events.

Consulting Services: Teams benefit from

professional services provided by experts,

which vary depending on the team business

maturity level, their specific needs and the

capabilities of the Centre. The consulting

services are provided in various fields, such as

business planning, marketing, branding and

design, IT development activities, accounting

and legal issues etc. and are offered through

personalized meetings with experts.

Competitions: Access to mentors with proven

start-up and venture capital experience and

successful track record. Motivation through

competitions and award schemes

Knowledge Transfer Unit: Systematic

exploitation of the research produced within

university and research laboratories, tackled

through a concrete Technology/ Knowledge

Transfer methodology adequate assessment

of the prospects of scientific achievements,

collaborative identification of the most

appropriate exploitation plan per research

result (e.g. setting up a business, selling

research and development services,

concession permits) and providing specialised

consulting services, depending on the

business readiness, maturity and needs of

each research team

Currently ACEin supports the development of

15 start-ups developed by students/young

researchers in the areas of tourism,

agriculture fishing, entertainment etc. As

examples we site:

Developing Employability and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education

10

Butlair15

A company that offers personal travel

assistance while in Athens, helping travellers

find everything they need. They help make

tour guide bookings and reservations at

restaurants tailor made for you, find a doctor

when in need, or even make deliveries. Butlair

is based on human interaction,

communication is held via Facebook

Messenger, Whatsapp or SMS.

Clio Muse16

A mobile application that curates the best

cultural stories for indoor and outdoor tours.

It shares intriguing, true, unexpected and

unique stories for selected exhibits presented

in 20 seconds. It is available on Google Play

and AppStore in Greek and English.

15See www.butlair.com 16 See www.cliomuseapp.com

CollegeLink17

An online human resources platform that

companies use to attract and recruit personal.

CollegeLink utilizes an automated personality

profiling mechanism that matches each

applicant’s personality traits to each

organisation’s culture and each job’s specific

needs.

Inagros18

A tool for farmers having irrigated crops. The

crop is monitored through sensors by an

agriculturist. It alerts the farmer in case of

system failures and when is the right time to

use pesticides. Remote control of irrigation

system is a feature, too.

Enaleia19 is a start-up which aims to establish

the first professional fishing school in Greece.

Students will acquire both theoretical

knowledge and work experience through

eight-month placements on fishing ships. The

curriculum will include environmental issues

(fish protection) crucial for the industry’s

sustainability. The goal is to create 2000 new

jobs for unemployed youth.

17 See www.collegelink.gr 18 See https://acein.aueb.gr/en/our-teams/#inagros

Handbook 2017

11

LITHUANIA

CASE STUDY 1: Socially responsible activity of

the students at the Faculty of Public Security,

Mykolas Romeris University, Kaunas,

Lithuania

Expanding horizons of profession: volunteer

and creative activities.

There are two sides of these activities: liaising

with professional associations in order to raise

professional reputation of lawyers and the

possibility for students to join those

professional bodies after their graduation.

In both instances the students represented

first cycle study programme Law and Pre-trial

process.20

In the first instance, the National Court

administration in Lithuania organised the

initiative “A Day with a Judge”. 70 law

students from several universities in Lithuania

visited 17 courts, met with acting judges and

shadowed their activities. Students of this

Faculty won the prize for the most creative

approach in developing a project.21

19 See https://acein.aueb.gr/en/our-teams/#enaleia 20 See https://stdb.mruni.eu/studiju_programos_aprasas.php?id=8463&l=en 21 See http://www.mruni.eu/lt/universitetas/fakultetai/viesojo_saugumo/detail.php?id=233082#.WIDfRE0cSUk

Day with the judge

In the second instance, students acted as

volunteers at Kaunas prosecution office

(“Open Door Volunteers”): helping visitors,

acting as an informed guide, helping to find

the necessary office or person. Students

showed good results in this activity: offering

help to visitors is not always easy, this

requires certain knowledge as to how the

prosecution office functions.

The role of employers (future employers:

courts and prosecution office) was to provide

access to the activity that is not always open

neither for wider public.

The role of academic staff was to provide

advice before and during these activities

which enable raise the quality of teaching and

learning and increase the motivation of

students.

These new activities had some impact on

curriculum where special time was allocated

for student presentations on their

participation in the above activities. These

presentations and the discussion which

followed enabled all students to understand

better how these organisations work, their

functions and practical tasks.

In addition, these activities served well for the

enhancement of employability of students.

Developing Employability and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education

12

They established good contacts and showed

what they can do in a workplace. They

developed necessary skills and competences.

Students understood better the demands of

profession and what they need to learn for

their future profession.

These initiatives enable discussions between

academia, the administration of the faculty,

and the employers, as well as student

representatives of students, as to further

enhancement of curriculum and teaching and

learning. If the employers are generally

satisfied with professional competencies of

students and graduates, however they still

need to develop soft skills, e.g. flexibility,

customer care, communication skills.

These initiatives have some challenges and

limitations: not many students were involved

in these activities and there is a definite need

for academic staff to be more involved.

CASE STUDY 2: International cooperation in

research and sharing experience

The background of the activity was the

initiative by colleagues in Szczytno Police

Academy, Poland, in 2015. They received

funding from the Ministry of Science and

Higher Education for research into similarities

and differences in educating future law

enforcement officers with the clear focus: on

how systems of education of future law-

enforcement officers contribute to their

readiness to perform in a responsible way in a

contemporary society. The law enforcement

ceased to be nationally bound in the

globalised world. As criminal activities expand

internationally and into a cyber-sphere, the

same should apply to activities of future law

enforcement professionals (police officers,

state border guards, etc.), because only by

joining their efforts and fine-tuning the

cooperation between the entities internally

and between countries may create a solid

basis for a reliable service. The analysis was

aimed at identifying weather the educational

systems are ready to provide the education at

that level already, and what are necessary

steps towards the harmonisation of some of

the activities in order to meet basic

requirements of the labour market for those

officers: to be ready to work in international

teams in order to perform duties at the

highest level both internally and

internationally

The international comparative study of the

existing programmes in higher education for

future law-enforcement professionals (police,

state border guards, in some cases, military

professionals) aimed to identify the

intersections between the educational

services and the expectation of stake holders,

e.g. employers, representatives of law-

enforcement agencies.

As the result of the project a monograph was

published and registered at the CEPOL

(European Union Agency for Law Enforcement

Training) data basis, therefore it is available to

all involved in initial and especially, in in-

service training of law enforcement agencies.

The data, findings, conclusions and

recommendations enabled communities of

those institutions and organisations to

introduce changes which would enhance

training.

The study also revealed the need to intensify

the dialogue of teachers and practitioners.

This and other issues were discussed at the

international seminar organized at Mykolas

Romeris University in August 2016.

As the result of the project, the universities

involved established better contacts with

employers and the results of the project were

used in the work aimed at enhancing curricula

in HE institutions but also in-service training

for professionals working in law enforcement

agencies. This is good example of mutually

beneficial cooperation.

Handbook 2017

13

UNITED KINGDOM

CASE STUDY 1: Career and Employability

Service at London Metropolitan University22

London Metropolitan University has a diverse

student population23 and improving graduate

employment outcomes is a key driver for the

University. At a strategic level, initiatives are

in place to support students, by both raising

awareness of the need for them to reflect on

their own employability, as a dimension of

academic study and as the wider university

experience by providing accessible

opportunities.

London Met has significantly increased in the

national Performance Indicator that measures

employment outcomes of graduates six

months after graduating (Destination of

Leavers in Higher Education ) over a two year

period, with 89.4% of UK, FT, First degree

2015 graduates in employment or further

study compared to just 88.8% (2014cohort)

and 81.4% just two years before (2013 cohort).

22 This case study was written by Neelam Thapar, Head of Careers and Employability. 23 Data from 14/15 demonstrates that 71% of students were mature first degree students, 69.3% were from Black and minority ethnic groups, 9.8% from EU first degree students and 51.4% of young, FT, UK-domiciled, first degree entrants in 14-15 were from lower socio-economic backgrounds (NS-SEC 4-7) with 97.3% of this same group were from state schools or colleges.

This growth and development can be

evidenced by embedding, monitoring and

evaluating practices aimed at preparing

graduates for progression and transition

through a number of significant success

factors which reflect the demographics of

London Met and develop initiatives to support

relevant career progression and enhancement.

There has been strong leadership and

management to gain institutional buy in from

staff which is crucial to the growth of

employment outcomes for students. In Sept

2016, new roles of Pro Vice-Chancellor

Employment Outcomes and Heads of Business

Partnerships and Employment Outcomes

were developed and collectively form the

Employment Outcomes leadership team

alongside the Heads of Accelerator and

Careers and Employability, bringing together

matters relating to the employment prospects

of students, student and staff enterprise,

careers, employer engagement, research and

academic collaborative partnerships.

The strategic plan details five promises to

students to help them get the maximum out

of their time at London Met and equip

students with the knowledge, skills and

attributes necessary to make successful

transitions. Three of the promises are centred

on employability: ‘1: Get to work’, ‘2: Earn it

back’, and ‘5: Boost your potential’ signifying

the importance London Met gives to

employability.

London Met gives students disciplinary

knowledge and job/industry knowledge,

networks and opportunities through design

and delivery of the curriculum and through an

integrated partnership approach with the

Careers and Employability and Student

Enterprise service provision. The development

and recognition of transferable skills are at

the heart of this approach through a variety of

work related learning and careers

opportunities and activity to develop

employability skills, confidence, gain academic

credits towards degrees, and get real-life

Developing Employability and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education

14

work experience underpinned with quality

information, advice and guidance.

Employability is mapped throughout the

student journey from application to University

to experience on course to graduation and

beyond. Relevant and timely careers

information, advice and guidance through 1:1

and group work sessions are delivered by

Careers Consultants. Flexible provision of

Careers and Employability Services are

needed to maximise stakeholder engagement

and the impact of career and employability

service provision. These resources include a

Careers Portal available 24 hours a day and

careers support embedded in or

complementing teaching and learning to work

hand in hand with formal advice provision.

The challenge of extra curriculum

participation is prevalent due to students

having to work alongside studying so London

Met focusses on embedding activity to make

it as easy as possible and as appropriate to

the subject area, to increase engagement and

provide early intervention with all services

that can help students overcome barriers that

prevent focus on their career goals. Academic

schools are supported in the design of

employability in the curriculum, delivery of

sessions in curriculum time, design of

assessment of employability modules and

resources to provide consistency.

There is a strong emphasis on employer and

community organisation engagement using

relationship management to engage students

in career planning and improving

employability, recognising that one size does

not fit all disciplines. All students have access

to work-related experience during their

course which is coordinated by an employer

engagement team. This promise to ‘Get to

work’ means that students are able to gain

valuable industry-based experience during

the course of their study and helps to

motivate students in both their career

planning and academic study as it enables

them to see “where the classroom fits into

the workplace”.

Services are provided in a holistic way with a

Job Shop located centrally in the Careers and

Employability Service that advertises part

time, temporary and full time graduate

employment opportunities for students and

works with a team of Employer Engagement

Administrators that are coordinated centrally

to maintain consistency and oversee

processes but work in their specific academic

Schools generating specific work placement

opportunities, developing relationships with

academic colleagues and providing a bespoke

service to students.

Labour market information is also used to

help students make informed choices.

Academic Schools liaise with Careers and

Employability, Enterprise and Alumni Office to

develop employer/industry practitioner

contributions to the design of courses,

speakers within courses and for

extracurricular events such as Jobs and

Volunteering Fairs

London Met also develop and use alumni

networks so that students have role models to

support them through a Careers Mentoring

Scheme where students are mentored by an

Alumni for a five month period. In 2015/16,

123 students completed mentoring with

Alumni which help to raise career aspirations.

Handbook 2017

15

The promise to students, to ‘Earn it back’,

involves ensuring that the student community

is given priority over any available job

opportunities on campus through an internal

recruitment agency “Met Temps”. Over 1500

students accessed paid work on campus

through Met Temps over the year 2015/16

The service offered over 1400 paid work

opportunities totalling 72,000 hours. In

addition a further 260 students were

appointed directly into casual Student

Ambassador and Assistant roles working a

total of 34,000 hours. The ‘Boost your

potential’, student promise describes the Peer

Assisted Student Success (PASS) scheme

whereby second and third year

undergraduate students are paid to mentor

first year students on their courses. This

improves the mentors’ employability skills

while supporting new students to feel a sense

of belonging at the University and find

networks. The Careers and Employability

Service also work in partnership with Human

Resources to develop a London Met Graduate

Internship Scheme which is a one year

placement after graduation in departments

across the University.

Key challenges always exist over student

engagement and ensuring that students

access opportunities but systems and

processes have been developed to measure

success and impact of careers and

employability initiatives. At national level,

this is measured by the Destinations of

Leavers in Higher Education Survey but at

local level, London Metropolitan University

looks at continuous quality improvement

through internal data used to identify usage

of services and target interventions

accordingly where there is lack of

engagement. Quantitative and qualitative

feedback captures the distance that students

have travelled in their journey to success.

CASE STUDY 2: external & internal placement

& work based learning opportunities

School of Human Sciences (SHS) and School of

Computing and Digital Media (SoCDM)

provide both external & internal placement &

work based learning opportunities for

students taking the Work-Related Learning

(WRL) modules and this was around 258

students in the SoCDM and 177 students in

the SHS.

Developing Employability and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education

16

External opportunities are mainly within local

charities, small to medium size organisations

& volunteering roles. Internal opportunities

can range from Work placements within the

university, work based learning opportunities

(e.g. client driven projects) & university

schemes (e.g. peer mentoring).

SHS offers Internal placement - Laboratory

placements

Our £ 30 million Science Centre (pictured

below) is the largest and most advanced

science teaching facility in Europe. It has more

than 280 workstations, a number of specialist

labs, as well as sports therapy and fitness

assessment facilities, which undoubtedly gives

our science students a huge advantage

Science Centre laboratory placement provides

students an opportunity for supervised

training & work experience in a laboratory

environment. Students are supervised by

laboratory technicians during the placement

and provided the opportunity to develop key

laboratory competencies & employability

skills. This lasts 5 week minimum period of

work experience relevant to the student's

field of study. The assessment includes:

placement report, placement diary and a

presentation.

Sports Injury Clinic

The Sport Injury clinic is service run within the

university and is open to students, staff and

the general public and offers a range of

services including:

injury diagnosis with full clinical

assessment

treatment and rehabilitation for all

stages of injury recovery

tailored and sports specific services

SHS offers Internal placement know as

London Met Sport Injury clinic

Sports Therapy students are provided the

opportunity to work in Sport Injury clinic for

100-200 hours. Students are supervised by

staff assessing, planning and treating a variety

of sports injuries. Learning is by reflection and

discussion in small groups. Assessment is

through practical examinations and reflective

report.

SoCDM Internal- WoWbiz

WoWbiz is Initiative within the school that

provides students the opportunity to develop

employability skills and gain real-life work

Handbook 2017

17

experience on a client driven project.

These are real-life small projects from

charities, social enterprises, internal clients

and SMEs with no cost to the client. (e.g.

developing websites, e-commerce sites, video

animations).

Students work on the project in teams with

the client under the supervision of staff &

attend regular seminars, client meetings and

group meetings. Students learn by real-life

work experience, reflection and discussion in

small groups and the assessment includes:

report, diary (weekly learning logs) and a

presentation.

School of Computing and Digital Media

(SoCDM) & School of Human Sciences (SHS).

Students are provided the opportunity to gain

real-life work-experience and obtain academic

credits through WRL modules.

Why was it developed? What were your aims

and objectives?

London Met initiatives aim to improve

graduate employment outcomes by providing

students a variety of WRL opportunities whilst

studying at university. The objectives are that

students will develop employability skills, gain

academic credits towards their degrees, and

get real-life work experience. (N.B For

additional information, please refer to

Neelam Tharpar’s Case Study on the Careers

Services)

How does it relate to wider government

policy, labour market trends, etc.?

WRL modules will focus not only on the

subject related skills but also include the key

employability skills and transferrable

competencies highlighted through a survey

conducted by the UK Commission for

Employment and Skills (UKCES) in 2013 asking

Employers to review skill shortage vacancies

and this data was then broken down by

missing skills (Published by Universities UK

(UUK), in 2015 (ISBN 978-1-84036-353-1)

● Subject specific/technical employability

skills:

● Digital literacy e.g. Excel spreadsheet

skills.

● Organisational and time management

skills.

● Communications skills (verbal and

written).

● Team working skills.

● Business acumen - appreciation of how

the business works and what the

priorities are.

● Interpersonal and customer relation skills.

How was it introduced? What were the key

factors behind the development?

SHS and SoCDM provide both external &

internal placement & work based learning

opportunities for students taking the Work-

Related Learning modules.

External opportunities are mainly within local

charities, small to medium size organisations

& volunteering roles. Internal opportunities

can range from Work placements within the

university, work based learning opportunities

(e.g. client driven projects) & university

schemes (e.g. peer mentoring).

The key factors behind the development were

to ensure these students develop job

searching, application skills, employability

skills & key transferrable competencies. (e.g.

- Computing students develop programming

skills on a website development project,

Science students will gain key laboratory

based competencies working in the Science

centre laboratory and Sports Therapy

students will acquire therapy skills when

helping to treat/advise clients with sports-

related injuries

What was the role of university staff,

employers and students, in the development

of the activity?

Developing Employability and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education

18

University staff in particular the academics

were involved in development of the WRL

module specification and in the establishment

of setting up an Employer Engagement

Administrator team, in order to generate

placements and build links with employers

and students.

Students were consulted on making WRL a

core part of their learning experience.

Curriculum Implications

How if at all has the organisation of the

teaching and learning been affected by the

activity? Strategic academic adjustments

were made by replacing existing modules

with WRL modules, and making these core

within the undergraduate degree programme.

Secondly were the assessment methods

changed from exams and coursework to 100%

coursework.

What are the resources required to develop

and deliver the activity? Employment

Engagement Administrators – generating

placement positions, nurturing the students

during in employability , assessing students

applications/CVs and forwarding them to

Careers Service for guidance, Placement

officers – supporting Heads of Business

Partnerships and Employment Outcomes,

students and academic staff.

Staff time, location, equipment (e.g.

computers) , materials (e.g. laboratory

reagents).24

Have there been any changes in student

assessment resulting from the activity? The

content may vary slightly from module to

module, but generally the Students are

required to learning agreement form-

outlining the learning outcomes, maintain

reflective learning log, final report and some

modules require students to give

presentations.

24 For additional information, please refer to Case Study 1 on the Careers Services

What is the role of university staff,

employers and students in the management

and delivery of the activity? University staff –

there will be a designated member of staff:

WRL module leader- to provide help on

module related advice, for some modules in

SoCDM there is also an Academic supervisor-

to help students with technical questions,

otherwise this is provided by the module

leader. The employer act as client providing

requirements and feedback and students- act

as an employee producing a service or

product.

What are the implications for quality

assurance and enhancement? QA must

approved the WRL modules before release -

to ensure they meet required standards. The

university will be measuring the impact of the

WRL initiative through student led module

feedback scheme, and DLHE survey scores.

Data will be assessed and any necessary

adjustments where necessary will be made to

key competencies and skills to ensure this is

based on what skills and competencies the

employer wants and is useful to their

organisation.

Impact

What are the benefits, e.g. student

employability, responsive and relevant

curricula, workforce development? Helping

to increase graduate employability and

develop the key better skills and

competencies portfolio based on what the

employers want.

What are the challenges and/or limitations?

Student engagement/mind-set is mainly due

to having other commitments outside the

university such as part-time work or care for

young children. However part-time work can

be accredited and count towards WRL and

university does try it’s best to accommodate

student’s needs.

What are the measures of

performance/success? Student led module

feedback scheme and Destinations of Leavers

Handbook 2017

19

from Higher Education (DLHE) survey. (N.B For

additional information, please refer to

Neelam Tharpar’s Case Study on the Careers

Services)

How would you like to see this activity

develop in the future? What are your

priorities, based on your experience of this

activity? In the future would like to work

towards multi-disciplinary WRL activities (e.g.

WRL company/service). Priorities are focusing

on student engagement and nurturing them

throughout the WRL process and embedding

employability within the curriculum starting

from level 4- 6.

CASE STUDY 3: The case of Applied Languages

(Interpreting) at London Metropolitan

University

The focus of this case study is the

development of applied languages curriculum

with particular reference to Interpreting. The

curricula consists of Master’s courses in

Interpreting and Conference Interpreting and

the following non degree courses: a Diploma

in Public Service Interpreting (English Law and

Health options) and a range of Continuing

Professional Development courses in

Diplomatic Interpreting, Introduction to

Conference Interpreting, Advanced

Conference Interpreting for EU/UN and

Training the Trainers.

Rather than considered as an afterthought,

employability and employer engagement have

been regarded as driving curriculum

developments from the outset. Whilst

interpreting courses elsewhere in the UK and

internationally, relied on more traditional

teaching methods, i.e. more didactic based

instruction with periodic practice sessions in

labs, the focus at London Met has been on

developing an understanding and skills

required for professional interpreting roles.

The Course Organizer understands the

University as a market place, with a roof but

no walls, a concept reinforced by the use of

digital media technology, external employer

links, international Memoranda of

Understanding, professional body

partnerships and memberships of networks.

In the case of the latter the University was a

founding member of the Public Service

Interpreting and Translation Network and a

member of CIUTI25, the latter comprising

around fifty top international interpreting and

translation schools with strong links to

professional bodies and representatives from

elite employer organisations.

Such curriculum developments must be

understood against a backdrop of changes in

both education and the labour market. The

decline in languages taught in schools in the

UK had a knock on effect on the number of

linguists coming through higher education.

This coincided with a workforce of

interpreters with English as their first

language reaching retirement age. Moreover,

as the EU expanded so the demand for

interpreters increased, not only in Brussels

but also in the UK, both in the public sector

(courts, hospitals, schools etc.) and private

sector, itself operating in an ever expanding,

global market place. Alongside these changes,

British education has witnessed a shift, dating

back to the 1970s and 1980s, towards greater

accountability to and involvement of key

stakeholders, notably parents (of school age

children), students and employers. Such

25 See www.ciuti.org

Developing Employability and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education

20

accountability is measured through a series of

indicators, including levels graduate

employment and student satisfaction, which

form the basis of university league tables.

These changes in conjunction with the shift in

the principal source of funding from the state

to students (via loans) formed part of what

commentators have referred to as the

marketisation of Higher Education. To some

extent such reforms suited a new university

like London Met with its commitment to more

applied research and a curricula both relevant

and responsive to wider societal changes. Add

to these factors a dynamic course leadership

and it was not altogether surprising that the

University developed the first MA in Public

Service Interpreting, responding in part to

pressure from the European Commission,

Charities (e.g. the Medical Foundation dealing

with international victims of torture) and

training bodies. The University also

approached the Chartered Institute of

Linguists (CIoL) with a view to securing both a

degree and a professional qualification and

inclusion on the professional register, held by

the CIoL.

Relations with top employers, notably the

European Commission and the United Nations,

have been particularly significant in shaping

the curriculum. An initial visit by the head of

the English Language service at the European

Commission encouraged staff to adapt the

curriculum to the Commission’s specific entry

test requirements. Pedagogic assistants from

the EC would visit the University and work

with staff and students. Groups of students

would visit the EU institutions, have the

opportunity to practice in the language

booths and benefit from the advice of

professional interpreters. Likewise, a

Memorandum of Understanding was signed

with the United Nations, which ensures that

students have the opportunity to visit the UN

in Geneva and Vienna on a regular basis and

gain practical experience under the watchful

eye of UN interpreters. Course assessment

mirrors the entry tests for both EU and UN.

The curriculum is therefore practice led. Mock

conferences (for example recently on Syria

and the Schengen Treaty) ensure that

students familiarize themselves with topics of

direct relevance to the UN and EU

respectively. Virtual classes are held with 10

partner international institutions which have

expanded the number of language

combinations as well as through video links

with Brussels, providing students with

opportunities for consecutive interpreting of

mock speeches delivered by EU staff who also

provide feedback. In one module, which aims

to support students wishing to establish their

own business, twitter and blogs are used to

establish contacts with interpreting

professionals running their own businesses,

who offer advice to students on practicalities

such as pricing and costs, business card design,

marketing etc. Their advice is sought in

advance of the classes and then fed back to

the students following the class discussion.

Students are then able to follow professionals

on twitter, using hashtags and the

blogosphere to develop their ideas whilst

directly engaging with professional

practitioners.

Students take work placements as part of

their course that are organised by us with the

EU or the UN (New York, Vienna, Geneva, the

EC in Brussels or the Court of Justice of the EU

in Luxembourg), and opportunities that help

charities. One of the main placement

providers is The Initiatives for Change in Caux

(Switzerland) that lasts for 2 months in the

summer. It is important to avoid employers

using students instead of paid professional

interpreters so the University ensures that all

placements will support students and

enhance their career prospects. There is a

booklet to guide employers and also a

feedback form for employers. Students are

required to write a placement report in which

they are expected to reflect on the practical

knowledge and skills learned on the

placement.

Handbook 2017

21

The focus on employability inevitably has

resource implications. There are additional

costs associated with the international study

visits, and the specific technological demands

of the course require a well-equipped

interpreting suite with booths and space for

mock conferences. Media equipment and

relevant software is also required for virtual

classes. Demands on staff are also

correspondingly high. Students receive

hundreds of hours of booth practice and

dedicated support. Mock speeches are

written in line with the learning needs of

individual students, and staff are also

expected to maintain links with employers

and their networks, professional bodies, and

students using social media as well other

forms of communication.

The Memoranda of Understanding signed

with employer partners provide a framework

for visits, master classes and feedback from

provide important opportunities for feedback

from employers. For example the UN recently

(2016) wrote to the course leader raising a

number of concerns, notably the relationship

between Public Service Interpreting and

Conference Interpreting, alluding to the need

for an even sharper curriculum (niche) focus,

more booth practice and less on theory. The

Ambassador Scheme, which recruits from

London Met Interpreting and Translation

Alumnae, provides opportunities for students

to learn from the experiences of recent

graduates, and in some cases through their

contacts, secure work placements. The

Ambassadors, as the term suggests, are

excellent advocates of their courses and

attend marketing events where they are able

to meet potential applicants (e.g. an annual

international exhibition language show held in

October in London).

The courses in interpreting are subject to

university wide quality assurance processes26

and employer engagement was one of two

enhancement themes selected by the Quality

26 See www.qaa.org

Assurance Agency as part of their process of

Higher Education Review27. It is also worth

noting that an EU professional interpreter

participated in the most recent course

evaluation.

Despite widespread support for such

initiatives, costs remain a major challenge. It

has been suggested that an employability

driven curriculum in this subject area has

additional resource implications, e.g. media

equipment, lab facilities, time demands on

staff built around the need to provide

individual learning programmes and support,

study visits and external liaison. This

inevitably creates tensions with the

University’s aim of delivering quality

education but via what are considered the

most cost effective means. The subject area in

turn has sought to minimise costs where

possible. For example, the development of

virtual classes has enabled the area to offer

more language combinations without having

to appoint individual staff for every language

combination.

The success of the area can be measured

against a number of indicators/benchmarks.

27 See http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/Employer-Engagement-Report.pdf

Developing Employability and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education

22

*The national average pass rate for the

Diploma in Public Service Interpreting is 42%.

The pass rate for London Met students is over

80%.

*The Conference Interpreting Course is the

only course of its kind in London in which both

the EU and UN offer opportunities such as

work experience, study tours, advice and

feedback.

In the future, the area hopes to gain

European Masters in Conference Interpreting

accreditation, a significant currency with top

employers and one in which a panel of

employers would assess the students. The

University is close to accreditation and if and

when it is attained, it would be the only

interpreting school in London with this

prestigious kite mark. Its growing reputation

with employers is testimony to its innovative

use of technology, student centered, practice

led pedagogy, outstanding links with alumnae

via the ambassadors scheme, an excellent

suite of continuing professional development

courses and an outstanding network of

partnerships with employers and HEIs.

Handbook 2017

23

CASE STUDIES: EXPERIENCE FROM HIGHER

EDUCATION IN ASIA

CAMBODIA

Case Study: Employer Engagement at Svay

Rieng University

Svay Rieng University (SRU) is the only public

university in Svay Rieng province. It is in the

southeast of Cambodia and 125 Km far from

Phnom Penh city. SRU was founded in 2005

and to date has produced over 7,500

graduates in BA and MA degrees. Svay Rieng

is a province with a lot of potential. It has

three large Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and

nearly 40 Micro-Finance Institutions (MFI)

which hire many employees for their factories

and companies every year. Most of the

employees in SEZ and MFI graduated from

SRU with several specializations including:

accounting, marketing, management, finance

and banking, public administration, computer

science and English. Strengthening the

University-Enterprise partnership is an

effective activity which provides the

opportunity for SRU to play roles as either a

vocational education or labour centre.

Employment of student is one of our priorities.

In order to facilitate the students for

employment the university has been doing

collaboration with employers in the following:

presentation of service, products and

required subjects

workshop on job seeking preparation

discussions on job demand

The Office of Research and Development

currently facilitates our work related to our

contacts with enterprises and employability.

However, everyone in the campus is

responsible for employer engagement. Our

aim and objectives are the following:

Enhancing student employability

Creating opportunities for the

development of the workforce

Creating opportunities for research

The first priority of the Royal Government of

Cambodia is Human resources development.

The main focus is on Science and Technology.

The government encourages PPP (Public-

Private Partnership) and the UGI (University-

Government-Industry) to push economic

growth.

University-industry centre (UIC) was

introduced through a meeting of the

university management board and faculty.

Investment in human resources is the main

factor to support productivity and ensure a

job-rich and inclusive growth in the future.

Developing Employability and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education

24

Curriculum Implications

The curriculum for year 3 and 4 of

undergraduate programmes was updated to

meet the needs of the labour market and to

be more practical for students. More

information about business and enterprises

was incorporated in the programmes.

Colleagues together with our partner

enterprises organised study visits and

internship every year. This allows our students

to develop more practical skills and apply

their knowledge of the subject. The university

also offered internship opportunities for all

students of all faculties. We accept nearly 25

applicants every year.

There are certain challenges, e.g. we need to

provide the following:

- more professional development to

colleagues engaged in university-enterprise

activities;

- better office equipment;

- learning from other institutions in Cambodia

and overseas.

There are also challenges linked to the

development of skills. Students need to

enhance their communication skills especially

related to job interviews, writing an

application or a letter, presenting ideas.

The employment service is accredited to the

Standard 5 “Student’s Service” of the National

Standards for Higher Education Accreditation.

These national standards are used to assess

the quality assurance at the institutional level.

The project raised the awareness among

academic staff and management and had a

very positive impact on student employability.

We would like to see further development of

our UIC. It should become the centre for

employability and business incubation in the

future. Our current priority is to train the soft

skills needed for job seeking and

entrepreneurship.

Case Study: Royal University of Phnom Penh,

Cambodia

Since the Royal University of Phnom Penh

(RUPP) has recently released some of the

design featuring a floating cafe at the

University campus. It will be built in a Khmer

style next to the library pond behind Hun Sen.

The new cafe will be an example of employer

engagement at RUPP and will be called “Cafe

NISSET”.

Café NISSET will be managed by the student

Association (BANG) of RUPP. It will allow us to

provide our students with job opportunities

and practice. Profit will go to the Association

so that they could help more students find

accommodation and jobs for students.

The University currently updates curricula to

match the job market requirements and

incorporate the training of soft skills.

Handbook 2017

25

MONGOLIA28

School of Dentistry, Mongolian National

University of Medical Sciences

Involvement of Private Dental Clinics in the

training of Dental Assistants in Mongolia

The aim of the project was to apply and

introduce training and clinical practice of

dental assistants as a new profession in the

field of dental education, dental clinics, public

and government. Also, establishment of

professional dental team model was one of

the goals as well as providing study and job

opportunity to vulnerable group candidates.

Training module consisted of 6 months

theoretical and 6 months of clinical skill

practices in total 36 credits in one year.

Academic staff are involved in theoretical

classroom teaching and dentists from the

private dental clinics work as supervises

during 6 months of their clinical practice.

Students, the School and dental clinics benefit

from this cooperation which enhances

training of dental assistants. Dental clinics

often approach the School when they need to

employ new dental assistants.

The outcome and impact of this cooperation

with dental clinics are:

28 This part was written by Dr Ariuntuul Garidkhuu and Dr

Amarsaikhan Bazar, School of Dentistry, Mongolian National

University of Medical Sciences

Developed training module/curriculum,

aligned with international standarts in

dental education and dental profession;

Published textbook and handbooks for

clinical practices;

Opened new facility for lectures and

clinical trainings;

Gave an opportunity for vulnerable group

(single mothers, jobless, no profession,

etc.), who had secondary education only

to study and obtain professional

certificate;

Graduates are employed 100%;

Established dental teamwork model:

dentist, dental hygienist and dental

assistant;

Developing Employability and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education

26

VIETNAM

CASE STUDY 1: Cooperation between the

Faculty of IT and Axon Active Company29 at

the University of Danang

Axon Active is a Swiss-owned company

specialising in Agile software development

and testing. With a focus on developing

effective business processes and improving

efficiency as well as focusing on people, Axon

Active is one of the top companies within the

IT field in Da Nang providing IT students and

talents a challenging, professional and stable

working environment.

The University of Danang and Axon Active,

Vietnam have developed a very successful

collaboration.

Firstly, the Internship Program for final-year IT

students. Axon Internship Day attracted more

than 150 IT candidates from universities in Da

Nang. After tests, interviews and rigorous

assessment, the opportunities were given to

14 talented students from the Faculty of

Information Technology, University of Science

and Technology, the University of Danang.

During 2 months of internship at Axon Active

Vietnam, the students are provided quality

training program with outstanding features

including full-time on-job training in 2 months

with real projects, Accordingly, students can

improve requirements analysis & customer

consultant skills, English skill, Practical

programming skill, Agile software

development processes & practices. Thanks to

this internship program, these students also

receive attractive benefits:

Working in international and professional

working environment with the 1st-class

infrastructures

Participating in company events and

team building activities

Joining sport clubs such as football,

badminton.

29 See http://www.axonactive.com

• Being considered to be Axon

staff.

Please see below what our interns say:

“The internship at Axon

Active Vietnam is a very

valuable experience. I

feel very lucky to have

this opportunity.

Accessing to a

professional working

environment with

advanced software development process has

given me a great chance to develop my

thinking, attitude & skills to become a true

software engineer. Another great thing is that

I joined in a circle of product development,

from the first steps in building product ideas

to launching the application. Even though

there were certain pressures, but it brought

to me more knowledge, experience and

passion which are helpful for my future

career."

Tran Trong Nhan, Faculty of IT, UD.

“More mature. That's

what I feel after this

wonderful internship.

Two months ago, I am a

new intern who is afraid

of everything, lack of

confidence, and be

worry that whether I

could do a good job in

the professional working environment.

Gradually I realized the difficulties still exist,

but with the effort and the help of friends

here I could do much better, be more

confident, have better communication,

recognize and solve the problems better.

There are still so much things to learn.

Wonderful!"

Tran Xuan Khue, Faculty of IT, UD.

Handbook 2017

27

Two Axon trainers - Mr. Nguyen Thanh Yen

Tung (Head of Department) and Mr. Hoang

Nhac Trung (Education Manager) – guided &

mentored the students throughout the

program. They also got the supports from

experienced developers and experts from

Axon’s offshore teams about technical and

working skills. Based on excellent

performances in the internship program, 8

interns were proposed to extend their

contracts and officially became Axon staff.

This young talent team will be continuously

trained in a Junior Class in 6 months before

joining in offshore teams and working directly

with the international customers.

Secondly, many last-year students of the High

Quality Program from Faculty of IT, UD were

awarded certificate of completion of Scrum

course. These ten sessions course included

the theory and practices which was taught by

Axon’s CIO - Mr. Sebastian Sussmann and Da

Nang Branch Manager – Mr. Dang Ngoc Hai.

With knowledge getting from the course,

students are more confident and ready to

work in the real environment.

Thirdly, senior leaders of Axon Active are

invited to attend Workshop on University –

Industry Relationship twice per year.

Accordingly, the university receive wonderful

feedback so that we can enhance the

education/training quality, reduce the gap

between university and enterprise and adapt

the curriculum to social demands.

Next is DevDay Da Nang 2016, the biggest IT

event in the city. It was held successfully on

Saturday April 9th, 2016 at the University of

Science and Technology - UD. This is a joint

event of Axon Active Vietnam and UD. This is

the second time the open conference took

place in Da Nang as a result of a professional

event planning. This year, the event attracted

more than 1,200 participants, including a

large number of students from the IT sector of

universities in the city, the local developers

and businesses. With 26 topics presented by

23 local and international speakers, DevDay

Da Nang 2016 was more diverse compared to

the first event. Topics are not only focused on

the field of technologies, career orientation

and management, but also extended to the

startup trend and development policy for

students as well as new businesses. If

students and young programmers showed

interest in in vocational training and how to

succeed, experienced developers were keen

to participate in the advanced topic

discussions

Mr. Markus Baur, CEO of Axon Active,

Vietnam, leaders of UD and partnership from

the domestic IT enterprises as well as the city

council will closely work and try their best to

maximize the benefits for students in

employment opportunities enhancement.

Developing Employability and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education

28

CASE STUDY 2: Truong Hai Auto Corporation

(THACO)

Truong Hai Automobile Co., Ltd. was

established on 29 April 1997. In 2007, Truong

Hai Automobile Co., Ltd. changed to become

Truong Hai Auto Corporation (THACO).

Currently, the company has three

administrative offices located in Ho Chi Minh

City, Hanoi, and Chu Lai (Quang Nam).

Particularly, Chu Lai - Truong Hai Auto

Manufacture and Assembly Complex (Quang

Nam) which was established in 2003 on an

area of nearly 600 hectares, consists of 24

subsidiaries and affiliated factories.

THACO currently operates in auto

manufacture, assembly, and distribution;

provides auto spare part and maintenance

services, including manufacturing, trading,

and distributing commercial vehicles (trucks

and buses), manufacturing and trading

passenger cars from the brands including Kia

(South Korea), Mazda (Japan), and Peugeot

(France -Europe). As to April 2016, the

distribution system consists of 89 showrooms

and 53 dealers nationwide and the company

now has 14,900 employees.

THACO plant

THACO and the University of Danang signed a

cooperation agreement in 2006. The two

sides are deploying many cooperative

activities in practice:

- Receipt of approximately 100 UD’s students

to do internship at the company.

- THACO and UD staff cooperate to help

students as co-supervisors for thesis on the

practical problems at THACO.

- Funding for students to carry out scientific

research projects ordered by the company.

- Collaborate with UD’s researchers to

implement research projects and deploy

applications at THACO.

- Support to evaluate UD’s student quality

who works at THACO and to send feedbacks

and suggestions for improving the training

program.

- Funding support for the development of

laboratory research to serve the students and

faculty.

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29

THACO awards research grants to UD’s

students

THACO's Leaders meet students of THACO

Class

Automated welding robot developed by UD

and THACO researchers

Thang Long University, Vietnam

CASE STUDY 1: Cooperation with DELPHI

IMM GmbH, Germany: “Spatial Data

Network” project

“Spatial Data Network” (SDN) project is a

cooperation between DELPHI IMM GmbH,

Germany, with different governmental

institutions in Vietnam and TLU to establish a

so called „Spatial Data Network“ (SDN)

between the governmental institutions. SDN

is a technical solution for publishing and

sharing information between governmental

institutions, primarily the SDN supports

spatial information. The complete system uses

only open source components, so the

government of Vietnam has the possibility to

distribute the software to all governmental

institutions and spatial data can be managed

and shared between many government

institutions (Ministry of Planning and

Investment (MPI), Vietnam Ministry of

Construction, Ministry of Agriculture and

Rural Development, Hanoi People’s

Committee, etc.).

According to the agreement with TLU, DELPHI

IMM will organize and realize a training

course for the TLU so that TLU will become an

official contact for training SDN software in

Vietnam. The training course covers two parts.

The first part is a training course regarding the

installation and the support of the software.

The second part is a training course regarding

the usage of the SDN software. TLU will

provide the technical infrastructure and the

training room for the training courses.

The agreement is implemented firstly by staff

training: 10 teachers are trained in two phase.

Then the TLU teacher team participate

actively in the project as trainers. The

fundamental background for GIS training is

established: trained teachers, updated

programs, fully-equipped labs.

By involving in this project, TLU aims:

to gain experiences with the software

and achieve a status as an official training

institution for SDN software in Vietnam.

Developing Employability and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education

30

to develop a new subject, namely

Geographical Information System (GIS),

to gain experiences in using Open Source

Software as well as sharing spatial data of

different ownership rights (copyrighted

and free of use).

Curriculum Implications

With experiences from training courses and

the help of foreign specialist a new subject,

namely Geographical Information System (GIS)

is to be added to the Curriculum of TLU. The

subject will be developed and a new major

could be created if the subjects meet student

needs. The link between TLU and SDN is also

to be established.

To develop and deliver the project, following

resources are required:

10 teachers and specialist from 5

universities and 3 companies are

involved in the project. They are trained

to train students and develop curriculum.

Training program is to be developed

GIB labs (server, software).

There will be changes in the assessment of

students as the new subject (GIS) will be

supplemented in the TLU IT undergraduate

program.

Academic staff will directly participate in the

project and is in charge of training activities.

TLU aims to become the official contact for

training in this project.

The implications for quality assurance and

enhancement are positive as TLU will directly

take part into conducting the project activities.

Impact

Benefits are relevant to the development of

GIS training as well as data management and

sharing. GIS has large implications and

demands for huge human resources, so

students trained with GIS have a higher

chance of being recruited.

The curriculum will be changed and more

attractive as GIS subject is included.

The success of these activities is measured by:

Number of students registered in the

courses and number of the courses

provided.

Career development of graduated

students.

Qualification improvement of teachers.

Challenges of the project are the same as

other projects that involve starting up new

subjects: Lack of resources for training:

financial support, programs developed,

human resources (trained teachers), labs, and

link with the market. In addition, trainers and

trainees may find it difficult to arrange time to

follow a tightly-scheduled training period (10

days for 4-content courses, and 6 days for

grade 3-content courses). The contents of the

courses include practical applications but

those are limited to help trainees in reality.

Language barriers are existent as trainers

(from Japan) can only communicate with

trainees in either Japanese or English.

GIS teaching will be added to the curriculum

at TLU to improve the employability of

students. So our priority is to develop training

resources such as faculty teachers, updated

programs, facilities including special labs for

GIS. The alliance with GIS business community

(government institutions) also needs to be

enhanced.

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31

CASE STUDY 2: HR & Career Development

Thang Long University (TLU), along with four

other institutions in Vietnam, as a member of

Vietnam Association for Software

Development and Services (VINASA) is

currently part of a project to develop IT

human resources and enhance business-

university link which is sponsored by Japan

International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and

jointly carried out by Sapporo IT Front (SITF).

SITF is a regional collaboration platform

between IT industry and academia while

VINASA is a software business association

headquartered in Hanoi. Activities of the

project include the following:

1. Training of trainers who would teach

fundamental knowledge and skills of IoT

(Internet of Things);

2. Organization of courses for teaching IoT

knowledge and skills for selected students

and employees in IT companies. About 25

people are trained in each training course;

3. Establishment of a University Career

Support System connected with VINASA

HR/CD Platform on HR database (via

Career Anchor Analysis to retrieve

students data) that would analyse and

assess the employment database to

provide career support for university

students.

The first phase of the Project includes the first

two activities while the third task is currently

under implementation in the second phase.

The Project was initiated as SITF and VINASA

recognized the need to improve the skills of IT

workforces and to prepare future human

resources to satisfy the increasing demand in

the IT market. As for TLU, it entered the

Project as a member of VINASA and aims to

get experiences from participating into the

project, from businesses and the market as

well as prepare to teach a new module on IoT

and its applications. This project directly

relates to the needs for the development of IT

human resources of the government to meet

the increasing demand of the IT market.

Accordingly, SITF would support VINASA

members with respects to an online survey

system for HR/CD.

The key factor behind the development of the

Project is how to organize training programs

(both for teachers and students). At TLU, 10

teachers are trained to become trainers.

Additionally, students (both from TLU and

outside the University) are trained. The

training of students has been going on since

August 2015 with the target group being

students in the third and final year of their

undergraduate study (Later the program also

welcomed first-year students for some

fundamental workshops). 50 TLU students

have been trained until this moment. The

most recent training course took place at TLU

with 10 students from TLU, 4 students from

Posts and Telecommunications Institute of

Technology (PTIT) and 2 others from Vietnam

National University - University of Engineering

and Technology (VNU-UET). TLU receives

benefits from the Project as a team of its

teachers participated into the Project.

Fundamental basis and facilities for IoT

training has also been set up, including:

trained teachers, developed programs, and

lab equipment. Some students have been

successful in getting employed by a Japanese

Company in Hanoi.

University staff and students play an

important role in deploying this activity. More

specifically, a group of around 10 IT teachers

are actively involved in to all steps of the

Project (from the dossier preparation to the

ultimate management). Besides, some special

courses of IoT were offered at TLU, attracting

TLU students as well as employees from

outside companies.

Curriculum Implications

TLU directly participates in the activities of the

Project as a Member of the Project’s

Management Board and an active member of

VINASA and thus, takes part in the

Developing Employability and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education

32

management and implementation of the

project activities, including the preparation of

a carefully-managed curriculum. The Project

therefore has undeniable implications on

curriculum adopted by the University as a new

subject (IoT) has been successfully tested and

ready to be added to the Curriculum. As a

result, the student assessment would

undoubtedly be changed. The alliance of TLU

and IT business community has also been

established and students thus can actively

take part in number of practical working

situations.

The implementation of the Project requires a

number of resources, namely faculty teachers

who are trained to train students; training

programs to be developed; and IoT labs that

support the dissemination and application of

IoT knowledge.

Impact

All of the benefits of the Project are realized

with respects to the development of IoT

training and employment. Student

employability would undoubtedly be

enhanced as students take part in the project

from the beginning to the end so they learn

more about the practical working situations.

The curriculum was changed as one more

subject (IoT) was added (It is currently a

selective subject which is to become a

compulsory one in the future).

Challenges of the project are the same as

other projects that involve starting up new

subjects: Lack of resources for training:

financial support, programs developed,

human resources (trained teachers), labs, and

link with the market.

The performance of the Project is measured

by:

(1) The number of students registered in the

courses;

(2) Career development of graduated students

(number of students that can obtain jobs

suitable with their degrees); and

(3) The number of logins into the website as

for the system (online database) that analyses

and assesses the demand for IT human

resources (VINASA) and where companies can

find information about students to fill their

vacancy.

The Project would help TLU to firmly establish

IoT teaching at its campus; develop training

resources (faculty teachers, updated

programs, facilities including special labs for

IoT), as well as enhance the connection with

IT business community. Besides, through this

Project, TLU can improve the quality of

training in conjunction with the market

demand and participate in connecting

businesses with students.

Japanese teacher (the middle) and students.

Mr Yoshi – Japanese specialist in class.

Developing Employability and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education

34

Useful links for further reading

Approaches to employability –developing your action plans HEA

https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/resources/employability_framework.pdf

Enterprise and entrepreneurship education: Guidance for UK higher education providers (2012)

http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/enterprise-entrepreneurship-guidance.pdf

Summary of enterprise zone partnership between Government, Business and University

http://enterprisezones.communities.gov.uk/enterprise-zone-finder/sheffield-city-region-enterprise-

zone/

Sheffield University employability strategy

http://www.careers.dept.shef.ac.uk/unistaff/employability-strategy.pdf

Enterprise curricula at Sheffield University

https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/enterprise-business-planning.pdf

QAA report on good practice in employer engagement

http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/Employer-Engagement-Report.pdf

Handbook 2017

35

Survey of enterprise education in UK by National Centre for Entrepreneurship in Education 2012

http://ncee.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/NCEE__2012_Mapping_Report.pdf

Mapping Employability Toolkit

https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/uwstoolkit.pdf

Graduate Employability Skills. Prepared for the Business, Industry and Higher Education

Collaboration Council, August 2007

http://aces.shu.ac.uk/employability/resources/GraduateEmployabilitySkillsFINALREPORT1.pdf

Student Employability Profiles

https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/student_employability_profiles_apr07.pdf

Employability. Higher Education Academy

https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/workstreams-research/themes/employability

Developing Employability and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education

36