Abstract, presentation Businet conference, Educating for employability, 11 March 2021, 10:00 CET

Institutions of higher education are required to demonstrate societal value (as institutions) and relevance (for individual learners). National and supra-national policymakers, international organisations (e.g. the OECD) and think tank organisations (e.g. the WEF, World Economic Forum) all point out to significant mismatches between the labour market needs and the skill supply.  

The world is changing very fast and Institutions of Higher Education are often criticized for offering too little relevant and up-to-date education, and for lacking to provide students with the 21st century skills needed to play an active role in society as innovators, entrepreneurs or intrapreneurs in the workplace.  

Yet there are tremendous examples of successful innovations in education across institutions which have enhanced student employability to support new developments such as those around a sustainable economy, climate change, automation and machine learning.    

The Covid-19 crisis has shown tremendous strain on students when skills such resilience, creativity and entrepreneurship, self-leadership or problem solving have become even more important than ever before.   

Institutions of Higher Education HEIs have a great opportunity to enhance the acquisition of these skills and others in the future, to help students, learn to learn (to participate and contribute to a rapidly changing world) and learn to discern (i.e. factual information amidst the constant information flow), as also advocated by the WEF.    

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