'key skills' (generic, transferable skills)

Kamel Boulos - UNICA Int’l Conference: Cities and their Universities, 25-27 Sep 2011, Univ of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland. Page 1 of 15

Serving our cities: Delivering world-class university education with emphasis on ‘key skills’ (generic, transferable skills) Maged N. Kamel Boulos, PhD, SMIEEE Associate Professor in Health Informatics Faculty of Health, Education and Society, Plymouth University Rm 201, 7 Portland Villas, Drake Circus, Plymouth, Devon PL4 8AA, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1752 586530 E-mail: [email protected] Abstract This paper discusses how universities can better serve their cities’ economy and social stability through boosting graduates’ employability in a rapidly and continuously changing and highly competitive workforce market (both locally and globally). Universities can achieve these interrelated goals by equipping their students with the arts and skills of utilisation of knowledge (key skills) rather than with knowledge per se. The author provides an overview of key skills in higher education and their importance, and covers, with a number of examples and resource pointers, the incorporation of key skills in the curriculum, key skills assessment, and Personal Development Planning (PDP). About the author: Originally a medical doctor, Maged N. Kamel Boulos, PhD, SMIEEE, is currently Associate Professor in Health Informatics at the University of Plymouth, UK. He was previously Lecturer in Healthcare Informatics at the University of Bath, and worked before that at City University London. Maged has >90 peer-reviewed publications on a specialist range of medical and public health informatics topics. He is Co-Chair of WG-IV/4 (Virtual Globes) within the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Commission IV, 2008-2012. He is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Health Geographics http://ij-healthgeographics.com/. He also serves on the editorial boards of other peer-reviewed publications. His research was partly funded by UK and international bodies, including UK TSB KTP Programme, UK Arts & Humanities Research Council, WHO EMRO and EURO, and European Commission. He delivered invited keynotes at a number of international events and his work received wide media coverage in the UK and abroad. “Education is the acquisition of the art of the utilisation of knowledge.” —Alfred North Whitehead,1 The Aims of Education and Other Essays (Note that it is NOT ‘the acquisition of knowledge’) An overview of key skills in higher education and their importance What are key skills? Key skills are a set of generic, transferable skills, considered central to academic, vocational and personal development. They enable individuals to perform more effectively in new, unfamiliar settings or contexts (hence there ‘transferability’).

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Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947) was a British mathematician, logician and philosopher. He authored the landmark three-volume Principia Mathematica (1910, 1912, 1913) in collaboration with Bertrand Russell. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/whitehead/


Many skills models and lists have appeared since the 1980s covering a spectrum of skills and attributes, ranging from traditionally defined academic skills to professional employment-related skills (Anonymous 2002a; see also University of Kent, UK, employability skills site and lists at http://www.kent.ac.uk/ careers/sk/skillsmap.htm and http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/skillsmenu.htm). Common to the majority are skills falling into a number of categories, such as:    

Personal skills, such as improving own learning, self-assessment, reflection on experience, action planning, time management, career management, use of initiative; Interpersonal skills, such as working with others, group work, teamwork, negotiation/conflict resolution, leadership; Communication (written and oral), numeracy, skills in using information technology; and Problem solving, critical thinking, objective reasoning, reflection, lateral thinking/creativity, entrepreneurship.

Some associated attitudes and understandings are also widely accepted, including:   

A positive attitude to change (flexibility/adaptability); Values and personal integrity; and Understanding the worlds of work, politics, business (economic awareness) and society.

An Australian National Training Authority report published in 2003 identifies the following elements as common to various listings of key skills: basic/fundamental skills, such as literacy, using numbers, and using technology; people-related skills, such as communication, interpersonal, teamwork, and customerservice skills; conceptual/thinking skills, such as collecting and organising information, problem-solving, planning and organising, learning-to-learn skills, thinking innovatively and creatively, and systems thinking; personal skills and attributes, such as being responsible, resourceful, flexible, able to manage own time, and having self-esteem; skills related to the business world, such as innovation skills and enterprise skills; and skills related to the community, such as civic or citizenship knowledge and skills (Australian National Training Authority 2003). Various terms are used in different countries to describe key skills (Australian National Training Authority 2003); for example, core skills, key skills, and common skills (UK); essential skills (New Zealand); key competencies, employability skills, and generic skills (Australia); employability skills (Canada); basic skills, necessary skills, and workplace know-how (United States); critical enabling skills (Singapore); transferable skills (France); key qualifications (Germany); trans-disciplinary goals (Switzerland); and process independent qualifications (Denmark). Why do we need key skills? Graduates equipped with the appropriate key skills are significantly more employable in their local job market and able to gain a competitive advantage in the international job market, besides being able to deploy their skills as good national and global citizens in the service of the wider community to support economic and social development. They are also potentially more successful and fulfilled in their own personal and social lives (Fallows, Steven 2000).


Pre-university key skills: the QCDA example (England and Northern Ireland) The QCDA (Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency - http://www.qcda.gov.uk/) skills apply to pre-university students in England and Northern Ireland and have been defined as communication, information technology, application of number, working with others, improving own learning and performance, and problem solving. Detailed specifications have been drawn up, covering five levels of achievement. Progression to a higher skill level is characterised by greater autonomy of the student in deciding how he/she will apply his/her different skills to various tasks and problems in progressively demanding situations, where wider ranges of increasingly complex approaches and techniques are required (Anonymous 2004a). Universities should carry out some form of initial diagnosis of new students’ pre-university skill levels (skills audit) at time of admission in order to plan for progression. (As of August 2011, QCDA is closing as part of the Government’s education reforms, but its specifications of pre-university skills remain a good model that others can learn from.) The Dearing Report In the UK, it was the Dearing Report review into higher education (HE) led by Sir Ron Dearing in 1997 (https://bei.leeds.ac.uk/Partners/NCIHE/) that brought the importance of key skills into prominence for the HE sector. Dearing stressed the importance of four skills as being “relevant throughout life, not simply in employment”:    

Communication skills; Numeracy; The use of information technology; and Learning how to learn.

The ‘learning to learn’ skill was regarded by Dearing as being particularly essential to HE students, “because of the importance we place on creating a learning society at a time when much specific knowledge will quickly become obsolete. Those leaving higher education will need to understand how to learn and how to manage their own learning and recognise that the process continues throughout life”. The Dearing Report recommended that these four key skills should form part of the programme specifications as one of the intended outcomes for all degree level courses. As well as advising that universities should place value on ‘good levels of competence in communication, numeracy and the practical use of information technology’ in their admissions procedures (Recommendation 17), the Dearing Report went on to recommend that institutions produce ‘programme specifications’ for all degree level programmes, which identify potential milestone points and intended outcomes in relation to:    

“the knowledge and understanding that a student will be expected to have upon completion; key skills: communication, numeracy, the use of information technology and learning how to learn; cognitive skills, such as understanding of methodologies or ability in critical analysis; subject specific skills, such as laboratory skills.” (Dearing Report on HE, Recommendation 21)


In other words, all higher education programmes should include opportunities for such skills to be assessed and recorded. Universities should develop ways to clearly signpost their presence within all programmes of study, and be able to report on their development within records that are kept of student progress. Universities also need to pay attention to key skills within their admissions procedures (as this will help determine the baseline upon which to plan and build further development of the skills). Example of a key skills list Used at some UK universities Main key skills (for all students):         

Writing skills; Information skills; Communication skills; Working with others; IT (Information Technology) skills; Working with numbers; Solving problems; Improving learning (time management); and Career management (decision making).

For postgraduate research students, a wider and more complex range of generic, transferrable skills is needed. Transferrable skills for postgraduate research students There is a growing need for science and medicine graduates to acquire additional skills in “non-scientific” discipline areas. A recent report released by the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) advocated the inclusion of elective courses in business, law, education, and public policy into the curriculum for all scientists seeking doctoral degrees. The NAS Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy (COSEPUP) specifically promotes the training of PhDs in a broader range of skills in order to make PhDs more adaptable in a changing and complex job market. The broad topic areas deemed essential for this purpose (business, law, education and public policy) subsume such considerations as communication skills, formulating professional goals, mentoring, data management, fiscal issues, technology transfer, licensing, entrepreneurship, assessment of commercial potential, business plan development, venture capital, stock market issues, strategic management, corporate decision making, deal structures, etc. Many of the previous items are very relevant in medicine, healthcare practice and health informatics. Merle Olson, chairman of biochemistry back in 1995 at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, US, delivered a graduate course entitled “The Behavior of Biochemists”, in which future scientists were taught the importance of effective communication skills and self-confidence; how to support or argue for a scientific viewpoint; how to gracefully accept constructive criticism; what to look for in mentors; how to formulate professional goals; and how to apply for research funding (Sharma, Trankina 1995). Another good example is the Master’s programme in biotechnology at Northwestern


University, Illinois, US (http://mbp.northwestern.edu/), which requires coursework in business issues, as well as in scientific methods and research. In the UK, the Research Councils have recommended that research students should spend 10 days per year in generic transferable skills training (75 hours). The general requirements are to develop skills in the following areas: research skills and techniques, research environment, research management, personal effectiveness, communication skills, networking and team-working, and career management (see http://tinyurl.com/3t6jfol). A research degree should not be seen as a narrow training for academic research but as a preparation for a wider research/ applied research careers (e.g., in the industry) In this respect, the Research Councils are viewing the outputs of research programmes much more in terms of trained researchers rather than research produced by the students. This strong emphasis is not just confined to the UK, but can also be seen in other developed countries such as Australia, for example, where there are now similar requirements and provisions in place (Manathunga, Wissler 2003; see also http://www.ddogs.edu.au/files?folder_id=2123770849). Students’ responsibility The full involvement of students in planning the development, developing, assessing and improving their own keys skills is crucial. Students must know that while a comprehensive range of learning support and many skills acquisition and training course options (e.g., to learn a foreign language, improve their IT/Internet skills, master negotiation skills, etc.) are provided to them by the university, they themselves have responsibility for their own path planning and skills development within a higher education context (Murphy 2001). Work carried out at the Open University and elsewhere in the UK suggests that the use of a personal log of skills development (e-portfolio/PDP (Personal Development Planning)—cf. the trainee surgeon’s logbook or clinician’s CPD (Continuing Professional Development) log), in conjunction with a professional dialogue between tutor and student could be a workable and sufficiently reliable basis for key skills assessment. However, unless the message on skills is reinforced at regular intervals and at all levels (continuing follow-up/feedback from tutors is very important!), students might become disengaged from the process (Murphy 2001). What employers want and role of universities in improving students’ employability skills “Competence-based recruitment” has become a common phrase nowadays in the job market. Recruiters use competences such as team working, problem-solving and leadership skills as selection criteria because they are the skills that employers know are essential for success on the job and for career progression. TARGET IT 2004 (Anonymous 2004b) lists the following core competences: 

 

Communication (keeping verbal and written communication clear, concise and confident; understanding your audience and tailoring your communication; listening to and considering the views of others); Teamwork (building and maintaining positive working relationships; sharing information with others; supporting others and showing respect for alternative views); Business awareness (demonstrating knowledge of the sector, the employer and its competitors; understanding key business issues and their commercial impact);


   

Drive and motivation (showing determination to achieve an end result; demonstrating optimism and enthusiasm even when the going gets tough); Problem solving (displaying a logical and analytical approach to problem solving; viewing problems from a number of angles); Planning and organisation (planning work and delivering it on time); and Leadership potential (considering and identifying what motivates others; leading by example).

A student’s self-perception of his/her skills can be much higher than that of their prospective employer. Addressing this skills gap is an important factor in improving the employability of graduates (Anonymous 2002b). Lessons can be learned from the positive experience of the University of East London Business School in improving its students’ employability skills by using a mock assessment centre and tailored exercises to better prepare its students for the job market (watch video report at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlnGHON2stM). Incorporating key skills in the curriculum, key skills assessment, and PDP—with examples “At a seminar for HE (Higher Education) Careers Advisers, representatives from the world’s leading companies in the IT sector stressed the need for new graduate recruits to have better communication, presentation, literacy and numeracy skills, more experience of team working, and an ability to reflect on their work in order to see how they might improve their future performance. These ‘key skills’ were said to be more important than the subject discipline they had studied, and even of the class of the degree, and there was a consensus that many graduates do not possess them to the required levels. This provoked a debate about the development of these skills within a degree course and it was astonishing to hear tutors and recent graduates stating quite firmly that the proper place to develop them was in extra-curricular activities and in their part-time and vacation work. There appeared to be little recognition of the fact that a History student, for example, might be required to give a presentation of a research report, or have to handle data, make calculations, and perhaps even work with other students on a collaborative activity! And the same would be true of any other HE discipline.” (Burke 2002) “In terms of educating our students at present and in the future, we clearly have to tackle the thorny issue of curriculum content, hence the earlier review of curriculum content. Because of the rapid and extensive increase in knowledge in the subject matter, we have tended to concentrate on factual information and to overemphasise this with our students – one only has to look to final exam papers to see that this is indeed the case! This has resulted in information overload and has been shown to be a disservice to our students particularly since the average half-life of the information that we are exposing them to is of the order of 4-5 years – hardly sufficient to see them through their subsequent careers. Clearly what is required is for us to teach our students ‘how to learn’ from the vast array of information that is available. In this way they have the opportunity to develop their own processing, problem-posing and problem-solving abilities and it is these skills which will serve them well in incorporating further new information and concepts as these arise and in adapting to inevitable and inexorable change.” —Professor Charles Bryce of Napier University School of Life Sciences, Scotland (Bryce 2004) This author particularly likes Bryce’s water tap/bottle metaphor (presented at Saudi Bio 2004: Bryce 2004), and has created a photomontage (Figure 1) to illustrate it. The bottle (finite capacity) represents students, and water represents information and knowledge we are trying to put in their heads. Overflow represents information overload.


Figure 1. The water tap /bottle metaphor. The main message the water tap/bottle metaphor is trying to convey is the need for educational content designers and authors to be carefully selective in deciding what they want their students to learn by the end of a particular course of study (what to put in the “bottle with finite capacity”) and to place stronger emphasis on those key skills (this author calls them “survival” skills) that will continue to be transferable and usable many years ahead, even after the current corpus of knowledge becomes obsolete. Incorporating key skills in our teaching: some tips Securing cross institutional support: Key skills integration plans are more likely to be successful if they have solid support from across the university at all levels: senior management, academics, other university staff (e.g., learning technologists, career advisory staff, library and IT support staff, etc.), and at central, faculty and school/department levels (see http://www.innovations.ac.uk/btg/projects/theme2/). Reflective practice: Regularly questioning and evaluating our teaching in order to improve our long-term educational outcomes (e.g., our graduates’ employability) and match employers’ and industry


expectations and requirements in this respect. The latter (industry requirements) also need to be reassessed periodically. Adopting iterative (‘action research’) and systems approaches to curriculum design and content development (Figure 2): Course content objectives should be adapted to the context of, and be in harmony with, the Who (characteristics of students), What, Where, Delivery Media and Methods, and Evaluation/ Assessment of the course (unit) in question (and the corresponding Programme to which this course belongs). An iterative approach is also recommended, whereby a course is evaluated/reviewed at regular intervals (e.g., at the end of each running cycle and/or academic year) and readjusted/optimised accordingly (reflective practice).

Figure 2. A systems approach to content design—adapted from Bryce (2004). Motivating and inspiring students: “Students are likely to take key skills more seriously if they are part of the (assessed) mainstream curriculum, rather than bolt-on courses, and if they can see the value of what they are learning” (see http://www.innovations.ac.uk/btg/projects/theme2/). Mapping course descriptions and learning objectives (outcomes) to key skills: This involves cross referencing Learning Outcomes to the sorts of “generic” Skills being or expected to be developed by putting an abbreviation at the end of each Learning Outcome to indicate what sort of Skill that Learning Outcome is addressing and how (taught and assessed or partially taught/facilitated). Skill abbreviations used by this author (Figure 3) are: Writing Skills (WS); Information Skills (IS); Communication Skills (CS); Working with Others; (WWO); IT Skills (ITS); Working with Numbers (WWN); Solving Problems (SP); Improving Learning (Time Management—TM); and Career Management (Decision Making—DM). Many key skills already form part of the curriculum, recognition of these is a useful way forward (Anonymous 2002b). This ‘mapping exercise’ is one way to formally articulate and spell out clearly what is already there, so that it can be modified/improved as necessary (and also monitored).


Figure 3. A practical example of mapping the Learning Outcomes of an MSc Unit to Key Skills (by the author, 2004). Embedding (applied) research and practical relevance in courses: Curriculum and content authors should also strive to promote and stimulate lateral thinking, intuition and creativity (all of which are transferrable and essential problem solving skills) in their students rather than just vertical linear thinking and memorisation/regurgitation of facts. Verran (2010) provides some interesting examples of opportunities for students to acquire employability skills as part of a university microbiology degree curriculum. She believes this to be “particularly beneficial if the students can perceive a real relevance to the subject and to their own personal development”. Many of the examples described in her paper yielded outcomes over and above an assessment mark, valuable to the intended audience, to the student authors and to the staff involved in the activity (Verran 2010). Integrating the use of appropriate technologies to facilitate key skills acquisition: For example, the addition of synchronous interaction to distance education, e.g., audio conferencing, enables the integration of communication into the structure of what are otherwise asynchronous distance learning courses, resulting in students being actively able to practice and negotiate live communication situations (that would be impossible in a purely asynchronous setting), as well as an increase in technology literacy among students who are introduced to Web conferencing (both are key skills) (Kamel Boulos et al. 2005).


Back in 2004, Lilian Austin, an Australian educator, was involved in a project focused on understanding issues involved in successful integration of generic skills acquisition into online learning program. In her final project presentation video (available at http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au/content/lilian-austin-finalpresentation-flexible-learning-leaders-2004), she discusses how online learning strategies and tools can be used to foster generic/key skills and to record their development. More recently, the Faculty of Society and Health at Buckinghamshire New University, UK, while acknowledging that literacy and numeracy skill development is an integral part of the academic modules of their current pre-registration nursing curriculum, decided to launch a special programme, which they called E-Support4U, in semester two of 2008, with the aim of extending academic writing support beyond the boundaries of the university and into the practice domain. E-Support4U provided participants with the necessary skills to access and use their online virtual learning environment and associated social software tools, namely blogs and wikis, to undertake a series of academic writing ‘e-tivities’. The project recommendations include early introduction of blended learning and incorporation of Social Web (‘Web 2.0’) technology into the curriculum (Griffiths, Nicolls 2010). Key skills assessment There are several aspects of key skills which make them very challenging to assess (Murphy 2001): “They are defined as being transferable, they should be assessed in a variety of contexts in order to demonstrate that the individual can transfer whichever skill is being assessed. “The real test of their acquisition is their use in naturally occurring novel situations, and thus that is where the most valid assessment will occur. “The same skills may be developed in a wide variety of courses, modules, and extracurricular settings, though their assessment normally transcends course-based assessment arrangements and needs to be more holistic. “The reporting of the results of such skill assessments needs to be in a form that is understandable by someone, who may not be familiar with the particular skills definitions used by different HE institutions. “It is unlikely that students will welcome time spent on skills development which does not have a direct positive bearing on their main work or subsequent career prospects.” As with other assessments, evaluation of student performance can only be made on the basis of evidence, and for key skills assessment, the broader the range of evidence is, the more reliable the judgements are likely to be. Given the generic and applied natures and transferability of key skills, evidence that is drawn from different contexts, on different occasions, and from different sorts of activities, is likely to provide a much more reliable basis for assessment and demonstrate development of skills over time, than evidence arising from a single or repetitively similar activity (Burke 2002). It is also of prime importance to actively engage students in the assessment process, if they are to develop their skills as reflective learners, and in the context of personal development planning. Such an approach will also emphasise the formative potential of skill development (and its continuing nature), which in turn should reinforce the relevance of the skills within the degree course they are embedded in (Burke 2002).


On the contrary, using one-time, conventional timed pencil and paper tests, multiple choice tests, and purely ‘tick box’ assessments, will do little to reveal appropriate evidence of achievement and can undermine the role of the key skills. The ideal solution to questions of key skills embedding in the curriculum and assessment is for educators to adopt a range of teaching and learning activities that are relevant to their subject disciplines and from which evidence of key skills achievement will emerge naturally (Burke 2002; Murphy 2001). According to Murphy (2001), good schemes for key skills assessment tend to: “Allow the collection of assessment evidence from a wide variety of real life settings where skill acquisition can be demonstrated (e.g., preparing and presenting a paper (orally or as poster) at some major national conference or an international event). “Link summary assessments of key skills to specific sources of evidence upon which those assessments are based (this frequently involves the collection of such evidence within a portfolio). “Show development of the skill over time rather than a single snapshot assessment at one point in time. “Inform in a formative way the actions of the learner (and in some instances their tutors), rather than simply be seen as a mechanism for reporting such things to a much wider audience (for example potential employers).” On the other hand, poor schemes for key skills assessment tend to (Murphy 2001): “Use restricted assessment tools such as timed paper and pencil multiple choice and short answer tests, which do not relate to the way in which such skills are defined and/or need to be demonstrated. “Result in ‘tick box’ assessments which carry no information about the evidence upon which assessments are based. “Simply report on the experiences that students have had without making any attempt to estimate the extent to which these have influenced their acquisition of the skills. “Report on skills acquisition in relation to particular skills areas, which are specific to a course or institution, and which are not well understood by others. “Result from poorly standardised and idiosyncratic assessments carried out by individual assessors, where judgements may not relate to those of other assessors.” Figure 4 shows examples of UK higher education key skills self-audit forms. Personal Development Planning (PDP) PDP is defined by the UK Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA http://www.qaa.ac.uk/) as “a structured and supported process undertaken by an individual to reflect upon their own learning, performance and/or achievement and to plan for their personal, educational and career development”. The process involves using electronic/Web-based portfolios (Lorenzo, Ittelson 2005) that provide an opportunity for students to reflect on, monitor, record, and plan their own development throughout the time of their study/training (Figure 5). The Keynote Project at Leeds University, UK, has published a useful PDP guide for students and made it freely available at http://www.leeds.ac.uk/textiles/keynote/Keynote_PDP/.


Figure 4. Examples of UK higher education key skills self-audit forms.


Educators should encourage course-related or extracurricular projects that enable students to use their skills to the benefit of the local community. These projects are a great opportunity to practise key skills in real world settings and gather the required ‘evidence of achievement’ for PDP portfolios.

Figure 5. PDP form example. SMART (in goal setting) is an acronym that refers to Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.


PDP helps improving own learning and performance (a key skill by itself— ‘learning how to learn’), which cannot be accomplished successfully without target setting, progress reviews, reflection, updating targets, and recording, all of which are fundamental to PDP. As such, PDP also encourages the habits of planning, reflection and evidence gathering, and facilitates record keeping skills for future academic and professional needs. Keele University, UK, describes four stages of the PDP cycle summarised as live it, log it, learn from it, and look ahead/action plan (see diagram and details at http://www.keele.ac.uk/pdp/pdpcycle/). However, educators are advised not to (let their students) overdo the PDP process and get engulfed in lots of (artificial) evidence gathering and documentation bureaucracy. Students might regard the evidence gathering and reporting as onerous and lack of time might stand as a barrier to successful PDP. But all such potential issues can be mitigated by a realistic adoption of PDP and well-balanced portfolio evidence documentation requirements that are also tied to the assessed curriculum. Conclusions and additional resources Key skills are common to all learning, problem-solving and communication activities, both at work and in other aspects of life (hence the ‘lifelong transferability’ of these skills). These skills underpin a student’s future effectiveness (after graduation) in how he/she will perform in a wide range of real-world settings and contexts, whether new or familiar. In this paper, we presented an overview of key skills in higher education and their importance, and discussed the incorporation of key skills in the curriculum, key skills assessment, and Personal Development Planning (PDP). Table 1 lists some additional hand-picked pointers to relevant online resources and reading material on the subject. Resource description Key Skills 4 U (UK)

Internet address http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=296435 and http://www.keyskills4u.net/ http://keyskills.bournemouth.ac.uk

A comprehensive Web-based resource for UK university students, especially undergraduates, though content is a bit outdated by 2011 standards A support package for universities from the http://www.llas.ac.uk/resourcedownloads/1418/Cdell.exe Centre for Developing and Evaluating (Windows executable package - 5.12 MB) Lifelong Learning (CDELL) at the University of Nottingham, UK; emphasises the fact that each discipline needs to develop its own tailored version of key skills that are appropriate to their students and the corresponding job market Core Competencies Adopted to Help http://bit.ly/hhPNNa Strengthen the Public Health Workforce (Public Health Foundation, Washington, DC, US) A step-by-step guide on how to integrate http://www.skillsproject.ie/integrate/index.html transferable skills into the curriculum (Republic of Ireland) Table 1. Some additional hand-picked pointers to relevant online resources and reading material on key skills.


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Anonymous (2002a). Introducing and supporting key skills in higher education--Agendas ideas and issues for university departments. Centre for Developing and Evaluating Lifelong Learning (CDELL), University of Nottingham, October 2002. http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/shared/shared_cdell/pdf-reports/keyskillspack.pdf Anonymous (2002b). Bridging the Gap—Key Skills in Higher Education (Briefing Paper - no: 2). The Open University Centre for Higher Education Practice, 2002. http://www.innovations.ac.uk/btg/resources/publications/keyskills.pdf Anonymous (2004a). The key skills qualifications standards and guidance. London: Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, 2004 (ISBN 1 85838 548 2). http://www.qcda.gov.uk/resources/assets/7426_ks_quals_standards_guidance_2004.pdf Anonymous (2004b). TARGET IT 2004—Edition 7. Oxon, UK: GTI Specialist Publishers, 2004, pp. 8-9 (“Know what recruiters want”) Australian National Training Authority. Defining generic skills. At a glance. Adelaide: NCVER, 2003 http://www.ncver.edu.au/research/proj/nr2102b.pdf (requires free registration to access) Bryce CFA. Education and Training Requirements for the Modern Biotechnology Industry. In: Proceedings of Saudi Bio 2004 International Biotechnology Conference, Jeddah, 10-12 May 2004, pp. 34-37. Burke P. Resource Guide: The Development of Key Skills in Higher Education. Learning and Teaching Support Network—LTSN Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism, 2002. http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/hlst/documents/resource_guides/development_of_keyskills_i n_higher_education.pdf Fallows S, Steven C (Editors). Integrating Key Skills in Higher Education: Employability, Transferable Skills and Learning for Life. London: Kogan Page Limited/Routledge, 2000. Griffiths L, Nicolls B. e-Support4U: An evaluation of academic writing skills support in practice. Nurse Educ Pract. 2010 Nov;10(6):341-8. http://tinyurl.com/3lle9e3 Kamel Boulos MN, Taylor AD, Breton A. A Synchronous Communication Experiment within an Online Distance Learning Program: A Case Study. Telemedicine Journal and e-Health. 2005; 11(5):583-593. http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2005.11.583 Lorenzo G, Ittelson J. An Overview of E-Portfolios. Educause Learning Initiative, ELI Paper, 128, 2005. http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI3001.pdf Manathunga C, Wissler RC. Generic skill development for research higher degree students: an Australian example. International Journal of Instructional Media. 2003;30(3):233-246. Murphy R. A Briefing on Key Skills in Higher Education (Assessment Series No.5). Learning and Teaching Support Network—LTSN Generic Centre, November 2001. http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/York/documents/resources/database/id5_Briefing_on_Key_S kills_in_Higher_Education.rtf Sharma J, Trankina M. Transferable Skills: A Scientist’s Asset. The Scientist. 1995;9(11):12. Verran J. Encouraging creativity and employability skills in undergraduate microbiologists. Trends Microbiol. 2010 Feb;18(2):56-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2009.12.006