Spotlighting Experiential Learning, Skills Development, and Community Engagement

Thank you for joining us for the second installment of our newsletter series, where we explore the evolving landscape of experiential learning, skills development, and community engagement. Building on the themes from our inaugural edition, we continue to share fresh insights, success stories, and emerging trends that connect education, employability, and social impact.

A couple of articles from the MENA region to start. 

1. An article from Al-Fanar Media entitled Fourth Generation Universities : Changing the Game in Higher Education. It talks about fourth-generation universities in the Arab world, like Morocco's UM6P, which integrate education, research, and community service to address real-world challenges such as sustainability and employability, driving regional development and innovation. The notion of fourth-generation university model is new for me. 
2. An article from BMC Medical Education which is from Springer Nature entitled Developing a tool to evaluate the impact of a student-led community-engaging health promotion project on knowledge translation skills in medical students. This presents the results of a study at Alfaisal University in Riyadh which validated a questionnaire showing that student-led health promotion projects significantly improve medical students' knowledge translation, communication, and teamwork skills. What I found interesting in here is the notion of student-led and skills. 

 Now from the US.

3. An article in Deseret News entitled Utah’s college grads often lacking ‘durable skills’ to succeed in industry, study claims. This study commissioned by the Utah System of Higher Education reveals that many graduates from the state's public colleges lack essential "durable skills"—such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication—necessary for workplace success. The study recommends enhanced collaboration between universities and industries to align educational programs with workforce needs, emphasizing the value of internships and apprenticeships in providing practical experience. Here is a link to the study. 
4. Another article from University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), who is very active in this space, entitled New SDS partnership brings real-world opportunities for UTSA students. UTSA's School of Data Science partnered with Federal IT Consulting to create the UTSA Headache Cure Board, allowing graduate students to tackle real-world data science challenges. This initiative provides hands-on experience, strengthens career prospects, and connects students with industry leaders. I like this notion of a headache cure board, or ecosystem where external partners can bring problems for students to work on. 
5. An article from Forbes dated January 1^st and entitled Top Schools Preparing Students for Future Careers.  It highlights a new breed of institutions like Western Governors University (WGU), Quantic, and Minerva, which are equipping students for AI-driven careers through experiential learning, innovation, and global immersion. 
6. An article from Virgina Commonwealth University (VCU) entitled Focused Inquiry joins VCU’s College of Humanities and Sciences. The Department of Focused Inquiry will join the College of Humanities and Sciences in January 2025. Previously part of University College, this department offers small, seminar-style classes for first- and second-year students, emphasizing critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills. The move aims to enhance collaboration between Focused Inquiry and various academic departments, providing students with a more cohesive and enriching educational experience. 

And finally one from the UK on Chinese students

7. An article from University World News The way Chinese students are choosing a UK university is changing. This article, mostly based on qualitative interviews, has interesting insights surrounding importance of rankings, cost of living etc. But for the sake of this email, it’s more the section on employability that is relevant.