Set Your Mind on the Future.
UAS Teaching Projects that Strengthen Future Work Skills
This text’s title is also the motto of our advertising activities – and the core objective of our study and further education programmes: to provide our students with the knowledge and skills that will be sought after in tomorrow’s labour market. The following project examples show how our lecturers embed Future Work Skills in the curricula.
Video Consultations and Virtual Patients
The degree programmes Physiotherapy and Digital Healthcare focus intensively on new forms of telerehabilitation and digital communication in the medical field. During their education, the students develop communication channels for training at home and for social exchange among senior citizens.
At the same time, the students themselves prepare for telework and video consultations. In order to improve the treatment of the patients, the interdisciplinary collaboration between the various healthcare and social professions is becoming increasingly important.
To prepare future experts for this early on, the St. Pölten UAS has launched the interprofessional teaching project PROMISE which features students of the programmes Dietetics, Physiotherapy, Healthcare and Nursing PLUS and Social Work dedicating themselves to concrete case examples together. Incidentally, the (future) dieticians at the St. Pölten UAS practise their skills on virtual patients as well.
The event “Leadership and Digital Innovation“ for the study programmes Physiotherapy and Dietetics promotes innovative thinking and action, while an interdisciplinary Idea Lab conveys digital know-how using digital media and applications such as nutrition apps. Furthermore, the new curriculum of the degree programme Dietetics is going to strengthen demanded future skills like critical thinking, emotional intelligence, intercultural competence, and transdisciplinarity.
Harvesting Ideas in Munich this Summer
During their studies at the Department of Media and Economics, the students develop numerous new ideas – often entirely independent of the impulses provided in the courses. Quite frequently, however, there is not enough time in the courses to thoroughly think such ideas through to the end. This is where the start-up camp and a creativity course come in to further develop projects and, if applicable, put them into practice as well.
An entire week is dedicated to this purpose every year. During this week, the students are supported by six to eight coaches from various segments of the economy – deliberately not at the St. Pölten UAS but in Munich. The main task of the coaches is to point out possibilities and provide food for thought. Under their expert supervision, the students further develop their ideas for start-ups and initiatives, thus putting their project-based learning to practical use.
Using Experiments and Games to Acquire Business Skills
In the real-life business game “How do I found a railway company“ in the master degree programme Rail Technology and Management of Railway Systems, the students learn important business competencies. Tasks in the reality-based setting include the design and the implementation strategy of own business ideas in the railway sector.
In this game, the students assume the roles of different players in the railway system. They exercise entrepreneurial thinking, the establishment of collaborations, actions in predefined but self-chosen roles, business interaction with partners, competitors, authorities and clients, and the professional presentation of their approaches.
The linking of infrastructure and sales areas, and an in-depth understanding of the system are the primary objectives. For this reason, the course was designed “back to front”: which competencies are to be acquired, which teaching method is suitable for this goal, and how can the teaching content be checked?
More Personality, more Professionality
The bachelor degree programme Social Work includes a personality development module that accompanies students from their first to sixth semester. Titled “Professional Development”, this module promotes an informed self-awareness of the students’ own professional personality. In addition to the reflection on their own development, the students learn, for example, to understand other people’s views or to adopt a higher perspective on “the big picture”. The personality development constitutes an equal building block alongside other study content such as practical focus areas or scientific work methods.
Key Competencies in Technical Professions
With the two degree programmes IT Security and Information Security, the St. Pölten UAS offers a consecutive 360-degree training covering all key focus areas of IT security. The curricula have been continuously further developed since 2015 in order to systematically integrate new key competencies into the courses alongside the technical expertise.
The students’ performance in these key competencies is reflected in the overall grade of the respective course. These skills refer to methodological competencies (e.g. analysis and synthesis skills), social skills (e.g. cooperation and communication skills) and personal skills (e.g. self-management and ethical awareness).
These skills are first taught and promoted by experts and are supposed to prepare the graduates for a dynamic working world.
Blog on the Topic
To list all projects, courses and initiatives on Future Work Skills would go beyond the scope of this description. Further examples can be found in the blog of the Service and Competence Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (SKILL).
and Digital Healthcare focus intensively on new forms of telerehabilitation and digital communication in the medical field. During their education, the students develop communication channels for training at home and for social exchange among senior citizens.
At the same time, the students themselves prepare for telework and video consultations. In order to improve the treatment of the patients, the interdisciplinary collaboration between the various healthcare and social professions is becoming increasingly important.
To prepare future experts for this early on, the St. Pölten UAS has launched the interprofessional teaching project PROMISE which features students of the programmes Dietetics, Physiotherapy, Healthcare and Nursing PLUS and Social Work dedicating themselves to concrete case examples together. Incidentally, the (future) dieticians at the St. Pölten UAS practise their skills on virtual patients as well.
The event “Leadership and Digital Innovation“ for the study programmes Physiotherapy and Dietetics promotes innovative thinking and action, while an interdisciplinary Idea Lab conveys digital know-how using digital media and applications such as nutrition apps. Furthermore, the new curriculum of the degree programme Dietetics is going to strengthen demanded future skills like critical thinking, emotional intelligence, intercultural competence, and transdisciplinarity.
Harvesting Ideas in Munich this Summer
During their studies at the Department of Media and Economics, the students develop numerous new ideas – often entirely independent of the impulses provided in the courses. Quite frequently, however, there is not enough time in the courses to thoroughly think such ideas through to the end. This is where the start-up camp and a creativity course come in to further develop projects and, if applicable, put them into practice as well.
An entire week is dedicated to this purpose every year. During this week, the students are supported by six to eight coaches from various segments of the economy – deliberately not at the St. Pölten UAS but in Munich. The main task of the coaches is to point out possibilities and provide food for thought. Under their expert supervision, the students further develop their ideas for start-ups and initiatives, thus putting their project-based learning to practical use.
Using Experiments and Games to Acquire Business Skills
In the real-life business game “How do I found a railway company“ in the master degree programme Rail Technology and Management of Railway Systems, the students learn important business competencies. Tasks in the reality-based setting include the design and the implementation strategy of own business ideas in the railway sector.
In this game, the students assume the roles of different players in the railway system. They exercise entrepreneurial thinking, the establishment of collaborations, actions in predefined but self-chosen roles, business interaction with partners, competitors, authorities and clients, and the professional presentation of their approaches.
The linking of infrastructure and sales areas, and an in-depth understanding of the system are the primary objectives. For this reason, the course was designed “back to front”: which competencies are to be acquired, which teaching method is suitable for this goal, and how can the teaching content be checked?
More Personality, more Professionality
The bachelor degree programme Social Work includes a personality development module that accompanies students from their first to sixth semester. Titled “Professional Development”, this module promotes an informed self-awareness of the students’ own professional personality. In addition to the reflection on their own development, the students learn, for example, to understand other people’s views or to adopt a higher perspective on “the big picture”. The personality development constitutes an equal building block alongside other study content such as practical focus areas or scientific work methods.
Key Competencies in Technical Professions
With the two degree programmes IT Security and Information Security, the St. Pölten UAS offers a consecutive 360-degree training covering all key focus areas of IT security. The curricula have been continuously further developed since 2015 in order to systematically integrate new key competencies into the courses alongside the technical expertise.
The students’ performance in these key competencies is reflected in the overall grade of the respective course. These skills refer to methodological competencies (e.g. analysis and synthesis skills), social skills (e.g. cooperation and communication skills) and personal skills (e.g. self-management and ethical awareness).
These skills are first taught and promoted by experts and are supposed to prepare the graduates for a dynamic working world.
Blog on the Topic
To list all projects, courses and initiatives on Future Work Skills would go beyond the scope of this description. Further examples can be found in the blog of the Service and Competence Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (SKILL).