A perspective from Higher Education point of view. Embedding Skills, competencies, and values in Higher education.

1. Skills, Competencies and Values in Higher Education
February 11, 2015

2. Agenda
Importance of Domain Skills in HE
Incorporating Skill Based Courses in Arts,
Science and Commerce Programs
Strategy for Building Competency
Strategy for Building Values in HE

3. Goals of Higher Education
Economic Empowerment
Societal Empowerment
Knowledge Creation

4. (C) Wadhwani Foundation 2014
Current Situation
• About 75 Million youth are unemployed
• Half of youth are not sure that their post-secondary education has
improved their chances of finding a job
• Almost 40 percent of employers say a lack of skills is the main
reason for entry-level vacancies.
Crucial Questions:
• How can India move its young people from education to
employment?
• What are the problems?
• Which interventions work?
• How can these be scaled up?

5. Education-to-employment
• Highway
• Three Drivers – Want to reach the same destination
– Educators, Employers and Young People
• Critical Intersections – When Young People:
– Enroll in HE
– Build Skills
– Seek Work
• At each point – Drivers need to take account of each others to keep
moving safely and efficiently
• Issues
– Drivers don’t take into account each other
– Proceed in different lanes
– Collide with each other
• Leaving everyone worse off than when they started

6. (C) Wadhwani Foundation 2014
Education-to-employment – A Framework
Source: McKinsey Report 2014

7. Some Directions
Education providers and Employers actively step into each other’s shoes
Enrollment
Build
Skills
Find
Work
Find Work
Build Skills
Enroll in a
Course
To

8. Agenda
Importance of Domain Skills in HE
Incorporating Skill Based Courses in Arts,
Science and Commerce Programs
Strategy for Building Competency
Strategy for Building Values in HE

9. Foundation Courses
• Employers value soft skills
• Hard to define, distill or express
• Key Soft Skills
General Domains Social Methodological Personal
Writing Skills Communication Creativity/
Innovation
Learning Skills
IT Literacy Customer
Orientation
Decision Making Commitment
Numerical Skills Teamwork Information Search Professional Ethics
Financial Literacy Leading Others Analysis Skills Tolerance to Stress
Legal Literacy Negotiation Results Orientation Self-awareness
Entrepreneurship Conflict
Management
Continuous
improvement
Adaptability

10. Cross Cutting Skills for 21st Century Work
Place
Communicating With Peers
•Providing information in-person, electronically, or via social media; creating targeted messaging to influence an
intended audience
Establishing & Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
•Developing constructive and collaborative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time
Researching / Gathering Information
•Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information via meetings, interviews, or web-based or more-
formal research
Communicating with Persons Outside the Organisation
•Leveraging media to communicate with people outside the organization, representing it to customers, the public,
government, and other external sources
Interacting with Computers
•Using computers and computer systems to set up functions, enter and analyze data, or process information
Making Decisions and Solving Problems
•Using analytical skills to inform decision making and problem solving
Thinking Creatively
•Developing, designing, or creating new content, ideas, systems, or products, including artistic contributions

11. (C) Wadhwani Foundation 2014
Elective Courses
• Supportive to the discipline of study
• Providing an expanded scope
• Enabling and exposure to other disciplines / domain
• Nurturing student’s proficiency / skill
• Generic Elective or Open Elective

12. Seven Guiding Principles
Offer related application oriented skill courses
Connect to local contexts
Multi-disciplinary seamlessness
Industry / work place integration
Internships and field based micro-research
Align with National Occupational Standards / Employer Needs
Match Supply to Demand – District, State, National & Global

13. Arts
Domains Possible Courses
All • Customer Relationship Executive / Manager
Media & Entertainment • Art Director
• Script Writer, Editor
• Videography, Photography
• Web Design
• Digital Animation
Tourism & Hospitality • Tourist Guide
• Historical Monuments (Architecture, History,
Photography, Videography, Sculpture…)
Fashion Design & Merchandising
Dance • Salsa, Indian Dances,
Literature • Film Study and Appreciation

14. Commerce
Domains Possible Courses
Banking & Financial Services • Accounts Executive (Receivables, Payables,
Statutory Compliances, Payroll…)
• Equity, Commodity and Currency Markets
Logistics & Supply Chain
Management
• Purchase Manager
• Inventory Manager
• Transportation Logistics Manager
• Operations Supervisor
IT / ITes • ERP Systems (SAP etc..), Accounting Applications,
Retail • Small Scale Retail Entrepreneur
• Departmental Manager
• Stores Executive / Manager
Export Executive / Manager • Export Documentation / Processes,
Legal / Paralegal • Legal System
• Civil Litigation and Trial Preparation
• Family Law
• Electronic Litigation

15. Science
Domains Possible Courses
Agriculture • Veterinary (Field Assistant, Clinical Assistant)
• Food Processing
Health • Medical Sales Representative, Hospital Management,
Emergency Medical Technician
• First Aid
• Health, Safety and Nutrition
Electronics • Embedded Software Engineer, Systems Designer.
Gems & Jewelry • Melter & Refiner
• Designer
IT/ITes • Various Roles
Security • Security officer, CCTV Supervisor,
Telecom

16. Across Domains
Roles – Partial List
Customer Relationship Executive / manager
Sales Executive / Manager
Quality Control Executives
Purchase Executive
Service Executive
Tele Caller
Stores Executive

17. Key Imperatives
Pedagogy
• Learner centric, Outcome based, Field work, Micro-Research, Labs & Workshops,
Internships
• Full Semester
Assessment
• Theory, Practical, Projects, Competency based
Industry Collaboration
• Governance, Curriculum Design, Course Delivery, Internships, Guest Lectures,
Workplace visits, Assessments
Curriculum design
• Industry Involvement, Job role Specific (National Occupational Standards), e-
content / MOOCs
Faculty
• In-house core faculty, Adjunct Faculty, Guest Faculty

18. Agenda
Importance of Domain Skills in HE
Incorporating Skill Based Courses in Arts,
Science and Commerce Programs
Strategy for Building Competency
Strategy for Building Values in HE

19. (C) Wadhwani Foundation 2014
Competency based Education
The educational approach allows students to pursue a
course based on their demonstration of skill mastery.
• Course divided into granular competencies
• Measures Learning rather than Time
• Fundamentally changes the faculty role
– “Sage on the stage” to a ‘Guide on the side”
• Needs defining the competencies very clearly
• Need experts in assessment to ensure that we’re
measuring the right things.
• Use of online technology will play a key part

20. Competency based Education – A
Conceptual Learning Model

21. (C) Wadhwani Foundation 2014
Competency based Education
• Traditional Model: Time of a course is fixed, Mastery is flexible
• Competency Model: Time is flexible, Mastery is fixed
Implications:
• Focus on what students learn, rather than where or how long the
learning takes place.
• Receive credits based on their actual demonstration of skills learned.
• Focus is on demonstrated learning outcomes
• Assessment based on mastery of a specified number of granular
competencies which make up a course.
• Learning at self-directed pace
• Advancing faster by showing what they already know.
• Competencies based on labour market needs

22. (C) Wadhwani Foundation 2014
Competency based Assessments
Demonstration of a defined set of proficiencies and mastery
of knowledge and content.
Assessment Tools
• Measure learning outcomes
• Portfolio of work done – Documentation and evidence of
competency.
• Student work samples
• Projects

23. Agenda
Importance of Domain Skills in HE
Incorporating Skill Based Courses in Arts,
Science and Commerce Programs
Strategy for Building Competency
Strategy for Building Values in HE

24. (C) Wadhwani Foundation 2014
Value Based Higher Education
“Education for values should be education for man-making
and character building” – Swami Vivekananda
It consists of:
• Going beyond knowledge and skills to
include other aspects of being a person in
society (such as emotion, spirituality, moral
judgment, embodiment).
• An integrative view of learning and
development that emphasizes the
connections and relationships between
thinking, feeling and action, rather than
separating cognitive dimensions of
education from affective or moral
dimensions.

25. Value Based Higher Education
Value education is a complex process which involves developing the
ability to think in terms of values, the ability to do the ‘right’ thing
and also the ability to feel the emotions.
Aim:
• Striving for excellence
• Cultivating personal and academic integrity
• Contributing to a larger community
• Taking seriously the perspective of others
• Developing competence in ethical and moral reasoning and action
• Maintain a good relationship with other human beings and environment
• Caring for natural environment
• Promote good citizenship and peace building at local, national and global
level
• Have healthy respect, tolerance and adaptability to diversity
– Societal, political, cultural, religious, gender, racial, regional, geographical
technological, income / wealth

26. Value Based Higher Education
Value education is a complex process which involves developing the ability to think
in terms of values, the ability to do the ‘right’ thing and also the ability to feel the
emotions.
Pedagogy:
• Transformative learning starts with an experience (eg a project in the
community; a conversation with someone from a different background
in a hall of residence, or a student or a customer);
• Students critically reflect on that experience;
• Students engage in dialogue with others about it.
• Group Discussions, panel discussions, workshops, seminars
• Conduct surveys on value issues and preparing critical notes
• Speeches, group work, Interviews
• Embed case studies, examples, exercises in other subjects: Science,
Math, English, Communication, Writing skills etc

27. Some Illustrative Subjects
• Peace Building
• Conflict Management and Transformation
• Social cohesion and development
Education for Peace
• Democracy and social justice
• Human rights education
• Sustainable Development
• Accessible society for PwDs, Senior Citizens
Citizenship
Education
• Business Ethics
• Bio Ethics
• Plagiarism
Ethics education
• Self-awareness, personal development
• Interpersonal skills
• Health related life skills (prevention of HIV/AIDS, anti-
harassment, non-abusive relations, safety)
Life-skills education

28. Agenda
Importance of Domain Skills in HE
Incorporating Skill Based Courses in Arts,
Science and Commerce Programs
Strategy for Building Competency
Strategy for Building Values in HE

29. Thank You

30. Mainstreaming skills for Employment
Polytechnic Program
Year1
NSQF
Diploma
Class12
Pass
Year2
NSQF
Adv. Dip.
Year3
High School
IX | X | XI | XII
Industry
Employment
NSQF L2 L3 L4
School Program Community College
Program
L1
NSQF
B.Voc.
National
Skills
Qualifications
Framework

31. Issues Facing Higher Education:
(Partial List)
Return on Investment: Time, Money and Efforts
Government vs. Private Funding: Subsidy, State Policy and Priorities
Industry Needs vs. HE System: Work Force Development, teaching,
Research
Higher Education Design: Roots in Industrial Era, Technological
Disruptions, Need for a 21st Century Design

32. (C) Wadhwani Foundation 2014
Competence Based Assessment
Assessment is the process of collecting evidence and
making judgements on whether competency has been
achieved. The purpose of assessment is to confirm that
an individual can perform to the standard expected in
the workplace, as expressed in the relevant endorsed
industry or enterprise competency standards.

33. (C) Wadhwani Foundation 2014
The Dimensions of Competency
• People are considered to be competent when they are able to apply
their knowledge and skills to successfully complete work activities in
a range of situations and environments, in accordance with the
standard of performance expected in the workplace.
This view of competency:
• emphasises outcomes
• focuses on what is expected of an employee in the workplace
• highlights the application of skills and knowledge to workplace
tasks
• incorporates the ability to transfer and apply skills and knowledge
to new situations and environments
• focuses on what people are able to do and the ability to do this in a
range of contexts.