International collaboration to promote innovation

Governments the world over recognise that innovation is at the heart of a strong economy and that university graduates entering the workforce or creating their own businesses are an important element in realising innovation.

Maybe this rings all the more true in this time of uncertainty almost everywhere. The question is: do all universities, especially those in some developing countries, prepare their graduates well enough to contribute satisfactorily to the innovation agenda of their country?

Employers today certainly expect prospective employees to have much more than just good grades. They are looking for people who display a host of broad qualities such as leadership, problem solving, sound client service and good communication skills.

In today’s world, content knowledge is changing so quickly, and graduates will need much more than content to be as equipped as they can be for the complex, fast-paced and global world they will be part of.

They need to know that their university degree has prepared them with discipline as well as generic learning opportunities that enhance their analytical capacity, creative aptitude and adaptive ability so they are able to negotiate and adjust to inevitable workplace changes and requirements.

There is a leadership role for universities in developed countries with well-established, reputable academic programmes of high quality to reach out to those universities in less developed countries that require support to make the essential shift in how learning is delivered to effectively prepare graduates to successfully contribute to their country’s innovation agenda.

The latter include those that continue to use curricula that emphasise rote memorisation, are textbook centric and are comprised of incessant assessments and high-stake examinations.

Creative thinking

Students everywhere deserve to be educated in a vibrant learning environment and by teachers who know how to prepare and deliver effective and engaging learning programmes.

Universities everywhere should be graduating professionals who are capable of formulating solutions to predictable as well as new problems in their chosen field.

Graduates everywhere should have the skills, knowledge and understanding to be able to decide what information is required, how to locate that information from a diversity of sources and how to interpret and critique as well as synthesise that information.

They need to be able to make convincing judgments based on comprehensive evaluations, think creatively about possible innovative solutions and know how to communicate those findings effectively. These are the qualities that employers are increasingly looking for.

University to university engagement is not a new phenomenon and many universities have a whole host of partnerships, on paper at least. However, often where the partnership is in fact an active working one, the emphasis tends to be on joint research projects, student and-or staff exchanges or academic programme delivery.

All of these have the potential to yield positive results for all involved. However, oftentimes these do not incorporate deliberate ways to support enhancing the quality of what and how learning is designed and delivered by the partner who is most in need of such professional support.

There exists a valuable opportunity for intentional professional learning to occur that leads to a broadening of teaching-learning skills, understandings and knowledge.

These academics are themselves products of an outmoded, teacher-centred approach where they were lectured to, expected to memorise received information and then regurgitate those same facts in a formal high-stakes exam.

To shift to designing and delivering a curriculum that promotes critical thinking and analysis and creative initiative is the antithesis of what they know and have experienced themselves, probably since their earliest school days.

Moving from a teacher-centred, passive learning method to a student-centred active learning approach requires a reconceptualisation of the learning process and a move from familiar and entrenched teaching practices.

A respectful relationship

Measurable results won’t happen overnight; neither will positive results occur if one partner imposes decisions on the other.

My own experiences in universities in a number of developing countries have also revealed a willingness of higher education institutions in these locations to too readily defer responsibility almost completely to the partner institution, again with adverse outcomes.

Frank communication is key. Building a positive and respectful relationship is critical. So too is ensuring that local needs are met through broad input.

For real change to occur, there must be a willingness on both sides to listen to all relevant stakeholders and not judge. The aims for expanding understanding and sharing teaching-learning experiences should be set together.

The fact that almost every higher education institution has access to technology means that contributing fresh ways of developing constructive curricula and promoting meaningful learning can be productively conducted via online webinar participation. These can be tailored to meet local needs and present a useful ongoing form of mentoring for academics.

The ultimate aim, if universities expect to contribute to the innovation agenda of any country via their graduates, is to ensure the academic programmes being delivered are contemporary, research-informed and include a balance of theoretical knowledge along with useful, hands-on practical (vocational) know-how.

Further, these programmes need to provide an authentic opportunity for creative individual and team-based problem-solving based on real problems from business, industry or society that build students’ research skills, encourage initiative and foster analytical capacity and the effective use of various technologies alongside a global outlook.

Now, more than ever in these turbulent times, educators need to work together to ensure learners receive the learning they deserve and that all countries produce higher education graduates who can contribute to and positively transform the human, social and economic conditions of their country.

Dr Nita Temmerman has held senior university positions including pro vice-chancellor (academic quality and partnerships) and executive dean in Australia. She is an invited accreditation specialist with the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications and international associate with the Center for Learning Innovations and Customised Knowledge Solutions, Dubai. She is chair of two higher education academic boards, invited professor and consultant to universities in Australia, the Pacific region, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.