Multidisciplinary pairing: a win-win employability enhancing teaching

experience.

Claire Howell 2nd April 2014

Employability: definition one.

A set of:

• achievements • skills • understandings and • personal attributes

that makes graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations,

which benefits themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy.

• (ESECT based on Yorke 2006)

Employability: definition two

Employability is more than about developing attributes, techniques or experience just to enable a student to get a job, or to progress within a current career.

It is about learning and the emphasis is less on ‘employ’ and more on ‘ability’.

In essence, the emphasis is on developing critical, reflective abilities, with a view to empowering and enhancing the learner.

• (Harvey 2003)

How can we do this?

How can we best integrate and

balance different ways of teaching and learning that

promote both effective learning

and employability for students?

How can we encourage students to become confident

learners and individuals capable

of making a full contribution to

society?

Pedagogy for employability 2012

Real world activities

I am educating my students for jobs that do not yet exist

What is the approach?

Each law student is paired with an engineering student.

LLB students tasked with identifying any IPR that the engineering students had in their live Mscprojects.

LLB Coursework

50% of the marks for the module

a) submit an individual advice

letter [800 words ] addressed to their

engineering student based on interviews

conducted concerning their

project work .

b) a legally argued analysis of the IP

issues of the project. 1,700 words.

Who is involved?

Second year LLB undergraduate Law and Management

students.

Msc Engineering and Design

students

The learning aims and objectives.

Law students

A deep learning experience. They gain practice in • Fact finding• Advice writing• Interpersonal skills used in the

interview procedure.• They have complete ownership of

their work and undertake research in a live context.

Aim for the engineers

It shows the students how in Industry they will be expected to understand the

• Importance of early IP protection.

• Have an awareness of the strategic value in:• income generation • market advantage.

Objectives

For the academic• Both sides win.• It cost little in the

academics time. • No preparation of an

innovative case study. • Little need to motivate

the students as they motivate themselves.

How we do it at Aston

First term • Law students learn about the different IP rights.

Second term

• Masterclass• Meet with a Patent Attorney and member of the BPU

• the function of the BPU• what they should do if a registrable idea was discovered. • the procedures the office would undertake with any innovation.

This was serious

Confidentiality agreement.

There might be a REAL invention!

The pairing

The students swap e-mail addresses

At that point I loose control

My role

Tutorial slot every week

I was available via

e-mail

Virtual leaning

resource [Blackboard,]

Outcome for engineers

In some cases IP knowledge has changed the direction of the project of the engineer.

With IP knowledge they recognised a slightly different approach could result in something new.

Outcome for engineers-employability

They are ready and able to contribute to future economic growth with knowledge, skills

and creativity in new business environments.

They have acquired knowledge, skills and attributes to support

continued learning and career development.

Pedagogy for employability 2012

Outcome for law students-employability

Self -managementCommunication and literacy

application of literacy, ability to produce clear, structured written work and oral literacy – including listening and questioning.

Business and customer awareness the need to provide customer satisfaction and build customer loyalty.

Problem solving analysing facts and situations and applying creative thinking to develop appropriate solutions.

Preparation-the right academic

Enthusiastic engineering

lecturer

Understands the importance of• obtaining IP• retaining IP• exploiting IP

Preparation- the right students

Phd students ??• Time -not committed

to a timetable• Reluctant to pause

before publishing

Preparation-timing

Timing-the most difficult thing to dovetail.

Msc project was in the third semester

Msc project may still be a vague idea

What went wrong?

Can’t guarantee the quality of either advisor or client

Some clients or advisors let partner down by not making contact or even

appearing

What went right?

They love it

• Practical and relevant knowledge.

• Deep and practical learning of professional skills through a real project.

• High and enthusiastic participation leading to better marks.

Learning by doing

Most studies suggest that ‘active learning by doing’ is what works in relation to many employability skills, particularly for communication, working with others, time and personal management and problem solving.

This method allows students to work in interdisciplinary teams and to integrate their learning experiences across levels and subjects of study.

Pedagogy for employability 2012

The outcome

Deeper and practical learning of professional

skills through a real project

Increased level of enquiry-based learning

Higher, more enthusiastic participation leading to

better marks.

Benefit to industry as engineering graduates will have practical and relevant

knowledge about how to integrate their work within

the business enterprise

Reduced cost of training. Increased levels of employability.

Conclusion

Experience of working in multi-disciplinary teams on realistic projects. The lawyers are learning to talk to engineers and the engineers are learning to talk to lawyers.

Any course must stimulate and motivate the students and I think this method of live teaching does.