HERDSA 2010 program: invited address

*Please note that this provisional program is indicative only and subject to change.

Reshaping student outcomes: What capabilities do higher education graduates require to excel in the changing world of work?

Ngaere Blair

Manager, Student Engagement
La Trobe University, Australia

Universities play a vital role in creating skilled graduates to meet employer demands. But what skills and qualities do graduates require to meet the demands of a changing world of work? How do we prepare students for jobs that may not yet exist?

This session will explore why student outcomes are an important measure of not only institutional accountability and teaching quality, but also a critical determinant of the impact higher education has on the economic and social conditions of the 21st century.

Universities are well placed to put their expertise and resources into fostering and improving student outcomes, and in this session I will put forward some ideas, principles, partnerships and opportunities that may present themselves at your institution.

We cannot predict the jobs of the future, and there is uncertainty whether some current jobs will continue to exist at all. We also can only begin to anticipate some of the environmental and social challenges we will face over the next generation. However we can equip graduates with the self management, self exploration and self reliance skills that determine they can not only navigate the uncertainty, but can convert it into opportunities as well.