Building adaptability for students by IT training
Written by Cuong Hoang – Director of FUNiX Japan
Adaptability is the key skill for the future
People are talking more about the keyword “VUCA” during Covid-19 pandemic. Everything becomes uncertain and it seems to be impossible to predict what will happen next. Universities are facing with the bigger pressure of what to teach students because most learning content will be out of date faster. In this context, more educators believe that the most important things we should teach students is the skill of self-adaptability.
The Skills for the Future (S4F) project, coordinated by the Centre for Research in Higher Education Policies (CIPES), has investigated and narrowed down a set of transversal competencies which are critical in preparing students for the future of work, in which the skill underlines them all is adaptability.
Paul Donovan, global chief economist for UBS Wealth Management mentioned at the UBS Future of the Workforce event “If a person achieved a first-class honors degree by memorizing their textbook, then they are a low-skilled worker. We are living in a rapidly-evolving environment, where that textbook could be out of date within five years’ time. What education needs to do is teach people how to be adaptable.”
So how to build adaptability for students?
Build adaptability through interdisciplinary learning
Jobs are transforming thanks to technological advancements, and the number of cross-functional roles are increasing. This means that, in many jobs, employees will be expected to have technical, social and analytical skills, according to the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). To prepare students to “live at intersections,” we must avoid teaching content in silos and begin integrating subject areas to promote cross-disciplinary learning. One of the most popular approaches for this is to integrate math and technology (STEM) into the curriculum of other majors.
FUNiX’s key ideas to build adaptability for students
FUNiX training methodology (FUNiX way) is to promote the self-learning skills of students. At FUNiX, students actively seek knowledge by asking questions to mentors and self-manage their learning journey. FUNiX’s statistics (updated June 2021) shows that a student needs an average of 4.09 hours of Q&A with mentors to pass a subject and an average of 1.61 hours of individual coaching with mentor. Students gain the confidence through this mentoring & self-studying process. Each student will have their own mentor to support their learning even beyond the class.
As a technology training institution, FUNiX not only offers IT training programs but also customizes the training content for different domains. For example, Business students are recommended to study Data Analytics to apply in their business and understand their customer by data, thereby making better business decisions. Mechanical & automotive students are recommended to study IoT to develop more smart devices. This is the interdisciplinary learning approach applied at FUNiX.
Active learning with mentors with an interdisciplinary approach is the way that FUNiX’s students develop adaptability for themselves.
The World Economics Forum report on the future of job predicted that 65% of children entering primary school will ultimately end up working in jobs that do not exist yet. Thanks to emerging technologies and an evolving society, the future workforce will look significantly different than it does today. As a result, students are expected to gain skills that prepare them for the uncertainty and unpredictability of future employment opportunities, career choices and even the nature of their jobs.