IntroductionThe Dutch Medical Doctor-Global Health (MD-GH) prepares to work in low-resource settings (LRS) by completing a hybrid postgraduate training program of 2 years and 9 months, with clinical and public health exposure in the Netherlands and a Global Health residency in LRS. The objectives of the program include acquiring clinical skills to work as a physician in a setting with different (often more severe) pathology and limited resources. In public health teaching, emphasis is given, among other, to adapting to a culturally different environment. After graduation, MD-GH work in a wide variety of countries and settings for variable time. As part of a curriculum review, this study examines MD-GHs' perception of the quality of the training program and provides recommendations for improvement.MethodsA qualitative study was performed. Thematic analysis was applied to semi-structured interviews with 23 MD-GH who graduated between 2017 and 2021.ResultsMD-GHs predominantly worked as clinicians; several were (also) involved in management or capacity building. The clinical training program adequately addressed general skills, but did not sufficiently prepare for locally encountered, often severe, pathology. During the training, adequate supervision with clear learning goals was found pivotal to a positive learning experience. Gaps included clinical training in Internal Medicine (particularly infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases) and Paediatrics. Public Health teaching as well as cultural awareness should be intensified and introduced earlier in the program. The Global Health residency was considered important, but tasks and learning outcomes varied. Teaching, supervision, and capacity building were considered increasingly important key elements of working in LRS. Consensus favoured the current duration of the training program without extension.DiscussionWhile the generalist nature of the MD-GH training was appreciated, the program would benefit from additional clinical training in infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, and Paediatrics. Moving forward, emphasis should be placed on structured mentorship, enhanced public health teaching, and standardized residency programs with clearly delineated objectives to better equip MD-GH professionals for their multifaceted roles in LRS. Moreover, future revisions of the training program should incorporate the perspectives of host institutes in LRS and tailor the training needs.
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This study contributes to the employability skills debate by investigating how students’ self-perceived 21st century skills relate to the self-perceived fit between their higher education curriculum and their future labor market for a sustainable entry to this labor market. Survey data from 4670 fourth-year students over a period of four years were analyzed. Furthermore, out of this group, 83 students were monitored longitudinally over their full educational student careers. Results showed a positive relationship between students’ self-perceived 21st century skills and their self-perceived “education-future labor market fit”. Among more recent cohorts, a significant improvement in their self-perceived 21st century skills was found. Overall, this study indicated that in order to deliver “employable” graduates, students need to be thoroughly trained in 21st century skills, and their development should be retained and expanded. This is one of the few studies that uses a vast amount of both cross-sectional and longitudinal data on skills and labor market perspectives among new graduates.
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We examined the various career paths of PhDs in the Netherlands. In this publication, we feature the personal stories of ten of our study participants, detailing their careers both within and outside of academia. The ten portraits of PhD graduates are complemented by three portraits of employers describing their experiences working with PhDs. The personal accounts featured in this publication contain a wealth of information and recommendations for PhD students, universities and employers alike.
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This article discusses some characteristics of the educational framework of the programme and tries to compare the results of the programme as reported by graduates with the 'professional competencies for Sustainable Development’, as formulated by DHO (the organisation for Sustainable Higher Education in the Netherlands). Because of the strong international character of the programme (students from more than 50 different countries in all continents of the world graduated since 1996), a specific issue of concern is the applicability of the Dutch Sustainable Competences in an international setting, and the implications for the teaching and learning approach. The experiental learning theory and the learning styles as defined by Kolb (1984) and the cultural dimensions as described by Hofstede (2009) are used to check this. Results from short online interviews with graduates all over the world illustrate the results of this comparison.
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Internationalizing curricula. Needs and wishes of alumni and employers with regard to international competencies. Internationalization has become of great importance for universities acrossthe globe. The labour market is becoming international, with internationalopportunities and international competition. Emerging markets such as India, China and Russia are gaining economic power. Global challenges demand world-wide solutions. Production and marketing networks span the globe and various forms of migration have resulted in a large cultural diversity within nations. As a result, societies and labour markets are changing as well. In order to deal with these societal changes adequately and to succeed in today’s labour market, graduates need to be equipped with international competencies. In a survey among 500 chief executives, ICM Research (on behalf of Think Global and The British Council, 2011) showed that employers strongly value staff members who are able to work in an international and multicultural environment. Similar results were found in Diamond et al. (2011), in which ‘multicultural teamwork’ was considered most important. The Hague University of Applied Sciences seeks to prepare its students adequately for the world of tomorrow. The University’s development plans (e.g. HogeschoolOntwikkelingsPlan, HOP 7, 2009-2013 and HOP 8, 2014-2017) indicate that its vision is to train students to be globally-minded professionals with an international and multicultural perspective, who are world-citizens, interested in global issues and able to deal with diversity in a constructive manner. They are to be professionals, who possess the competencies to function well in an international and intercultural environment. Internationalization is therefore high on the agenda of The Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS) which is illustrated by the fact that, as of 2014, new students in all academies have to fill 12.5% (30 ECTS) of their four-year Bachelor program with international activities. These activities can range from an internship or semester abroad (student mobility) to participating in full programs of study or minors in which English is the medium of instruction, or an internationally themed minor (Internationalization at Home, IaH). And this is only the beginning. Internationalization is a means, not an end. All THUAS courses are looking into ways in which they can internationalize their curriculum. And in doing so, they need to be innovative (Leask, 2009) and keep in mind the specific needs and wishes of alumni and their employers with regard to international competences. The THUAS research group International Cooperation supports these internationalization policy objectives by investigating various aspects, such as: • The acquisition and development of international competencies among students. • The extent to which lecturers possess international competencies and what their needs and wishes are for further development. • The international competencies THUAS graduates have acquired as part of their degree and how THUAS has stimulated this development. • The international competencies that employers and alumni consider important. Although international competencies and employability have received growing attention in internationalization research, existing studies have mainly focused on: • The effects of study abroad on the development of international competence (cf. Hoven & Walenkamp, 2013). • The effects of an experience abroad (study, internship, voluntary work) on employability. • A more general analysis of the skills employers look for in prospective employees.
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Lector Marco Snoek heeft een belangrijke bijdrage geleverd aan de publicatie ‘Shaping career-long perspectives on teaching’. Deze ‘Guide on policies to improve initial teacher education’ is onlangs gepubliceerd door de Europese Commissie. De guide omvat handreikingen die het resultaat zijn van het werk van de Working Group Schools van de Europese Commissie. De publicatie gaat in op de rol van leraren en hoe leraren in die rol ondersteund kunnen worden door een structuur voor het beroep, die gericht is op een leven lang leren en op samenwerkend leren. Het realiseren van een dergelijke structuur vraagt een nauwe samenwerking van de verschillende stakeholders: ministeries, leraren en schoolleiders. In de Working Group Schools bogen vertegenwoordigers van de verschillende lidstaten zich over de vraag hoe beleid van overheden het continuum van het beroep (de samenhang tussen de lerarenopleiding, de eerste fase van de beroepsuitoefening en de verdere loopbaan van leraren) kan versterken, welke bijdrage leeromgevingen die gericht zijn op samenwerkend leren tussen professionals daar aan kunnen leveren en wat dit vraagt van beleid en van de samenwerking tussen stakeholders bij het ontwikkelen van dit beleid. Marco Snoek vertegenwoordigde daarbij het Nederlandse Ministerie van Onderwijs. De verschillende inzichten die ontstonden op basis van uitwisseling van beleidsaanpakken in verschillende landen zijn vertaald naar aanbevelingen voor beleid. In een TEDlike talk die Marco Snoek op het Europese Education, Training and Youth Forum in Brussels op maandag 19 oktober verzorgde, gaat hij in op de hoofdpunten van de publicatie. Zie: www.vimeo.com/144635675
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Worldwide, schools implement social-emotional learning programs to enhance students' social-emotional skills. Although parents play an essential role in teaching these skills, knowledge about their perspectives on social-emotional learning is limited. In providing insight into the perspectives of parents from adolescent students this paper adds to this knowledge. An explorative qualitative study was conducted to gain insight into parents' perspectives on adolescent social-emotional learning. A broadly used professional framework for social emotional learning was used as a frame of reference in interviews with parents from diverse backgrounds. Within and across case analyses were applied to analyze the interviews. A conceptual model of four social-emotional skills constructs considered crucial learning by parents emerged from the data: respectful behavior, cooperation, self-knowledge and self-reliance. Parents' language, interpretations and orderings of skills indicate that the model underlying these constructs differs from skills embedded in the professional framework.
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Competencies deemed relevant and meaningful by international business professionals and implemented in IB education still do not produce work-ready graduates. This may be because these competencies are not perceived as relevant or meaningful by students. This study was conducted to gain students’ perspectives on the relevance and meaningfulness of the HTIBP talent competency framework and how they perceived working with it. Results show that the five competency domains of the HTIBP competency framework are perceived as relevant and meaningful by students, in alignment with the professional field, however, this was not the case for a few associated items (behaviors) like “showing entrepreneurship” and “improving ideas from others.” The lack of clarity of these behaviors resulted in less experienced relevance and meaningfulness by students. Our findings will help educators to better facilitate students’ understanding the meaning and relevance of competencies. This may help to improve alignment with the professional field.
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In this article I will address the changes and innovations in the music profession in Europe which are faced by our students and graduates, as well as new developments in their music careers. We will look into the question of what musicians’ changing needs are and will then show how conservatoires in Europe respond to them. Consequently the various roles that musicians have within their changing career patterns and the profession will be addressed and an example will be given through the description of an emerging career type, that of the (performing and educating) musician who is engaged with new audiences in various social contexts, in other venues than the traditional concert venues. This will be followed by an exploration of the joint master programme New Audiences and Innovative Practice, which has been developed with a number of music academies in Europe and the USA and in which this particular type of musician and practice are central. The article will then finish by exploring the interconnection between the performing and educational roles of today’s musicians, the question of how these two inform each other and how this can lead to the strengthening of musicians’ learning processes. Lastly I will reflect on what these developments mean for curricula in the music academy.
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