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.
Mental health is important for business. In the 21st century the mental health and well-being of your employees is crucial to the success of your organisation. But, how should you as an employer start to address mental health issues in your workplace? And what activities and policies do you need to set in place? In a European campaign work. in tune with life. move europe, the European Network for Workplace Health Promotion (ENWHP) has taken the initiative to help promote mental health in workplaces. This mental health promotion campaign aims to raise awareness amongst both employers and employees
Nederland kent ongeveer 220.000 bedrijfsongevallen per jaar (met 60 mensen die overlijden). Vandaar dat elke werkgever verplicht is om bedrijfshulpverlening (BHV) te organiseren, waaronder BHV-trainingen. Desondanks brengt slechts een-derde van alle bedrijven de arbeidsrisico’s in kaart via een Risico-Inventarisatie & Evaluatie (RI&E) en blijft het aandeel werknemers met een arbeidsongeval hoog. Daarom wordt er continu geïnnoveerd om BHV-trainingen te optimaliseren, o.a. door middel van Virtual Reality (VR). VR is niet nieuw, maar is wel doorontwikkeld en betaalbaarder geworden. VR biedt de mogelijkheid om veilige realistische BHV-noodsimulaties te ontwikkelen waarbij de cursist het gevoel heeft daar echt te zijn. Ondanks de toename in VR-BHV-trainingen, is er weinig onderzoek gedaan naar het effect van VR in BHV-trainingen en zijn resultaten tegenstrijdig. Daarnaast zijn er nieuwe technologische ontwikkelingen die het mogelijk maken om kijkgedrag te meten in VR m.b.v. Eye-Tracking. Tijdens een BHV-training kan met Eye-Tracking gemeten worden hoe een instructie wordt opgevolgd, of cursisten worden afgeleid en belangrijke elementen (gevaar en oplossingen) waarnemen tijdens de simulatie. Echter, een BHV-training met VR en Eye-Tracking (interacties) bestaat niet. In dit project wordt een prototype ontwikkeld waarin Eye-Tracking wordt verwerkt in een 2021 ontwikkelde VR-BHV-training, waarin noodsituaties zoals een kantoorbrand worden gesimuleerd (de BHVR-toepassing). Door middel van een experiment zal het prototype getest worden om zo voor een deel de vraag te beantwoorden in hoeverre en op welke manier Eye-Tracking in VR een meerwaarde biedt voor (RI&E) BHV-trainingen. Dit project sluit daarmee aan op het missie-gedreven innovatiebeleid ‘De Veiligheidsprofessional’ en helpt het MKB dat vaak middelen en kennis ontbreekt voor onderzoek naar effectiviteit rondom innovatieve-technologieën in educatie/training. Het project levert onder meer een prototype op, een productie-rapport en onderzoeks-artikel, en staat open voor nieuwe deelnemers bij het schrijven van een grotere aanvraag rondom de toepassing en effect van VR en Eye-Tracking in BHV-trainingen.
The Netherlands has approximately 220,000 industrial accidents per year (with 60 people who die). That is why every employer is obliged to organize company emergency response (BHV), including emergency response training. Despite this, only one-third of all companies map out their occupational risks via a Risk Inventory & Evaluation (RI&E) and the share of employees with an occupational accident remains high. That is why there is continuous innovation to optimize emergency response training, for example by means of Virtual Reality (VR). VR is not new, but it has evolved and become more affordable. VR offers the possibility to develop safe realistic emergency response simulations where the student has the feeling that they are really there. Despite the increase in VR-BHV training, little research has been done on the effect of VR in ER training and results are contradictory. In addition, there are new technological developments that make it possible to measure viewing behavior in VR using Eye-Tracking. During an emergency response training, Eye-Tracking can be used to measure how an instruction is followed, whether students are distracted and observe important elements (danger and solutions) during the simulation. However, emergency response training with VR and Eye-Tracking (interactions) does not exist. In this project, a prototype is being developed in which Eye-Tracking is incorporated into a VR-BHV training that was developed in 2021, in which emergency situations such as an office fire are simulated (the BHVR application). The prototype will be tested by means of an experiment in order to partly answer the question to what extent and in what way Eye-Tracking in VR offers added value for (RI&E) emergency response training. This project is therefore in line with the mission-driven innovation policy 'The Safety Professional' and helps SMEs that often lack resources and knowledge for research into the effectiveness of innovative technologies in education/training. The project will include a prototype, a production report and research article, and is open to new participants when writing a larger application about the application and effect of VR and Eye-Tracking in emergency response training.
This proposal envisions a solution for organizations and their employees to keep each other resilient and healthy.We aim for proactive detection of stress at an early stage, so it can facilitate a safe and collaborative dialogue between employers and employees at a time that they are both still able to see their co-dependency and mutual interests, while acknowledging the possible tension of conflicting interests. A sorrow shared is a sorrow halved.We use an Impact Plan Approach in which a Theory of Change (the DESTRESS Strategy) directs research activities that identify problems and causse, determine the required change to overcome them, and adjust the DESTRESS strategy to make improvements that are necessary to invoke that change. Subsequently, the DESTRESS strategy will be translated into the DESTRESS solution, for which a strategy for implementation and evaluation will be devised.
