When industrial attachments for lecturers are not enough

The Nigerian National Universities Commission recently issued a statement about plans for lecturers to do industrial attachments. Like many African nations, graduate unemployment rates in Nigeria are a constant problem.

With countless students spending a great amount of time and money and their families often making big sacrifices, it’s horrific to think that, according to one national newspaper, “it is widely believed that... the majority of the graduates produced by the country’s higher institutions are ‘unemployable’.”

Africa is not the only continent facing such challenges. Some employers in the United Kingdom, for instance, are beginning to doubt the value of a university degree. In 2016 Penguin Random House UK announced that job applicants no longer required a college degree.

Systemic redesign

So what is the solution for universities that want to send better prepared and more skilful graduates out into the labour market? A systemic redesign of higher education is needed, which teaches systems thinking abilities, so students understand how the education system was built within their nation and how it has progressed over the last few decades.

Many of the principles of the colonial education system were built in the wake of the industrial revolution. They revolved around the idea of preparing employees who were suitable for the industrial machine and would be under the thumb of management.

For example, in the industrial age, the practice of absolute obedience to management contributed to production levels. This ‘Yes, Sir’ mentality of employees is no longer fit for purpose at a time when companies need to compete on innovation in a knowledge economy driven by technology.

While the business world has advanced in countless ways since those days, the education system remains the same. For example, it is highly specialised, which prevents broader thinking. Most universities still unconsciously promote specialisation in their curriculum and teach subjects to students in isolation from other disciplines.

At the same time, technology fosters a more integrated approach. This creates a huge gap within the education system between academic life and the world beyond academia.

Furthermore, many studies have proven the need for higher emotional intelligence in the workplace. Acquiring this is a complex developmental process that takes years. In most universities where it is taught, emotional intelligence is seen as one topic within a module or one entire module. This approach is a long way from what is needed to develop true emotional intelligence.

Many nations and universities recognise this problem but are not equipped to address it. A lack of awareness about the education system causes them to use a band-aid approach that rarely touches the systemic issues or produces the outcomes desired by employers.

The Nigerian National Universities Commission’s idea of getting lecturers into industry is a great idea. A few questions on the systemic impact remain, however. Are lecturers ready and willing to go into industry and work? Are industries ready for academics to come into their workplace? Both must be ready to handle the transition process.

Additional unintended outcomes may be problematic as well, for instance, lecturers who perform well in industry may not return to their university job, resulting in a loss of talent by the university.

From quality assurance to faculty development

Lecturers are only one part of the higher education system, however crucial. Other aspects, such as curriculum development, faculty development, quality assurance frameworks, compensation structures, institutional governance and technology-based educational tools and systems must function together. Without considering the entire system, one change in any part of it will be insufficient to have the desired impact.

Let’s look at the solution to the problem of the lack of graduate skill sets needed by today’s workplace. Here are some key skills needed to begin the redesign of higher education, whether for a single university or for a nation:

• • A solid understanding of systems thinking. This is not about technology as some may think. Systems thinking is having an understanding of the interconnectedness of all the various parts. For higher education, it is how the various parts like faculty development, university governance, curriculum development and others influence each other within the larger system.
  
  
• • An ability to create new systems: Once the interconnectivities are drawn out in a systemic diagram, a new system with attention to many details can be created to support the overall vision of an institution.
  
  
• • Wisdom to know when, how and with whom: With a new system on paper, the wisdom needed to identify the perfect timing of implementation, to involve the necessary people and to implement strategies take ample practice to master. Planning out the implementation of a new system requires many stakeholder groups’ support.
  
  
• • The courage to take action: finally, the courage to implement a new system, which may take some time, has to be strongly embedded. Many people have ideas, but the courage to do something so different has to come from the main leaders of the institution.

These skills can be learned, developed and mastered over time. Having worked with many universities across the world in various capacities, I’ve seen how systemic changes can be powerful in transforming a university into a creator of powerful graduates.

Recently, I’ve been fortunate enough to turn a new educational model into a new university. Through this experience, it’s quite clear that the overhaul involved in redesigning education for the 21st century is vital.

For African universities, which still function with significant aspects of the colonial educational systems that designed a linear way of life for Africans, the redesign of higher education is vital for driving national growth and well-being.

With all of the past efforts by various leaders, one has to wonder why some nations are continuing to struggle to be competitive at the global level? Changing how something looks won’t change the engine that continues to feed the ongoing graduate unemployment problem.

Perhaps, moving from basic linear strategies to a much more holistic systemic design is the only way out.

Higher education should be an integrated system of learning that produces emotionally intelligent and innovative leaders. I’ve seen first-hand the quality of graduates when such changes are made.

Dr Ted Sun is chief innovations officer at the Transcontinental Institution of Higher Education, Malta. E-mail: drtedsun@gmail.com.