Research conducted by Professor Giselle Rampersad
Director, Centre for Defence Engineering Research and Training
College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University
We need creative problem solvers to revolutionise industries, stimulate economies, and engineer solutions to address our global community’s significant environmental, energy, food, water and security challenges.
Industry 4.0 (fourth industrial revolution) is the innovative application of advanced robotics and AI to bring about digital transformation in business. This is not just a technological challenge but a human one, with the attention needed to upskilling and the human dimensions of major change. We must ensure that workers can confidently use the new technologies and thrive in a changing workplace.
Since the childhood days of watching robots taking over the world, there has been a fear that robots will take people’s jobs. So how do we ensure that workers have the right mindset? How can we create entrepreneurs who start their own businesses and intrapreneurs with the right attitude to innovate within firms? What generic skills form the entrepreneurial mindset?
Research has told us that the next generation of workers needs to be well equipped with deep knowledge in their area of expertise and high-level skills in:
Innovation is no longer seen as a whimsical process. It is a team-based, teachable and learnable process. And experiential learning is a crucial tool identified to teach innovation, also known as work-integrated learning (WIL). This prepares students to solve real-life problems through immersion in the five high-level skills listed above.
The South Australian Business Chamber corporate member Flinders University asked the question ‘what are the key factors influencing the development of innovation in students through WIL?’. They enquired about developing these five necessary employability skills by evaluating undergraduate students undertaking WIL from a mid-sized university in Australia.
What was the result?
Encouragingly, all students participating in the WIL showed positive development in all five skill areas.
For industry, developing a talented workforce with the right skills mix is crucial in the era of Industry 4.0. This research supports the conclusion that rather than fearing the robot, WIL is one pathway to equip our workforce with the innovation skills needed for the future of work.
To read the full paper (open access) >
Further information on the methodology:
In measuring these skill areas, researchers developed a specific tool that quantitatively measures (see table below) the development of these drivers. This measurement can be useful to other educators to evaluate the skill levels and to provide feedback to the students on their career literacy and self-awareness.
Factor | Dimension | Measure |
Problem solving | Reasoning Analysing and diagnosing Decision making | Using rational and logical reasoning to deduce appropriate and well-reasoned conclusions Analyse facts and circumstances and ask the right questions to diagnose problems Make appropriate and timely decisions, in light of available information, in sensitive and complex situations |
Critical thinking | Conceptualisation Evaluation | Recognise patterns in detailed documents and scenarios to understand the ‘bigger’ picture Recognise, evaluate and retain key points in a range of documents and scenarios |
Communication | Verbal communication Giving and receiving feedback Meeting participation Written communication | Communicate orally in a clear and sensitive manner which is appropriately varied according to different audiences and seniority levels Give and receive feedback appropriately and constructively Participate constructively in meetings Present knowledge, in a range of written formats, in a professional, structured and clear manner |
Teamwork | Task collaboration Social intelligence Influencing others Conflict resolution | Complete group tasks through collaborative communication, problem solving, discussion and planning Acknowledge the complex emotions and viewpoints of others and respond sensitively and appropriately Defend and assert the rights, interests and needs and convince others of the validity of one’s point of view Address and resolve contentious issues with key stakeholders |
Innovation | Innovation Entrepreneurship/intrapreneurship Lateral thinking/creativity | Contribute to the development of new products, services or technologies Initiate change and add value by embracing new ideas and showing ingenuity and creativity in addressing challenges and problems Develop a range of solutions using lateral and creative thinking |
