Bringing real-world experiences into classrooms
Academic qualifications are important, but possessing work experience in the field of their expertise increases a lecturer’s credibility
INDUSTRY 4.0-relevant; future-proof students; producing graduates who are job makers instead of job seekers.
These are terms often thrown at institutions and students to remind the former of the importance of moulding the latter into multi-skilled assets.
But how do lecturers translate the constantly evolving demands of the industry to students, if they do not have sufficient work experience themselves and thus, aren’t up to date with current, practical and relatable content?
Malaysian Society for Higher Education Policy and Research Development deputy chairman Prof Dr Rosna Awang-Hashim said having paper qualifications alone is not enough for lecturers.
Based on her interactions with Malaysian undergraduates over the years, a large number expressed their preference to study with lecturers who were industry practitioners.
“They said it motivates them when they learn from experts.
“Lecturers with industry experience bring insights from industry and real world projects into the classroom,” she said, adding that often, these lecturers tend to have better industry networks that may help boost students’ career opportunities.
Striking a balance between both qualifications is imperative and lecturers who were industry practitioners must continue to keep themselves updated with the latest changes.
Some, Prof Rosna said, may lose touch with the field once they join academia, thus, making their industry experience no longer relevant to the current job landscape.
“So, academics must always maintain good relationships with professionals from the industry,”.
While Sunway University School of Hospitality Assoc Prof and programme leader Dr Chong Ka Leong does not dispute the importance of obtaining relevant academic qualifications, he said the transfer of knowledge has little to do with how highly educated a lecturer is.
Knowledgeable lecturers without passion, he said, are not contagious in their teaching.
“If a lecturer is able to bring to the table the workings of the real-world to complement students’ theory-based learning, it will undoubtedly inspire students.
“This will then translate into the institution producing graduates with character and passion, which is exactly what the industry wants,” he added.
Agreeing, Prof Rosna said whether a lecturer with high academic qualifications will be able to deliver the necessary lessons to ensure students are employable depends on individual lecturers.
THE industry-academia relationship isn’t a new one.
While industry experts remind higher education institutions to produce students with real-world skills, varsities have had various programmes over the years to do just that.
But merely encouraging students to enrol in apprentice-based programmes is not enough, experts insist.
More needs to be done. Varsities need competent lecturers with industry experience to transfer real-world knowledge to their students.
In a document launched early this year, the Education Ministry called on private higher education institutions (PHEIs) to bring in more teaching staff with industry experience or to improve the quality of their programmes.
Dubbed ‘The Way Forward for Private Higher Education Institutions: Education as an Industry (2020-2025)’, the document had also recommended PHEIs work closely with industries to set-up industrial scale facilities on campus for teaching purposes.
“There is diversification in the quality of teaching staff with proper academic qualifications in PHEIs.
“Faculty members in PHEIs are largely those with postgraduate degrees, which show that PHEIs will continue to provide quality higher education to its students,” the document read.
It is vital for universities to align themselves seamlessly with the needs and developments of industries, Datuk Dr Parmjit Singh said.
The Malaysian Association of Private Colleges and Universities (Mapcu) president explained that it’s crucial for universities to also have a body of instructors and lecturers with solid industry experience.
“Their real life experiences are invaluable in providing the depth required to achieve learning outcomes and competencies sought after by employers.
“Varsities cannot exist in silos and define their purpose in their own convenient ways.
“They must realise that they have bigger responsibilities to students who have enrolled in universities to pursue a chosen field of study which will lead them to attaining a qualification with the sole purpose of fulfilling their career aspirations.”
Employers look towards universities to supply talent with the requisite levels of knowledge and competencies to perform on the job.
Private universities especially, Parmjit said, will not be able to sustain their operations in the long term if their graduates’ employability track records are dismal.
The alignment with industries, he added, is pivotal if universities aspire to ensure that their graduates are employable and marketable.
He noted that for private universities, they are neither funded nor aided by the government and are entirely dependent on the fees paid by students.
Therefore, they have to continually ensure that their courses and programmes are relevant to industry needs both locally and globally.
It is also essential for universities to remind students throughout their studies, Parmjit said, of what employers expect from them once they graduate.
“Academic staff play a very important role as they are expected to develop students to be ready for the industry, and to be able to translate theory to real-world practice.
“For this to happen effectively, the staff themselves must have first-hand experience of what it’s like to work in the industry.”