Educational Innovations That Promote or Foster Student Success

**3**

**Chapter 1**

**Abstract**

**1. Introduction**

the building look as shown?

*Kant Kanyarusoke*

Transformative Teaching of

Engineering in Sub-Saharan Africa

This chapter advocates transformative teaching in later stages of sub-Saharan Africa's engineering students' study periods. The teaching is meant to help them discover their potential in direct solution of the region's engineering problems. Student attention can be drawn to many of these problems through transformative teaching. Two illustrative case studies are presented. They demonstrate how students at one South African University of Technology were enabled to address common, authentic and 'real world' problems in the course of their learning. A review of theory of teaching modes is given first, with more focus on transformative teaching. The cases follow. The first case seeds a maintenance and continuous improvement culture among successive student cohorts, eventually producing an evolved new product ready for the market in a period of about 5 years. The second case uses multi-level, multi-national students, deploying multi-sourced funds and working at multi-premises in difficult campus study circumstances, to develop completely new products that are field-tested at two sites about 6000 km apart. Benefits, limitations and challenges of the teaching and how to navigate the latter, are given. Following its substantial benefits and the ways to overcome its challenges, transformative teaching is recommended to all engineering academics in the region.

**Keywords:** continuous improvement, engineering education, sub-Saharan Africa,

As an adult transformative learner and educator, I will introduce this chapter through some questioning. Is it right, that in a region with one billion people [1], 619 million of them [2], should in this 21st century, be in total darkness at night? And that over 300 million [3] should be sharing watering holes with both domestic and wild animals? That is rural sub-Saharan Africa. Now, let us leave the rural areas—from where many urban people, including this author, originate, and still have relatives and homes. Is it nature-ordained that people can live in filthy, crowded and 'man-made' disease prone areas [4–6] without any local educated person doing something about it—either out of philanthropy or out of pure business sense? We go on: Why should a country of 40 million people claim to find substantial crude oil or other mineral deposits, and yet, take a generation or two [7] to get the first extract from underground? Let us come to engineering faculties: **Figure 1** shows part of a 2-year-old engineering faculty building at one of the region's leading universities. They teach Maintenance Engineering at this university. Why should

transactional teaching, transformative teaching, transmission teaching

#### **Chapter 1**

## Transformative Teaching of Engineering in Sub-Saharan Africa

*Kant Kanyarusoke*

#### **Abstract**

This chapter advocates transformative teaching in later stages of sub-Saharan Africa's engineering students' study periods. The teaching is meant to help them discover their potential in direct solution of the region's engineering problems. Student attention can be drawn to many of these problems through transformative teaching. Two illustrative case studies are presented. They demonstrate how students at one South African University of Technology were enabled to address common, authentic and 'real world' problems in the course of their learning. A review of theory of teaching modes is given first, with more focus on transformative teaching. The cases follow. The first case seeds a maintenance and continuous improvement culture among successive student cohorts, eventually producing an evolved new product ready for the market in a period of about 5 years. The second case uses multi-level, multi-national students, deploying multi-sourced funds and working at multi-premises in difficult campus study circumstances, to develop completely new products that are field-tested at two sites about 6000 km apart. Benefits, limitations and challenges of the teaching and how to navigate the latter, are given. Following its substantial benefits and the ways to overcome its challenges, transformative teaching is recommended to all engineering academics in the region.

**Keywords:** continuous improvement, engineering education, sub-Saharan Africa, transactional teaching, transformative teaching, transmission teaching

#### **1. Introduction**

As an adult transformative learner and educator, I will introduce this chapter through some questioning. Is it right, that in a region with one billion people [1], 619 million of them [2], should in this 21st century, be in total darkness at night? And that over 300 million [3] should be sharing watering holes with both domestic and wild animals? That is rural sub-Saharan Africa. Now, let us leave the rural areas—from where many urban people, including this author, originate, and still have relatives and homes. Is it nature-ordained that people can live in filthy, crowded and 'man-made' disease prone areas [4–6] without any local educated person doing something about it—either out of philanthropy or out of pure business sense? We go on: Why should a country of 40 million people claim to find substantial crude oil or other mineral deposits, and yet, take a generation or two [7] to get the first extract from underground? Let us come to engineering faculties: **Figure 1** shows part of a 2-year-old engineering faculty building at one of the region's leading universities. They teach Maintenance Engineering at this university. Why should the building look as shown?

#### **Figure 1.**

*Part of a 2-year-old engineering faculty building at one sub-Saharan Africa's university (author).*

Different explanations for these rather awkward questions have been presented by different people and interests at different forums (e.g. [8–11]). They have included malaria, poverty, slavery, colonialism, dependency syndrome, lack of technology and knowhow, poor governance, etc. Almost anyone can come up with an explanation—provided that explanation excludes her or himself. It is not the intention of this chapter to take that route of exclusion. Nor is it that we should delve on the explanations much longer. Rather, as an engineering educator, I take a pragmatic approach and advocate owning up part of the responsibility to change the status-quo. This is because, whichever cause, or combination of explanations others give, nothing will change, unless some people with engineering knowledge and skills get up and try to do something. It has been said—rightly or wrongly—that Africa is not short of good or bad analysts, advisers, and even policy makers. In only 3 publications [12–14], for example, one can identify not less than 27 advisers and analysts. What the continent is most short of, are thoughtful doers that can transform its resources locally, to benefit its residents first, and others, next.

Therefore, this chapter on transformative teaching is about practice change in sub-Saharan Africa's engineering schools and faculties. It draws on a literature survey and experiential work in 4 universities in Eastern, Western and Southern African countries to show that the current dominant mode of teaching in the region's engineering faculties and colleges is not transformative. For reasons ranging from faculty expertise, to facilities, to student and national politics and economies [15], current higher engineering education practice in the region still heavily relies on transmission teaching. This chapter suggests changes to this practice, particularly during later semesters of students' studies. It illustrates the changes with detailed descriptions of two examples from the author's practices over the last 8 years. The examples tackle some of the questions posed above in a more direct way. Specifically, it illustrates how transformative teaching is being used to address 'real-world' authentic problems. The main thrust of the chapter is that even within limited resources and in relatively difficult environments, a thoughtful engineering educator can enable students to think and act proactively on problems faced by their societies and which are initially thought of, as intractable.

It is acknowledged that most African students coming into engineering faculties and colleges have, in their high school days, been conditioned to

**5**

*Transformative Teaching of Engineering in Sub-Saharan Africa*

continent's engineering approaches to solve its problems.

where the students in the cases are coming from.

**2.1 Transmission teaching**

the teacher has transmitted.

**2. Transmission, transactional and transformational teaching**

In this section, we make a brief review of the three modes of teaching commonly listed in the literature. The purpose is partly to give a theoretical basis for the case studies in the next section, but more importantly, to create a clear understanding of

In Transmission teaching, the teacher acts as an 'all knowing' individual, passing knowledge and/or skills to attentive, receiving students [21]. Typically, the teacher sources delivery content from a prescribed textbook, often with help of an instructor's manual, and then talks or writes or demonstrates to the students what the source says. Ref. [22] points out, transmission teaching is rigid and mechanistic, bordering on being robotic. This means, the quality and real value of a humanteacher in this mode is badly degraded, and therefore, that it matters less, what kind of teacher is available to handle the class. On the learner side, according to [23], it encourages passive learning, with the students, thinking all there is to learn is what

Yet, transmission is the simplest and most convenient mode of handling large classes say, of 100 or more students. And through its amenability to use of standardised teaching and learning materials it has been the choice mode of teaching at primary, secondary and high school levels in sub-Saharan Africa (e.g. [24–26]). In almost all countries, this period is up to age 17–19 for a non-repeating learner. The mode is convenient at these levels partly because of age, but mainly because of the national examinations held at ends of each of these levels. In countries like Uganda [27], Ghana [28], Gabon [29], DRC [30], etc., pupils must first 'pass' these exams satisfactorily before going to the next level. In those countries attempting universal and compulsory primary and secondary education like South Africa, Botswana,

non-transformative learning. This is because many schools' interests are more on percentage pass rates than on deep understanding (e.g. see [16–18]). One of the first steps for an engineering educator, therefore, is to transform the thought and attitudinal processes of the students in regard to learning itself. Secondly, these students have usually not had much practical work, either in Physics laboratories or in engineering workshops. A result of this is that they come to engineering with a bias towards theoretical analysis. Also, they have a deficit of practical and of 3-dimensional visualisation skills [19, 20]. The second stage in their minds-transformation, therefore, is to be nurtured into engineering as a practice—based, tangible results oriented activity, needing multidimensional thinking. Accomplishment of these two stages is not transformative teaching yet. It is a prerequisite though. We discuss transformative teaching in Section 2 and tailor it to the need for physical engineering changes in the region. This prepares the ground for illustrative case practices in Section 3. One case addresses the maintenance question. The second one, tackles multiple issues using potable water and energy sourcing as a two in one example. We discuss key results of the case studies and show opportunities and challenges to effecting changes in Section 4. Finally in Section 5, we summarise the chapter and conclude with a recommendation for implementation of transformative teaching in the region's engineering classes. The originality and value of this chapter is that it illustrates how an engineering educator on the continent could use meagre resources to make a start in transforming both the students' learning and the

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81608*

*Transformative Teaching of Engineering in Sub-Saharan Africa DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81608*

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

Different explanations for these rather awkward questions have been presented

by different people and interests at different forums (e.g. [8–11]). They have included malaria, poverty, slavery, colonialism, dependency syndrome, lack of technology and knowhow, poor governance, etc. Almost anyone can come up with an explanation—provided that explanation excludes her or himself. It is not the intention of this chapter to take that route of exclusion. Nor is it that we should delve on the explanations much longer. Rather, as an engineering educator, I take a pragmatic approach and advocate owning up part of the responsibility to change the status-quo. This is because, whichever cause, or combination of explanations others give, nothing will change, unless some people with engineering knowledge and skills get up and try to do something. It has been said—rightly or wrongly—that Africa is not short of good or bad analysts, advisers, and even policy makers. In only 3 publications [12–14], for example, one can identify not less than 27 advisers and analysts. What the continent is most short of, are thoughtful doers that can trans-

*Part of a 2-year-old engineering faculty building at one sub-Saharan Africa's university (author).*

form its resources locally, to benefit its residents first, and others, next.

societies and which are initially thought of, as intractable.

It is acknowledged that most African students coming into engineering faculties and colleges have, in their high school days, been conditioned to

Therefore, this chapter on transformative teaching is about practice change in sub-Saharan Africa's engineering schools and faculties. It draws on a literature survey and experiential work in 4 universities in Eastern, Western and Southern African countries to show that the current dominant mode of teaching in the

region's engineering faculties and colleges is not transformative. For reasons ranging from faculty expertise, to facilities, to student and national politics and economies [15], current higher engineering education practice in the region still heavily relies on transmission teaching. This chapter suggests changes to this practice, particularly during later semesters of students' studies. It illustrates the changes with detailed descriptions of two examples from the author's practices over the last 8 years. The examples tackle some of the questions posed above in a more direct way. Specifically, it illustrates how transformative teaching is being used to address 'real-world' authentic problems. The main thrust of the chapter is that even within limited resources and in relatively difficult environments, a thoughtful engineering educator can enable students to think and act proactively on problems faced by their

**4**

**Figure 1.**

non-transformative learning. This is because many schools' interests are more on percentage pass rates than on deep understanding (e.g. see [16–18]). One of the first steps for an engineering educator, therefore, is to transform the thought and attitudinal processes of the students in regard to learning itself. Secondly, these students have usually not had much practical work, either in Physics laboratories or in engineering workshops. A result of this is that they come to engineering with a bias towards theoretical analysis. Also, they have a deficit of practical and of 3-dimensional visualisation skills [19, 20]. The second stage in their minds-transformation, therefore, is to be nurtured into engineering as a practice—based, tangible results oriented activity, needing multidimensional thinking. Accomplishment of these two stages is not transformative teaching yet. It is a prerequisite though. We discuss transformative teaching in Section 2 and tailor it to the need for physical engineering changes in the region. This prepares the ground for illustrative case practices in Section 3. One case addresses the maintenance question. The second one, tackles multiple issues using potable water and energy sourcing as a two in one example. We discuss key results of the case studies and show opportunities and challenges to effecting changes in Section 4. Finally in Section 5, we summarise the chapter and conclude with a recommendation for implementation of transformative teaching in the region's engineering classes. The originality and value of this chapter is that it illustrates how an engineering educator on the continent could use meagre resources to make a start in transforming both the students' learning and the continent's engineering approaches to solve its problems.

#### **2. Transmission, transactional and transformational teaching**

In this section, we make a brief review of the three modes of teaching commonly listed in the literature. The purpose is partly to give a theoretical basis for the case studies in the next section, but more importantly, to create a clear understanding of where the students in the cases are coming from.

#### **2.1 Transmission teaching**

In Transmission teaching, the teacher acts as an 'all knowing' individual, passing knowledge and/or skills to attentive, receiving students [21]. Typically, the teacher sources delivery content from a prescribed textbook, often with help of an instructor's manual, and then talks or writes or demonstrates to the students what the source says. Ref. [22] points out, transmission teaching is rigid and mechanistic, bordering on being robotic. This means, the quality and real value of a humanteacher in this mode is badly degraded, and therefore, that it matters less, what kind of teacher is available to handle the class. On the learner side, according to [23], it encourages passive learning, with the students, thinking all there is to learn is what the teacher has transmitted.

Yet, transmission is the simplest and most convenient mode of handling large classes say, of 100 or more students. And through its amenability to use of standardised teaching and learning materials it has been the choice mode of teaching at primary, secondary and high school levels in sub-Saharan Africa (e.g. [24–26]). In almost all countries, this period is up to age 17–19 for a non-repeating learner. The mode is convenient at these levels partly because of age, but mainly because of the national examinations held at ends of each of these levels. In countries like Uganda [27], Ghana [28], Gabon [29], DRC [30], etc., pupils must first 'pass' these exams satisfactorily before going to the next level. In those countries attempting universal and compulsory primary and secondary education like South Africa, Botswana,

Uganda, etc., government financing pressures are forcing an emphasis on fast throughputs, and thus, both schools and pupils are exploiting the weaknesses of a transmission system through what is commonly called 'spoon feeding' and 'spotting' to pass, and eventually come to university. 'Spoon feeding' means the teacher literally tries to do whatever is possible for the pupil, leaving almost nothing for the latter to develop her/his thinking and study faculties. Spotting means the teacher tries to make intelligent guesses of what the national examiners will ask, and then focuses teaching effort only on that.

To summarise, many students coming to university or to engineering colleges, have had almost all their learning times subjected to a transmission type of teaching. A majority have been silent listeners in class, and it should not surprise us that this silence and passivity should be carried forward to our engineering classes. Likewise, the other habits of expectations to be spoon fed and to be told of scopes of assessments are brought to our classes. It is the calling of a conscientious engineering educator to wean them off those expectations and nurture them into a new world of self-driven enquiry, innovation and creativity. Particularly, for the region in question, this is critical because of its level of underdevelopment, limited financial resources, and scarcity of technical personnel at all levels of engineering in each country [30]. Transformative teaching, as described in this chapter's case studies, is intended to demonstrate this nurturing and its potential effects on the wider society outside the universities. However, it requires that the students have matured a bit in their engineering thought and practices so that they can have something to reflect on and challenge. This necessitates a transition through transactional teaching, which we briefly describe next.

#### **2.2 Transactional teaching**

Transactional teaching deviates from transmission in sense that, the students are more engaged in physical activities that enhance their exploration of knowledge. They are exposed to experiences that enable them to learn through direct discovery and through sharing of these experiences among themselves and with the teacher. The teacher's principle role in this mode is to manage the learning. Ref. [31] advises and demonstrates through a case study on a class of teacher educators, that this mode of teaching is highly reflective: starting with the planning of activities the teacher will get the students involved in, availing the resources, space and support during the activities and report backs, and finally in interpreting the outcomes of the activities and how they may have been evidence of achievement of the desired learning outcomes. The basis of enhancing learning through this mode is according to Dewey, extensively cited, in [32], similar to Darwin's evolution theory, in which constant interactions with an environment causes organisms to develop features that sustain survival in that environment [33]. In other words, student constant exposure to carefully planned and executed practical experiences will tend to lead to natural adaptation for learning and retaining lessons from those experiences longer.

For the kind of student received in many African engineering faculties, i.e., one who has not been exposed to much engineering, or even, to normal physics practical work previously, and who, during most of the past study time, has been used to transmission teaching, the reflective part of the teacher, should help design activities to wean this student. Therefore, transactional teaching in the region's engineering faculties could be looked at as a first step in reorienting the study styles of the students. But as this chapter is about transformative teaching, and as the students in the cases of Section 3 are towards the ends of their studies, we will not pursue transactional teaching beyond this point. Interested readers can refer to the works in Refs. [34–38] on the mode.

**7**

*Transformative Teaching of Engineering in Sub-Saharan Africa*

used in student projects to motivate maximum learning effort.

non grass thatched village home(s) was partly to do with their safety.

For the intellectual class in Africa, perhaps the most appealing mode of transformative learning is the so called 'Emancipatory' model, introduced by a radical Brazilian intellectual, Paulo Freire. The model looks not just at individuals, but at whole societies and socio-political-economic systems that keep some of these societies less developed than others. The teaching is then meant to help learners to critically examine these systems and change attitudes, approaches and actions so that they may work for a more equitable society. In the opinion of this

Boyd introduced the analytical model of transformative learning. Rather than focus on society beliefs, this model pushes the learner to re-examine her/his inner self to seek personality changes that will enable solution of the problem on hand. The learner tries to identify traits, personal behaviours or previous own long term effect experiences that may be impeding understanding or performing the current task. In the case of the author for example, three entire household item losses in his childhood due to fires in grass-thatched homes, had left a semi-permanent impression on him by the time he came to study engineering. So, when it came to materials selection in Machine Design courses, wood/timber and many other easily combustible materials were treated as off limit. That is—till he had to supervise an undergraduate student who could only cost effectively accomplish his final year project using timber, as a machine frame material [50]. May be, as we will see later in the chapter, this impression mildly lingers on, because the decision to focus his research on solar energy engineering, and use solar energy systems in his current

In the first part of this section, we will describe and relate transformative teaching to the case studies described later. Then, in the second subsection, we will

In the literature, many writers (e.g. [39–45]) present transformative teaching as directed to adults or to people who have had previous experiences that shape their current viewpoints and outlooks on existing situations and issues. It then seeks to help them change those viewpoints presumably, for improvement of their understanding of the issues and situations. It was best championed by Jack Mezirow in late 1980s [46, 47], but two other thinkers, Robert Boyd [48] and Paulo Freire [49] made useful circumstantial contributions. Mezirow postulated what is called a perspective model of transformative learning. Here, the learner confronts a dilemma which requires her/him to critically examine and question pre-existing assumptions and beliefs. These assumptions are typically stereotypical and embedded in either culture or norms of a society. In most of sub-Saharan Africa engineering faculties, an example could be that 'engineering is a male's profession' or 'women are better off in industrial and chemical engineering than in mechanical and civil engineering'. Both case studies demonstrate that female students in Mechanical Engineering can be enabled not only to find the area interesting, but that they can also be very useful and motivational members of engineering teams. An even more striking belief the author had to confront among his industrial workers in Uganda, East Africa at the close of the last century, was: 'new production machinery needs blood sacrifice to be installed properly'. Here, the belief was turned upside down to motivate peak performance during installation by promise of a big celebratory 'bull roasting' after—*not before*—successful installation. A similar approach of promises for, and actualisation of, celebrating engineering project successes, has since been

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81608*

outline methods of using it.

*2.3.1 What is transformative teaching?*

**2.3 Transformative teaching and learning**

#### **2.3 Transformative teaching and learning**

In the first part of this section, we will describe and relate transformative teaching to the case studies described later. Then, in the second subsection, we will outline methods of using it.

#### *2.3.1 What is transformative teaching?*

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

focuses teaching effort only on that.

which we briefly describe next.

**2.2 Transactional teaching**

Uganda, etc., government financing pressures are forcing an emphasis on fast throughputs, and thus, both schools and pupils are exploiting the weaknesses of a transmission system through what is commonly called 'spoon feeding' and 'spotting' to pass, and eventually come to university. 'Spoon feeding' means the teacher literally tries to do whatever is possible for the pupil, leaving almost nothing for the latter to develop her/his thinking and study faculties. Spotting means the teacher tries to make intelligent guesses of what the national examiners will ask, and then

To summarise, many students coming to university or to engineering colleges, have had almost all their learning times subjected to a transmission type of teaching. A majority have been silent listeners in class, and it should not surprise us that this silence and passivity should be carried forward to our engineering classes. Likewise, the other habits of expectations to be spoon fed and to be told of scopes of assessments are brought to our classes. It is the calling of a conscientious engineering educator to wean them off those expectations and nurture them into a new world of self-driven enquiry, innovation and creativity. Particularly, for the region in question, this is critical because of its level of underdevelopment, limited financial resources, and scarcity of technical personnel at all levels of engineering in each country [30]. Transformative teaching, as described in this chapter's case studies, is intended to demonstrate this nurturing and its potential effects on the wider society outside the universities. However, it requires that the students have matured a bit in their engineering thought and practices so that they can have something to reflect on and challenge. This necessitates a transition through transactional teaching,

Transactional teaching deviates from transmission in sense that, the students are more engaged in physical activities that enhance their exploration of knowledge. They are exposed to experiences that enable them to learn through direct discovery and through sharing of these experiences among themselves and with the teacher. The teacher's principle role in this mode is to manage the learning. Ref. [31] advises and demonstrates through a case study on a class of teacher educators, that this mode of teaching is highly reflective: starting with the planning of activities the teacher will get the students involved in, availing the resources, space and support during the activities and report backs, and finally in interpreting the outcomes of the activities and how they may have been evidence of achievement of the desired learning outcomes. The basis of enhancing learning through this mode is according to Dewey, extensively cited, in [32], similar to Darwin's evolution theory, in which constant interactions with an environment causes organisms to develop features that sustain survival in that environment [33]. In other words, student constant exposure to carefully planned and executed practical experiences will tend to lead to natural adaptation for learning and retaining lessons from those experiences longer. For the kind of student received in many African engineering faculties, i.e., one who has not been exposed to much engineering, or even, to normal physics practical work previously, and who, during most of the past study time, has been used to transmission teaching, the reflective part of the teacher, should help design activities to wean this student. Therefore, transactional teaching in the region's engineering faculties could be looked at as a first step in reorienting the study styles of the students. But as this chapter is about transformative teaching, and as the students in the cases of Section 3 are towards the ends of their studies, we will not pursue transactional teaching beyond this point. Interested readers can refer to the works

**6**

in Refs. [34–38] on the mode.

In the literature, many writers (e.g. [39–45]) present transformative teaching as directed to adults or to people who have had previous experiences that shape their current viewpoints and outlooks on existing situations and issues. It then seeks to help them change those viewpoints presumably, for improvement of their understanding of the issues and situations. It was best championed by Jack Mezirow in late 1980s [46, 47], but two other thinkers, Robert Boyd [48] and Paulo Freire [49] made useful circumstantial contributions. Mezirow postulated what is called a perspective model of transformative learning. Here, the learner confronts a dilemma which requires her/him to critically examine and question pre-existing assumptions and beliefs. These assumptions are typically stereotypical and embedded in either culture or norms of a society. In most of sub-Saharan Africa engineering faculties, an example could be that 'engineering is a male's profession' or 'women are better off in industrial and chemical engineering than in mechanical and civil engineering'. Both case studies demonstrate that female students in Mechanical Engineering can be enabled not only to find the area interesting, but that they can also be very useful and motivational members of engineering teams. An even more striking belief the author had to confront among his industrial workers in Uganda, East Africa at the close of the last century, was: 'new production machinery needs blood sacrifice to be installed properly'. Here, the belief was turned upside down to motivate peak performance during installation by promise of a big celebratory 'bull roasting' after—*not before*—successful installation. A similar approach of promises for, and actualisation of, celebrating engineering project successes, has since been used in student projects to motivate maximum learning effort.

Boyd introduced the analytical model of transformative learning. Rather than focus on society beliefs, this model pushes the learner to re-examine her/his inner self to seek personality changes that will enable solution of the problem on hand. The learner tries to identify traits, personal behaviours or previous own long term effect experiences that may be impeding understanding or performing the current task. In the case of the author for example, three entire household item losses in his childhood due to fires in grass-thatched homes, had left a semi-permanent impression on him by the time he came to study engineering. So, when it came to materials selection in Machine Design courses, wood/timber and many other easily combustible materials were treated as off limit. That is—till he had to supervise an undergraduate student who could only cost effectively accomplish his final year project using timber, as a machine frame material [50]. May be, as we will see later in the chapter, this impression mildly lingers on, because the decision to focus his research on solar energy engineering, and use solar energy systems in his current non grass thatched village home(s) was partly to do with their safety.

For the intellectual class in Africa, perhaps the most appealing mode of transformative learning is the so called 'Emancipatory' model, introduced by a radical Brazilian intellectual, Paulo Freire. The model looks not just at individuals, but at whole societies and socio-political-economic systems that keep some of these societies less developed than others. The teaching is then meant to help learners to critically examine these systems and change attitudes, approaches and actions so that they may work for a more equitable society. In the opinion of this

author, while some of this may look extreme, there is merit in questioning the current world economic order and the so called laws that regulate it. For example, the 'law' of comparative advantage [51]: each country or society producing what it does best, and buying everything else from countries that produce those other goods better. What if—as happens in Africa—a country's best output is of low value: how will it ever raise money to buy the other goods of higher value? The answer is partly in Engineering, and partly in rejecting that comparative advantage law. Countries need engineering to convert resources within their borders into useful products for their people and for others outside who may need them. But development of engineering skills and of top quality products is a dynamic process requiring time. In that intervening time, it is absolutely essential to identify, or even to create, local and external captive markets that can take the evolving products at the prices the captive markets can afford. In Section 4 of this chapter, we will find that this is one of the main things the author tries to sensitise his students about.

#### *2.3.2 Elements and methods of transformative teaching*

Mezirow listed 10 stages of transformative learning as in [52, 53]. Briefly, they convey three themes: a recall of past experiences; an unbiased critique of those experiences in light of the present situation; and a rational change of course of action in a new dispensation. To facilitate these, Christie et al. [54] advise that transformative teaching involves doing the following:


How are these actions done? Slavich and Zimbardo [55] outline a method the author prefers to use for the reasons given in each step as:


**9**

second case study.

*3.1.1 Background and rationale*

*Transformative Teaching of Engineering in Sub-Saharan Africa*

an opportunity to redirect the learning if there is need.

• Provide experiential work outside the formal class room and times. This creates

• In all these steps, encourage students to reflect on the work so far, and perflect (i.e. imagine what final solution they envisage). Particularly at the one on one feedback interaction, let them share their learning experiences. This provides

In summary, transformative teaching should enable students master the particular topic/assignment to the extent that the knowledge and skills so gained, are irreversible. We will not go into the details of the theories behind this irreversibility but they are listed in [55] as: Piaget's constructivism [56]; Vygotsky's social constructivism [57]; McGregor's Transformative learning [58]; Bandura's social cognitivist [59]; Boyatzis' intentional change [60]; and Bass' transformational leadership theory [61]. We will now turn to the case studies demonstrating this transformative

We started this chapter with a set of questions. Although any other question could randomly have been asked, these particular ones were not. They do reflect some of the issues the author tries to address with his students. In this section, we will illustrate two different cases: evolution of water purifying system case study that addresses both energy sourcing and clean water generation at rural home level; and development of a maintenance culture as early as possible in the students' engineering professional journey. The latter case is entirely at undergraduate mechanical engineering level, but it includes research and action elements in non-engineering areas. This is to help the students uncover the totality of the project assignment because the system they work on must in the end be saleable or actionable. The water-energy project is more complex. It is a multi-level project by mechanical engineering students. National diploma, Bachelors, Masters and a Doctoral student are involved. In addition, it is intentionally made pan Africanist in sense that the post graduate students are required to consider elements that would be helpful in their countries of origin. The countries represented are: Angola, DRC, Gabon, Lesotho, Libya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania. The lecturer, who in this case, is the overall project manager, is from Uganda, East Africa. We will

This case study illustrates an approach the author uses to inculcate a maintenance conscience and activism among his students, even though he does not teach 'Maintenance Engineering' as a subject. First, a brief background and rationale for the approach is given; then, the approach is explained and illustrated. Some results of the approach are given at the end. The discussion on challenges and opportunities from this approach is left to Section 4, where it is handled with those from the

Engineering systems have a life cycle, almost similar to that of natural living things: they are created to perform specific functions; they need energy, other utilities, and physical and mental inputs to operate; they need to be cared for because

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81608*

teaching.

**3. Case studies**

start with the relatively easier one.

**3.1 Case 1: maintenance of engineering systems**

some realism on what is being done.


In summary, transformative teaching should enable students master the particular topic/assignment to the extent that the knowledge and skills so gained, are irreversible. We will not go into the details of the theories behind this irreversibility but they are listed in [55] as: Piaget's constructivism [56]; Vygotsky's social constructivism [57]; McGregor's Transformative learning [58]; Bandura's social cognitivist [59]; Boyatzis' intentional change [60]; and Bass' transformational leadership theory [61]. We will now turn to the case studies demonstrating this transformative teaching.

#### **3. Case studies**

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

author, while some of this may look extreme, there is merit in questioning the current world economic order and the so called laws that regulate it. For example, the 'law' of comparative advantage [51]: each country or society producing what it does best, and buying everything else from countries that produce those other goods better. What if—as happens in Africa—a country's best output is of low value: how will it ever raise money to buy the other goods of higher value? The answer is partly in Engineering, and partly in rejecting that comparative advantage law. Countries need engineering to convert resources within their borders into useful products for their people and for others outside who may need them. But development of engineering skills and of top quality products is a dynamic process requiring time. In that intervening time, it is absolutely essential to identify, or even to create, local and external captive markets that can take the evolving products at the prices the captive markets can afford. In Section 4 of this chapter, we will find that this is one of the main things the author tries to sensitise

Mezirow listed 10 stages of transformative learning as in [52, 53]. Briefly, they convey three themes: a recall of past experiences; an unbiased critique of those experiences in light of the present situation; and a rational change of course of action in a new dispensation. To facilitate these, Christie et al. [54] advise that

• Creation of targeted experiences for students, so that they can reflect on the

• Melding the art and science of a problem, so that all its features can come

• Creating an enabling environment so that students care and take charge of

• Modelling symphonic thinking so that students can create a more holistic

• Facilitating productive struggle, so that the students will appreciate and value

How are these actions done? Slavich and Zimbardo [55] outline a method the

• First, communicate and share the vision of the course with the students. This creates a shared mission, and common objectives, making the students feel

• Then, provide unquestionable mastery experiences in what you are teaching.

• Give intellectually challenging assignments and motivate the students

• Personalise attention and feedback. This makes each student feel noticed

**8**

his students about.

past

to the fore

their learning

and balanced solution

This creates authenticity.

and valued.

the solutions and learning better.

author prefers to use for the reasons given in each step as:

you regard their eventual success as yours too.

along the way. This helps them to learn deeper.

*2.3.2 Elements and methods of transformative teaching*

transformative teaching involves doing the following:

We started this chapter with a set of questions. Although any other question could randomly have been asked, these particular ones were not. They do reflect some of the issues the author tries to address with his students. In this section, we will illustrate two different cases: evolution of water purifying system case study that addresses both energy sourcing and clean water generation at rural home level; and development of a maintenance culture as early as possible in the students' engineering professional journey. The latter case is entirely at undergraduate mechanical engineering level, but it includes research and action elements in non-engineering areas. This is to help the students uncover the totality of the project assignment because the system they work on must in the end be saleable or actionable. The water-energy project is more complex. It is a multi-level project by mechanical engineering students. National diploma, Bachelors, Masters and a Doctoral student are involved. In addition, it is intentionally made pan Africanist in sense that the post graduate students are required to consider elements that would be helpful in their countries of origin. The countries represented are: Angola, DRC, Gabon, Lesotho, Libya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania. The lecturer, who in this case, is the overall project manager, is from Uganda, East Africa. We will start with the relatively easier one.

#### **3.1 Case 1: maintenance of engineering systems**

This case study illustrates an approach the author uses to inculcate a maintenance conscience and activism among his students, even though he does not teach 'Maintenance Engineering' as a subject. First, a brief background and rationale for the approach is given; then, the approach is explained and illustrated. Some results of the approach are given at the end. The discussion on challenges and opportunities from this approach is left to Section 4, where it is handled with those from the second case study.

#### *3.1.1 Background and rationale*

Engineering systems have a life cycle, almost similar to that of natural living things: they are created to perform specific functions; they need energy, other utilities, and physical and mental inputs to operate; they need to be cared for because they also can 'die'. After 'death', their constituent parts can be recycled for use elsewhere, like for any natural living thing. However, they are incapable of reproducing themselves in ways that normal living things do. In Africa, the problems about these systems start with inadequate understanding of their very nature, through their creation, operation, all the way to, neglect of their recycling possibilities. For example, while Africa's modern infrastructure systems were initially designed and constructed by Europeans [62], today those roles are increasingly being taken over by Chinese and Indians [63]. It is only bits of operation and maintenance which are in hands of the few, yet, inadequately trained and underfinanced African engineers and technicians [64]. Against this background, is an engineering education system that:


The effect of the above two points at universities and colleges, is that the 'Maintenance Engineering' syllabi are designed to emphasise the theoretical aspects only. **Table 1** is an example of one semester course content(s) at two different universities on the continent.

It is seen from the table that the contents at these universities are biased towards management and analysis. In a situation of insufficient numbers of technicians, fitters, electricians, painters, etc., as happens in the region, it can be asked: whom will the technologists and engineers trained at these universities manage—to do the actual physical maintenance? Needless to say, this negatively impacts on the lives of engineering assets and increases the cost of products and services in the region.


**11**

*Transformative Teaching of Engineering in Sub-Saharan Africa*

The rationale and originality of this case study therefore, was to nurture students

into a hands-on maintenance approach which, for some, complements the theoretical grounding they receive in 'Maintenance Engineering' courses. I say 'some' because at many universities—including the above two, this subject is taken as an elective at undergraduate level. The other objective was to sensitise students about financial and non-financial costs either of not maintaining or of outsourcing maintenance work that could be done in-house. An offshoot objective was to enlighten them on opportunities available in taking maintenance as a business proposition for serving those members of society who, for one reason or other, do not do their own

Basically, the students are assigned team projects during their final semester as part of either their Applied Thermodynamics or of their Mechanical Engineering Design courses, handled by the author. The former, deals with thermodynamic devices such as Boilers, Compressors, Engines, Refrigeration systems, Heat

Exchangers, etc. The latter deals with design of machinery through choices of appropriate materials, manufacturing processes, machine elements and devices to make safe and functional complete mechanical systems that do a specific task. Here, we illustrate a case of solar water heaters, in which, different teams of students in both subjects have been involved over the years, since 2011. The project started off like that described in Case No. 2 below, as a design one. It has since, evolved as an on-going maintenance and reengineering project in the compound at entry to Mechanical Engineering building of the author's university. Its organisation, conduct and assessment are similar to all others used by the author and are fully described in [72]. We shall now show the successive major steps it has gone through since inception in 2011. *Inception*: The start was by a survey of available solar water heating systems in

*Subsequent work*: The lecturer discussed the above students' report with subsequent teams of Machine Design students. Then, he instructed the teams to design

compare the manufacturing materials costs with 30% of sale prices reported in the previous report. If found to exceed this level, they were to suggest changes in design

**Figure 2** shows the students at work, and their initial finished products. *Reengineering of the initial designs*: subsequent teams of both Thermodynamics and Machine Design were guided to refine these initial designs every semester, as part of an on-going maintenance program. At one stage for example, two Thermodynamics teams were assigned to change the sun tracking system from manual to electro-mechanical, and test their design changes for a period of 1 week. In addition, they were to make presentations to Mechanical Engineering academic

The students reengineered the systems successfully, changing from wooden frames to weather resistant aluminium ones. They also incorporated mechanised sun tracking in the systems. Thus, by doing so, they had been guided to learn that maintenance is not simply a 'repair' or a 'prevent failure' activity. But that it could also be a 'continuous design improvement' activity. This is an extremely important lesson for present day Africa, where most engineering systems are originating elsewhere.

*Emergency repair maintenance*: one morning in early winter of 2015, the polar tracking collector was found blown over by a night storm, unlike its counterpart azimuthal tracking unit. **Figure 3** shows a photograph of what we found in the morning. Students had not yet been assigned the semester's projects. Immediately, however, a team of 8

solar collectors, their stands and tanks. They were also to

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81608*

Cape Town and their corresponding prices.

that could be done to keep costs within target.

staff at the end of the semester.

in-house maintenance.

*3.1.2 Methodology*

and construct 1 m2

**Table 1.**

*Course contents of maintenance engineering at two universities in sub-Saharan Africa.*

#### *Transformative Teaching of Engineering in Sub-Saharan Africa DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81608*

The rationale and originality of this case study therefore, was to nurture students into a hands-on maintenance approach which, for some, complements the theoretical grounding they receive in 'Maintenance Engineering' courses. I say 'some' because at many universities—including the above two, this subject is taken as an elective at undergraduate level. The other objective was to sensitise students about financial and non-financial costs either of not maintaining or of outsourcing maintenance work that could be done in-house. An offshoot objective was to enlighten them on opportunities available in taking maintenance as a business proposition for serving those members of society who, for one reason or other, do not do their own in-house maintenance.

#### *3.1.2 Methodology*

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

they also can 'die'. After 'death', their constituent parts can be recycled for use elsewhere, like for any natural living thing. However, they are incapable of reproducing themselves in ways that normal living things do. In Africa, the problems about these systems start with inadequate understanding of their very nature, through their creation, operation, all the way to, neglect of their recycling possibilities. For example, while Africa's modern infrastructure systems were initially designed and constructed by Europeans [62], today those roles are increasingly being taken over by Chinese and Indians [63]. It is only bits of operation and maintenance which are in hands of the few, yet, inadequately trained and underfinanced African engineers and technicians [64]. Against this background, is an engineering education system that:

• Is rooted, and is still stuck in old Europe: uses old Europeanised syllabi, European textbooks and is taught by Europe/America trained academics, usually without any form of industrial practice exposure [65, 66]. This may seem to be partly fine—until one realises the following: one—new Europe/ America are changing their curricula to emphasise more practical work to match demands of the times (in Europe/America/rest of developed world) [67, 68]; two—European text books are expensive, well beyond the means of most students in Africa. Besides, they lack examples, literature and data, which

African students can easily relate to for ease of understanding [69].

• Is elitist and theoretical. It influences students and graduates to expect only white collar office jobs in industry. They hope to find industry, full of artisans and craftsmen, whom they can supervise and direct to do manual, blue collar work. Yet, industry is in shortest supply of these [70], because by nature of national reward systems, it pays non artisanal work better [71]. This has direct impact on maintenance of systems because they require hands-on people.

The effect of the above two points at universities and colleges, is that the 'Maintenance Engineering' syllabi are designed to emphasise the theoretical aspects only. **Table 1** is an example of one semester course content(s) at two different

It is seen from the table that the contents at these universities are biased towards management and analysis. In a situation of insufficient numbers of technicians, fitters, electricians, painters, etc., as happens in the region, it can be asked: whom will the technologists and engineers trained at these universities manage—to do the actual physical maintenance? Needless to say, this negatively impacts on the lives of engineering assets and increases the cost of products and services in the region.

**University no. 1 University no. 2**

4 Maintenance management Reliability centred maintenance

Computer methods

Tribology

1 Business strategy Maintenance structure 2 Theory of management Maintenance management

5 Maintenance costing and economics Investment decisions

3 Maintenance planning Statistics

*Course contents of maintenance engineering at two universities in sub-Saharan Africa.*

**10**

**Table 1.**

**Topic number**

universities on the continent.

Basically, the students are assigned team projects during their final semester as part of either their Applied Thermodynamics or of their Mechanical Engineering Design courses, handled by the author. The former, deals with thermodynamic devices such as Boilers, Compressors, Engines, Refrigeration systems, Heat Exchangers, etc. The latter deals with design of machinery through choices of appropriate materials, manufacturing processes, machine elements and devices to make safe and functional complete mechanical systems that do a specific task. Here, we illustrate a case of solar water heaters, in which, different teams of students in both subjects have been involved over the years, since 2011. The project started off like that described in Case No. 2 below, as a design one. It has since, evolved as an on-going maintenance and reengineering project in the compound at entry to Mechanical Engineering building of the author's university. Its organisation, conduct and assessment are similar to all others used by the author and are fully described in [72]. We shall now show the successive major steps it has gone through since inception in 2011.

*Inception*: The start was by a survey of available solar water heating systems in Cape Town and their corresponding prices.

*Subsequent work*: The lecturer discussed the above students' report with subsequent teams of Machine Design students. Then, he instructed the teams to design and construct 1 m2 solar collectors, their stands and tanks. They were also to compare the manufacturing materials costs with 30% of sale prices reported in the previous report. If found to exceed this level, they were to suggest changes in design that could be done to keep costs within target.

**Figure 2** shows the students at work, and their initial finished products.

*Reengineering of the initial designs*: subsequent teams of both Thermodynamics and Machine Design were guided to refine these initial designs every semester, as part of an on-going maintenance program. At one stage for example, two Thermodynamics teams were assigned to change the sun tracking system from manual to electro-mechanical, and test their design changes for a period of 1 week. In addition, they were to make presentations to Mechanical Engineering academic staff at the end of the semester.

The students reengineered the systems successfully, changing from wooden frames to weather resistant aluminium ones. They also incorporated mechanised sun tracking in the systems. Thus, by doing so, they had been guided to learn that maintenance is not simply a 'repair' or a 'prevent failure' activity. But that it could also be a 'continuous design improvement' activity. This is an extremely important lesson for present day Africa, where most engineering systems are originating elsewhere.

*Emergency repair maintenance*: one morning in early winter of 2015, the polar tracking collector was found blown over by a night storm, unlike its counterpart azimuthal tracking unit. **Figure 3** shows a photograph of what we found in the morning. Students had not yet been assigned the semester's projects. Immediately, however, a team of 8

#### **Figure 2.**

*Students in the workshop and their finished products in the Mech. Eng. Dept. compound.*

**Figure 3.** *The blown-over solar collector (left) and the author inspecting the repaired system (right).*

Machine Design students requested to repair the installation as their semester project. They were assigned the repair project, but with additional instructions to consider whether, in light of longer term weather data, available at the department's weather station, it was necessary to re-examine the designs of both systems. Additionally, they were to cost their repair work, including their labour at assigned hourly rates. They successfully repaired the system, as in the second part of **Figure 3**. Costing was correctly done and useful observations on the installations were made.

#### *3.1.3 Illustrative results of the case study*

There have been many good outcomes of this particular case study and of others, related to in-house maintenance of systems. Those to do with student performance evaluation and team workmanship were described in [72, 73]. We will not repeat them here. We shall mention three others as follows:

• Student learning—the students were exposed to, and did use, different areas of knowledge and skills to supplement their normal mechanical engineering knowledge base. In particular, they learnt to: cost materials and labour; use and program electromechanical and electronic circuits to obtain desired mechanical motions. This was a result of the purposeful attempt to 'meld art and science' and of 'modelling symphonic thinking' mentioned earlier in Section 2.3.2.

**13**

*Transformative Teaching of Engineering in Sub-Saharan Africa*

Such width of exposure on one specific problem in engineering classes is better

facilitated by transformative teaching than by any of the other types.

• Development of entirely new ways of installing and using solar syphon systems. To the limits of the author's knowledge and research, nowhere else in the history of solar water heating, have we had such a concerted approach to sun tracking of these passive heating systems. Ref. [74] gives a more detailed account of effects of these efforts. Again, we see that transformative teaching, through its requirement of 'productive struggle', when consistently applied to solar siphons, was responsible for development of innovative installation methods, which could not ordinarily be achieved using the other types of teaching.

• Industry-faculty cooperation: the routine (semi-annual) sending of student teams to industry during academic term time for consultations and/or assignments as opposed to during scheduled experiential training, has developed

**3.2 Case 2: solar water purification using multi-level, multi-nationality teams**

This case study is primarily about sensitising students to address the water and energy twin problems of rural and semi urban sub-Saharan Africa. But it was designed to do a lot more than that. Recognising the shortage of artisans in the region, and knowing that it is impossible for engineers to transform natural resources for service of society without artisanal and technician skill support, the case illustrates efforts at imparting some of these skills among all students irrespective of level. That notwithstanding, it also simulates a real workplace environment in which administrative hierarchy is generally structured. This is easiest at a University of Technology, educating and training most of the categories of the engineering profession. Hence, in this section of the chapter, we first give a brief justification of the approach. Then, we

In industry, every challenging engineering project involves the following activities: Abstract thinking—i.e. visualising, contextualising, interrogating a specific need for society or for individuals, and formulating (an) engineering problem(s) from that need. This is normally best handled by long experienced senior engineers who are able to seamlessly interact with other engineering and non-engineering professionals or leaders to fully comprehend the—often non-technical—need and reformulate it into a solvable engineering problem. After problem formulation in engineering terms, other engineers, including specialists, apply their knowledge, skills and competencies to work out (an) appropriate engineering solution(s). Technicians are then assigned to implement the solutions through the artisans they supervise. Each solution normally requires multiple crafts. Worldwide, in non-highly automated establishments, the generally expected ratios of these professionals to accomplish a large scale, transformative project are of the order of 1 engineer to 4 or 5 technicians to 20 artisans [75].

good will and cooperation between industry and faculty.

explain and illustrate it. Finally, we give some results from using it so far.

**Figure 4** is a graphical representation of this pyramidal line organisation.

It has already been said that many engineering students expect, and do want, to work near the apex of this structure, without realising that their real world pyramid base is very narrow, or even that they need time to build competencies and change attitudes to work near the apex effectively. Therefore, one of the necessary steps in transformative teaching of these students ought to be an involvement in a real life project for which they can be held directly accountable. This forms a key feature of transformative

*3.2.1 Why multi-levels, multi-nationalities on one 'student' project?*

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81608*

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

*Students in the workshop and their finished products in the Mech. Eng. Dept. compound.*

Machine Design students requested to repair the installation as their semester project. They were assigned the repair project, but with additional instructions to consider whether, in light of longer term weather data, available at the department's weather station, it was necessary to re-examine the designs of both systems. Additionally, they were to cost their repair work, including their labour at assigned hourly rates. They successfully repaired the system, as in the second part of **Figure 3**. Costing was cor-

There have been many good outcomes of this particular case study and of others, related to in-house maintenance of systems. Those to do with student performance evaluation and team workmanship were described in [72, 73]. We will not repeat

• Student learning—the students were exposed to, and did use, different areas of knowledge and skills to supplement their normal mechanical engineering knowledge base. In particular, they learnt to: cost materials and labour; use and program electromechanical and electronic circuits to obtain desired mechanical motions. This was a result of the purposeful attempt to 'meld art and science' and of 'modelling symphonic thinking' mentioned earlier in Section 2.3.2.

rectly done and useful observations on the installations were made.

*The blown-over solar collector (left) and the author inspecting the repaired system (right).*

*3.1.3 Illustrative results of the case study*

them here. We shall mention three others as follows:

**12**

**Figure 2.**

**Figure 3.**

Such width of exposure on one specific problem in engineering classes is better facilitated by transformative teaching than by any of the other types.


#### **3.2 Case 2: solar water purification using multi-level, multi-nationality teams**

This case study is primarily about sensitising students to address the water and energy twin problems of rural and semi urban sub-Saharan Africa. But it was designed to do a lot more than that. Recognising the shortage of artisans in the region, and knowing that it is impossible for engineers to transform natural resources for service of society without artisanal and technician skill support, the case illustrates efforts at imparting some of these skills among all students irrespective of level. That notwithstanding, it also simulates a real workplace environment in which administrative hierarchy is generally structured. This is easiest at a University of Technology, educating and training most of the categories of the engineering profession. Hence, in this section of the chapter, we first give a brief justification of the approach. Then, we explain and illustrate it. Finally, we give some results from using it so far.

#### *3.2.1 Why multi-levels, multi-nationalities on one 'student' project?*

In industry, every challenging engineering project involves the following activities: Abstract thinking—i.e. visualising, contextualising, interrogating a specific need for society or for individuals, and formulating (an) engineering problem(s) from that need. This is normally best handled by long experienced senior engineers who are able to seamlessly interact with other engineering and non-engineering professionals or leaders to fully comprehend the—often non-technical—need and reformulate it into a solvable engineering problem. After problem formulation in engineering terms, other engineers, including specialists, apply their knowledge, skills and competencies to work out (an) appropriate engineering solution(s). Technicians are then assigned to implement the solutions through the artisans they supervise. Each solution normally requires multiple crafts. Worldwide, in non-highly automated establishments, the generally expected ratios of these professionals to accomplish a large scale, transformative project are of the order of 1 engineer to 4 or 5 technicians to 20 artisans [75]. **Figure 4** is a graphical representation of this pyramidal line organisation.

It has already been said that many engineering students expect, and do want, to work near the apex of this structure, without realising that their real world pyramid base is very narrow, or even that they need time to build competencies and change attitudes to work near the apex effectively. Therefore, one of the necessary steps in transformative teaching of these students ought to be an involvement in a real life project for which they can be held directly accountable. This forms a key feature of transformative

**Figure 4.**

*Typical organisation and roles in an engineering assignment: A—artisan; tech—technician; Eng—engineer.*

learning: that of encountering, and being required to solve a problem they would never ordinarily meet in class, because of difficulty, time and other resources limitations. As pointed out in [72], failure to accomplish the project cannot be an option. As mentioned earlier in Section 2.3, other factors to facilitate transformative teaching include: creation by the teacher of an atmosphere of learners safety, open-mindedness and mutual trust both among themselves and with the teacher. The teacher needs to behave as part of the team but in a leadership and "provocateur" role, providing direction, where there seem to develop a gridlock. This is especially important in engineering design practice problems, where apart from functionality of products, consideration of conflicting requirements on costs, quality and safety are almost of equal importance. This means, all necessary knowledge, skills, competencies and attitudes have to be marshalled and deployed in the projects. It is the reason why projects like that about to be described in Section 3.2.2, are necessarily, multilevel; i.e. they involve: a senior engineer (the lecturer), engineers to be (post graduate students), technologists and technicians (bachelors and diploma students), and artisans (all the above 4).

A typical university of Technology in South Africa outputs all but one of the 4 levels of engineering professionals. This is why the author's projects demand that the artisan level be infused into all levels. The second reason for the infusion is that after graduation, the students will find no sufficient artisans in the field, and therefore, will on certain occasions have to do the artisanal work themselves.

The projects use multinational, multicultural teams, partly for the simple fact that the particular university has students from many countries, especially those in the southern half of the African continent. More importantly, different nationalities and cultures can bring new dimensions and solutions to the problem on hand. For example, the fact that in some African cultures and countries, women are the ones expected to fetch both water and firewood, and still prepare meals for the family [76], brings passion and urgency to solving the water-energy problem in a team containing students from such backgrounds. The other factor necessitating a mix of nationalities is that the fundamental problems needing most attention are virtually universal across the continent. They are not specific to particular peoples or areas. For a continent where racism, xenophobia, tribalism and other man-imposed divisions are still factors that can bar access to social, economic and political opportunities [77], transformative teaching needs to bring this fact to the fore: that as humans living anywhere on the continent, largely not by choice, our fundamental existential interests are the same, and therefore, we need to cooperate across these artificial barriers to satisfy the common interests.

**15**

*Transformative Teaching of Engineering in Sub-Saharan Africa*

We will now describe the rest of the approach in this case study.

*Inception*: the water purification project is one of two projects which started as an off shoot of a failed solution in the author's 2012 solar-thermal-hydraulics design of a mechanical sun tracking mechanism invention [78, 79]. The other, was solar crop drying [73, 80]. One of the first motivational pieces of advice all students on these two projects receive, is that: 'in engineering design practice, even a tried and tested failure is a success'. This is meant to transform their attitudes on fears of taking initiative to transit from being analytical theoretician designers, to reflective pragmatic designer-doers, needed by the continent, as pointed out earlier, in Section 1. An evacuated water evaporative chamber had been required. It was actually designed and constructed. Water was supposed to boil at very low pressure so that steam could rise up and be routed into a raised, shaded condensation tank. Yes, boiling was achieved, but two practical problems had arisen. One was that steam began condensing way before entry into the tank and therefore, water was dripping back to the evaporation chamber. Secondly, it proved impractical that the high vacuum necessary for low temperature boiling could cost-effectively be maintained by users in the field. The designed, constructed, and tested unit was therefore abandoned. As other completely different approaches were being tried, the issue was what to do

*First designs*: meanwhile, the observation of rapid evaporation using solar energy in the unit and a recollection of rural Africa's potable water needs led to formulation

This was passed on to a Master of Technology student from Gabon, Central Africa, with the proviso that initially, she would have to work with a team of 6 diploma students for one semester. She designed a model, passed the design to diploma students, and together as their leader, constructed and tested the model. The diploma students left. She used the results to make a fresh prototype design, which she had computed to be big enough to serve a small African home of 4 people with drinking water only. She now worked with one student doing inservice training under the author's overall supervision in the university workshop. They constructed the prototype, which she tested again, and mathematically modelled to complete writing her thesis in November 2014. Details of her work are

*Reengineering amidst problems*: the pioneer prototype was not producing water at design output levels. It was bulky and heavy at 42 kg. The designer, in her thesis, had made recommendations on improvements. These were tried out by a subsequent MEng. student, also from Gabon. Together with another group of 6 diploma students in first semester of 2017, they managed to reduce the weight to 28 kg.

put due to a bigger size. Both lecturer and student thought, more could be done. But there was a student strike at the university in the second semester of 2017. To press the point that as a targets-driven engineer to be, the student should always endeavour to push on, amidst difficulties, Design and Production were shifted to an outside campus workshop, where the student now had to work with an intern from DRC on experiential training and with other people of varied nationalities. Eventually, two completely new designs were developed, with one weighing 9.8 kg and the other, 15.6 kg. Full-fledged scientific tests were done at the university in semester 1 of 2018 during late summer and winter seasons. Most of this work is reported in [82, 83].

basis, but by over 20% in actual out-

*"Design and construct a solar water purifier for rural areas".*

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81608*

with the materials of the abandoned unit.

Performance was increased by 13% on a per m2

of a new problem as:

available in [81].

*3.2.2 The approach*

#### *3.2.2 The approach*

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

learning: that of encountering, and being required to solve a problem they would never ordinarily meet in class, because of difficulty, time and other resources limitations. As pointed out in [72], failure to accomplish the project cannot be an option. As mentioned earlier in Section 2.3, other factors to facilitate transformative teaching include: creation by the teacher of an atmosphere of learners safety, open-mindedness and mutual trust both among themselves and with the teacher. The teacher needs to behave as part of the team but in a leadership and "provocateur" role, providing direction, where there seem to develop a gridlock. This is especially important in engineering design practice problems, where apart from functionality of products, consideration of conflicting requirements on costs, quality and safety are almost of equal importance. This means, all necessary knowledge, skills, competencies and attitudes have to be marshalled and deployed in the projects. It is the reason why projects like that about to be described in Section 3.2.2, are necessarily, multilevel; i.e. they involve: a senior engineer (the lecturer), engineers to be (post graduate students), technologists and technicians (bachelors and diploma students), and artisans (all the above 4).

*Typical organisation and roles in an engineering assignment: A—artisan; tech—technician;* 

A typical university of Technology in South Africa outputs all but one of the 4 levels of engineering professionals. This is why the author's projects demand that the artisan level be infused into all levels. The second reason for the infusion is that after graduation, the students will find no sufficient artisans in the field, and therefore,

The projects use multinational, multicultural teams, partly for the simple fact that the particular university has students from many countries, especially those in the southern half of the African continent. More importantly, different nationalities and cultures can bring new dimensions and solutions to the problem on hand. For example, the fact that in some African cultures and countries, women are the ones expected to fetch both water and firewood, and still prepare meals for the family [76], brings passion and urgency to solving the water-energy problem in a team containing students from such backgrounds. The other factor necessitating a mix of nationalities is that the fundamental problems needing most attention are virtually universal across the continent. They are not specific to particular peoples or areas. For a continent where racism, xenophobia, tribalism and other man-imposed divisions are still factors that can bar access to social, economic and political opportunities [77], transformative teaching needs to bring this fact to the fore: that as humans living anywhere on the continent, largely not by choice, our fundamental existential interests are the same, and therefore, we need to cooperate across these artificial barriers to satisfy the common interests.

will on certain occasions have to do the artisanal work themselves.

**14**

**Figure 4.**

*Eng—engineer.*

We will now describe the rest of the approach in this case study.

*Inception*: the water purification project is one of two projects which started as an off shoot of a failed solution in the author's 2012 solar-thermal-hydraulics design of a mechanical sun tracking mechanism invention [78, 79]. The other, was solar crop drying [73, 80]. One of the first motivational pieces of advice all students on these two projects receive, is that: 'in engineering design practice, even a tried and tested failure is a success'. This is meant to transform their attitudes on fears of taking initiative to transit from being analytical theoretician designers, to reflective pragmatic designer-doers, needed by the continent, as pointed out earlier, in Section 1.

An evacuated water evaporative chamber had been required. It was actually designed and constructed. Water was supposed to boil at very low pressure so that steam could rise up and be routed into a raised, shaded condensation tank. Yes, boiling was achieved, but two practical problems had arisen. One was that steam began condensing way before entry into the tank and therefore, water was dripping back to the evaporation chamber. Secondly, it proved impractical that the high vacuum necessary for low temperature boiling could cost-effectively be maintained by users in the field. The designed, constructed, and tested unit was therefore abandoned. As other completely different approaches were being tried, the issue was what to do with the materials of the abandoned unit.

*First designs*: meanwhile, the observation of rapid evaporation using solar energy in the unit and a recollection of rural Africa's potable water needs led to formulation of a new problem as:

#### *"Design and construct a solar water purifier for rural areas".*

This was passed on to a Master of Technology student from Gabon, Central Africa, with the proviso that initially, she would have to work with a team of 6 diploma students for one semester. She designed a model, passed the design to diploma students, and together as their leader, constructed and tested the model. The diploma students left. She used the results to make a fresh prototype design, which she had computed to be big enough to serve a small African home of 4 people with drinking water only. She now worked with one student doing inservice training under the author's overall supervision in the university workshop. They constructed the prototype, which she tested again, and mathematically modelled to complete writing her thesis in November 2014. Details of her work are available in [81].

*Reengineering amidst problems*: the pioneer prototype was not producing water at design output levels. It was bulky and heavy at 42 kg. The designer, in her thesis, had made recommendations on improvements. These were tried out by a subsequent MEng. student, also from Gabon. Together with another group of 6 diploma students in first semester of 2017, they managed to reduce the weight to 28 kg. Performance was increased by 13% on a per m2 basis, but by over 20% in actual output due to a bigger size. Both lecturer and student thought, more could be done. But there was a student strike at the university in the second semester of 2017. To press the point that as a targets-driven engineer to be, the student should always endeavour to push on, amidst difficulties, Design and Production were shifted to an outside campus workshop, where the student now had to work with an intern from DRC on experiential training and with other people of varied nationalities. Eventually, two completely new designs were developed, with one weighing 9.8 kg and the other, 15.6 kg. Full-fledged scientific tests were done at the university in semester 1 of 2018 during late summer and winter seasons. Most of this work is reported in [82, 83].

#### *3.2.3 Interim results*

As far as this particular case study is concerned, the following are the key, previously unreported results of transformative teaching:


**Figure 5.** *One of the new solar water purifier designs deployed in Uganda for consumer trials.*

### **4. Discussion: opportunities and challenges**

In this penultimate section of the chapter, we will briefly discuss the results of Section 3 and follow on with opportunities and challenges of transformative teaching of engineering in the region—as encountered in the author's practice of the same.

**17**

*Transformative Teaching of Engineering in Sub-Saharan Africa*

As a way of discussing the 6 listed results in Sections 3.1.3 and 3.2.3, we ask: are these demonstrated outputs beneficial to student learning and society or not? Would they have been achieved in equal or greater measure by means other than transformative teaching? The first question need not take space and time to answer. The fact that student numbers wanting to do postgraduate studies under supervision of the lecturer using this approach, had multiplied by a factor in excess of 5 in just 5 years, is proof enough that they found the approach beneficial. This is especially so when it is noted that most of those wanting to do these studies prefer to pursue what they had been involved in at diploma or at Bachelor degree levels. For society, it could be debated whether the resulting industry-faculty cooperation could not have been achieved otherwise. But here, the focus is on student learning. And in the situation of the author, he found use of student projects as the easiest and most cost effective

way of reaching out to many industry players in the Cape Town area.

**4.2 Opportunities offered by transformative teaching as practiced in** 

the continent, who may not already be practicing it, to give it a try.

of students helps bring vigour and variety to this process.

Here, we will share some opportunities as first-hand experienced in the practice of transformative teaching. The aim is to persuade those engineering academics on

• Rapid development of products touching every day needs of a majority of the African peoples, using locally available materials and resources. Involvement

• Accelerating human capital development through the motivating effects of successful implementation of a project within the time and cost allocated (recall that failure in these projects is not allowed and cannot be submitted to).

• A great opportunity to increase the academic's publication record (and its attendant rewards) through multiple openings addressing engineering and

**4.3 Challenges encountered by transformative teaching as practiced in** 

• Easiest method to develop patentable products and consequent raising of third

there are at least six other areas not discussed here).

non-engineering aspects of the projects.

stream incomes for both university, and lecturer.

**the case studies and how they could be overcome**

Major challenges to be encountered can include:

**the case studies**

On development of new products, subsequent maintenance and continuous improvement culture among students: again it might perhaps have been possible to do so without transformative teaching. For example, the experiential training they receive outside campus could probably help in this direction. However, that training is largely outside the control of engineering academics, and is non-uniform across the student cohort. Moreover, we could argue that there is nothing to lose, but everything to gain if that training was simply an addition to what is obtained at campus through transformational teaching. In any case, the author has not witnessed or found recorded efforts on the African continent which produce the same outputs at a rate exceeding that demonstrated and not demonstrated in this chapter (because

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81608*

**4.1 Brief discussion**

#### **4.1 Brief discussion**

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

ously unreported results of transformative teaching:

achievement, although, more still needs to be done.

As far as this particular case study is concerned, the following are the key, previ-

• *New products*: functional, and value for money solar water purifiers can now be made available in a region where they originally were not. This is a major

• *Continuous improvement*: as already implied in Section 2, at the heart of transformative teaching is a cultivation of a constant urge among learners to seek improvements of a current situation by questioning premises that may have led to it. One of the two designs developed above, was made to larger commercial size and in April 2018, transported from Cape Town to the author's rural home in Uganda, East Africa for field consumer tests in an equatorial climate. **Figure 5** shows the installation. By July 2018, this unit's daily output had not yet reached the design 5 L (which it was achieving in Cape Town) owing to daily cloud cover. Therefore, at the time of writing this chapter, one Doctorate student has been identified, assigned and started not only to solve this cloud cover problem, but also to extend production deep into, if not across the night.

• *Student interest in postgraduate work*: there has been an unprecedented rise in numbers of students wishing to undertake postgraduate studies with the particular lecturer. From an average of 2 MTech students a year in the early half of the decade, to a current 10 Masters and 2 doctoral, with others being

In this penultimate section of the chapter, we will briefly discuss the results of Section 3 and follow on with opportunities and challenges of transformative teaching of engineering in the region—as encountered in the author's practice of the same.

channelled to other academics because of capacity limitations.

**4. Discussion: opportunities and challenges**

*One of the new solar water purifier designs deployed in Uganda for consumer trials.*

*3.2.3 Interim results*

**16**

**Figure 5.**

As a way of discussing the 6 listed results in Sections 3.1.3 and 3.2.3, we ask: are these demonstrated outputs beneficial to student learning and society or not? Would they have been achieved in equal or greater measure by means other than transformative teaching? The first question need not take space and time to answer. The fact that student numbers wanting to do postgraduate studies under supervision of the lecturer using this approach, had multiplied by a factor in excess of 5 in just 5 years, is proof enough that they found the approach beneficial. This is especially so when it is noted that most of those wanting to do these studies prefer to pursue what they had been involved in at diploma or at Bachelor degree levels. For society, it could be debated whether the resulting industry-faculty cooperation could not have been achieved otherwise. But here, the focus is on student learning. And in the situation of the author, he found use of student projects as the easiest and most cost effective way of reaching out to many industry players in the Cape Town area.

On development of new products, subsequent maintenance and continuous improvement culture among students: again it might perhaps have been possible to do so without transformative teaching. For example, the experiential training they receive outside campus could probably help in this direction. However, that training is largely outside the control of engineering academics, and is non-uniform across the student cohort. Moreover, we could argue that there is nothing to lose, but everything to gain if that training was simply an addition to what is obtained at campus through transformational teaching. In any case, the author has not witnessed or found recorded efforts on the African continent which produce the same outputs at a rate exceeding that demonstrated and not demonstrated in this chapter (because there are at least six other areas not discussed here).

#### **4.2 Opportunities offered by transformative teaching as practiced in the case studies**

Here, we will share some opportunities as first-hand experienced in the practice of transformative teaching. The aim is to persuade those engineering academics on the continent, who may not already be practicing it, to give it a try.


#### **4.3 Challenges encountered by transformative teaching as practiced in the case studies and how they could be overcome**

Major challenges to be encountered can include:


### **5. Summary and conclusion**

We have come to the end of this chapter on transformative teaching of engineering in sub-Saharan Africa. Its discussion was premised on the observation that many students in the region come to study engineering after having been subjected to a transmission mode of teaching during most of their school time. A transactional mode, which enables positive interaction among themselves and with the teacher as they learnt new material, was recommended as the initial weaning approach. However, as they matured and gained more knowledge, it was suggested that they should be encouraged to adopt a critical look at the past, the present, and imagine a future they would want to have. A transformative teacher brings them to this state, and then, tips them over into working for that dreamed future. At the very least, this teacher would use the following principles in assignments for the students:

• Provide intellectually challenging assignments, which for engineering, take the form of real life projects tackling problems that on first thought, seem intractable in the prevailing circumstances.

**19**

*Transformative Teaching of Engineering in Sub-Saharan Africa*

ment of critical project milestones is at stake.

• While giving students latitude to freely make independent decisions, retain the authority and use the capacity to provide expert guidance when achieve-

• Though students would be working in teams, pay attention to each individual's specific concerns, and provide appropriate counselling where needed.

The above narrative formed the foundation of the two illustrated case studies that have been run by the author since 2011. One case tackled Africa's maintenance culture problem, where once assets are acquired, their maintenance is not taken seriously. The case also highlighted the accompanying design evolution work in which, totally new kinds of solar syphon installations were eventually introduced on the scene. The second case illustrated how multi-level, multi-national teams were enabled to use multi funding sources to develop a series of completely new products on multi premises for the African market, even in times of severe campus

There were several benefits of transformative teaching illustrated in these case

• Increasing the publication record of the concerned academic both in Engineering

• Getting students to develop products they never ever thought they were

crises. In the author's opinion, this was transformative teaching at its best.

capable of making in the circumstances and at costs they did.

• Increasing several fold interest by students in postgraduate work

The benefits notwithstanding, limitations of the teaching include:

• When there are many students, a corresponding big number of projects is required if each team is not to be too big. The author has usually overcome this problem by creating competitive teams on variants of similar projects as in

• Real life projects involve real time, expenses, quality, and safety pressures. These factors do not normally get encountered to the same intensity in normal educational processes. There can therefore be initial resistance not only by students but by their sponsors and even by some university administrators. Persuasiveness, Professionalism, Persistence and Resilience are the key success

Finally, a brief attempt to persuade all engineering academics to adopt the teaching approach through highlighting the key benefits, and then, showing the most critical challenges to expect along the way, and how to possibly navigate through them, was made. In conclusion therefore, we should have by now shown that: transformative teaching of engineering in sub-Saharan Africa is not only desirable,

This work was initially funded by the University Research Fund, through research account RK23. Later, during the 3 years of intermittent student unrest,

Education and in Solar Energy Engineering areas

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81608*

studies. The more important ones included:

the solar syphon case of Section 3.1.

factors in such situations.

but it is possible too.

**Acknowledgements**

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

control of the academic.

by the above case studies.

satisfaction elsewhere.

**5. Summary and conclusion**

and participating students' contributions.

• Disruptive strikes, leading to destruction of facilities, project materials and loss of teaching and learning time. This can partially be overcome by arrangement with willing and secure, off campus workshops, preferably, under partial

• Projects funding limitations and financing micro-controls, leading to stunting creativity and stifling innovation respectively. Both of these could be partially overcome by careful choice of initial start-up projects and material selections followed by seeking alternative less formally controlled funds, including own,

• For purely academic research-based universities, without complements of technician and artisan training, a lack of sufficient lower level engineering skills to accomplish the projects in time and cost-effectively. Perhaps, in the short term, the easiest way out is to cooperate with universities of Technology or even, with technical colleges on joint projects. Another short term, but perhaps more difficult option, is to search for industries or workshops willing to commit extra training resources for joint Research and Development projects. The longer term solution is to question the rationale of continuing as a purely basic research engineering faculty in a continent, severely deficient of lower level skills, and then, change course. In other words these universities need to transform in order to facilitate 'transformative teaching' in a form exemplified

• All said, perhaps the greatest challenge could be insensitive, irresponsive, and rigid university management systems and their managers. For, it is these that hire and fire, motivate and demotivate staff; admit students and discontinue them; plan, and fail to plan revenue generation; allocate and misallocate funds. As in financing above, a partial solution to this is to seek less controlled funding, even sometimes operate in alternative environments. In the extreme case, the concerned transformative lecturer is best advised to seek

We have come to the end of this chapter on transformative teaching of engineering in sub-Saharan Africa. Its discussion was premised on the observation that many students in the region come to study engineering after having been subjected to a transmission mode of teaching during most of their school time. A transactional mode, which enables positive interaction among themselves and with the teacher as they learnt new material, was recommended as the initial weaning approach. However, as they matured and gained more knowledge, it was suggested that they should be encouraged to adopt a critical look at the past, the present, and imagine a future they would want to have. A transformative teacher brings them to this state, and then, tips them over into working for that dreamed future. At the very least, this teacher would use the following principles in assignments for the

• Provide intellectually challenging assignments, which for engineering, take the form of real life projects tackling problems that on first thought, seem

intractable in the prevailing circumstances.

**18**

students:


The above narrative formed the foundation of the two illustrated case studies that have been run by the author since 2011. One case tackled Africa's maintenance culture problem, where once assets are acquired, their maintenance is not taken seriously. The case also highlighted the accompanying design evolution work in which, totally new kinds of solar syphon installations were eventually introduced on the scene. The second case illustrated how multi-level, multi-national teams were enabled to use multi funding sources to develop a series of completely new products on multi premises for the African market, even in times of severe campus crises. In the author's opinion, this was transformative teaching at its best.

There were several benefits of transformative teaching illustrated in these case studies. The more important ones included:


The benefits notwithstanding, limitations of the teaching include:


Finally, a brief attempt to persuade all engineering academics to adopt the teaching approach through highlighting the key benefits, and then, showing the most critical challenges to expect along the way, and how to possibly navigate through them, was made. In conclusion therefore, we should have by now shown that: transformative teaching of engineering in sub-Saharan Africa is not only desirable, but it is possible too.

#### **Acknowledgements**

This work was initially funded by the University Research Fund, through research account RK23. Later, during the 3 years of intermittent student unrest, it became imperative to request other players like Progressive Africa Solar Engineering Pty to contribute in terms of materials, logistics and manufacturing. The author is grateful to all of them.

### **Conflict of interest**

The author's interest in this, and other related work, is driven by an insatiable desire to make students realise that by their last year of undergraduate study, they can already have an inner ability to start contributing to make their societies live better now, and not wait for tomorrow.

### **Thanks**

The author thanks his students for the support, cooperation and understanding they give, particularly when we are all pushed for time, cost and quality controls in these projects.

#### **Author details**

Kant Kanyarusoke Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa

\*Address all correspondence to: kanyarusokek@cput.ac.za

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

**21**

*Transformative Teaching of Engineering in Sub-Saharan Africa*

2016;**116**(463):163-185. DOI: 10.1093/

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Underdeveloped Africa. London: Bogle-L'Ouverture; 1973. 453 p. Available from: http://abahlali.org/files/3295358 walter-rodney.pdf [Accessed: 26 June

[10] Oladipo OE. Underdevelopment in Africa: Theories and facts. The Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies. 2016;**41**(1):89-103

[11] Mhango NN. Africa's Dependence Syndrome: Can Africa Still Turn Things around for the Better? Mankon, Cameroon: Langaa RPCIG; 2017. 260 p.

ISBN: 10:9956-762-11-3

[Accessed: 26 June 2018]

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[14] Reid RS, Nkediyanye D, Said MY, Kaelo D, Neselle M, Makui M, et al. Evolution of models to support community and policy action with

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0900313106

[13] Waddington H, Snilstveit B, White H, Anderson J: The Impact of Agricultural Extension Services [Internet]. 2013. Available from: www.3ieimpact.org/media/filer\_

public/2012/05/07/009%20Protocol.pdf

science: Balancing pastoral livelihoods and wildlife conservation in savannahs of East Africa. PNAS. 2016;**113**(17):4579-4584.

[12] Mahmood M, Katjomuise K, Ouedraogo I, Schwank O, Mugambwa JW, Wright D. Microfinance in Africa: Overview and suggestions for action by stakeholders. [Internet]. 2013. Available from: www.un.org/en/africa/osaa/pdf/ pubs/2013microfinanceinafrica.pdf

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afraf/adw048

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*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81608*

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#### **References**

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

The author is grateful to all of them.

better now, and not wait for tomorrow.

**Conflict of interest**

controls in these projects.

**Thanks**

it became imperative to request other players like Progressive Africa Solar

Engineering Pty to contribute in terms of materials, logistics and manufacturing.

The author's interest in this, and other related work, is driven by an insatiable desire to make students realise that by their last year of undergraduate study, they can already have an inner ability to start contributing to make their societies live

The author thanks his students for the support, cooperation and understand-

ing they give, particularly when we are all pushed for time, cost and quality

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa

\*Address all correspondence to: kanyarusokek@cput.ac.za

**20**

**Author details**

Kant Kanyarusoke

provided the original work is properly cited.

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[62] Jedwab R, Kerby E, Moradi A. How colonial railroads defined Africa's

**25**

pp. 38-45

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[70] Bilau AA, Ajagbe MA, Kigbu HH, Sholanke AB. Review of shortage of skilled craftsmen in small and medium construction firms in Nigeria. Journal of Environment and Earth Science.

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perspective of artisans. South African Journal of Industrial Engineering.

[72] Kanyarusoke KE. Nurturing competitive teamwork with individual excellence in an engineering classroom. Innovations in Education and Teaching International. 2017;**54**(5):438-447

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[74] Kanyarusoke KE. Here—Come the sun tracking solar siphons. In: Proceedings of 26th International Commercial Use of Energy Conference;

13-15 August 2018; Cape Town.

[75] du Toit R, Roodt J. Engineering professionals: Crucial key to development and growth in South Africa. In: Scarce and Critical Skills Research Project Report. RSA: Dept.

[76] Taiwo AO. Power and womanhood in Africa: An introductory evaluation. The Journal of Pan African Studies.

[77] Tella C. Understanding xenophobia in South Africa: The individual, the state and the international system. Insight on Africa. 2016;**8**(2):142-158. DOI:

the reasons for lack of skilled artisans in South Africa: The

2015;**5**(15):98-110

2009;**20**(1):173-184

pp. 167-176

pp. 203-210

Labour; 2008

2010;**3**(6):229-238

10.1177/0975087816655014

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economic geography. The Long Economic and Political Shadow of

important actor in Africa. Insight on Africa. 2015;**7**(2):169-185. DOI:

History. 2017;**2**:87-97

[63] Deych T. BRICS as an

10.1177/0975087815581459

Accra Ghana. pp. 46-54

[65] Falade F. Challenges in engineering education in Africa [Internet]. 2007. Available from: http://www.deans-conference. com/media/papers/17\_3\_Paper\_ Falade\_CHALLENGES\_FACING\_ ENGINEERING\_EDUCATION\_IN\_ AFRICA\_v1.pdf [Accessed: 24 July 2018]

[66] Mohammed JO, Ismail MSM, Taib M. Engineering education and product design: Nigeria's challenge. Procedia. Social Sciences and Behavioural Sciences. 2012;**56**:679-684

[67] Knight J, de Wit H, editors. Quality and Internationalisation in Higher Education. Paris: OECD; 1999. 268 p. ISBN 92-64-17049-9-No 50603 1999

[68] Schuster K, Hees F, Jeschke S. Dipl-Ing rest in peace? The implementation of the Bologna process in Germany's engineering education. In Proceedings of the 2010 AaeE Conference; 5-8 December 2010; Sydney Australia.

[69] Kanyarusoke KE, Ngonda T. Decolonising engineering education in sub-Sahara Africa: Some perspectives. In Proceedings of 4th biennial SASEE Conference; 14-15 June 2017; Cape Town South Africa. pp. 403-406

[64] Oryem-Origa HO. State of research and teaching resources available for basic sciences in schools and universities. In: Proceedings of 1st Regional Conference of Vice Chancellors, Provosts and Deans of Science Engineering and Technology (COVIDSET 2005); 15-17 Nov 2005;

*Transformative Teaching of Engineering in Sub-Saharan Africa DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81608*

economic geography. The Long Economic and Political Shadow of History. 2017;**2**:87-97

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

[55] Slavich M, Zimbardo PG.

569-608. DOI: 10.1007/ sl0648-012-9199-6

[56] Muthivhi A. A dialogue

[57] Shabani K. Applications of Vygotsky's sociocultural approach for teachers' professional development. Cogent Education Teacher & Development. [Internet]. 2016. Available from: https://www.

tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/233 1186X.2016.1252177?needAccess=true

[58] McGregor SLT. Transformative table talk: Analysis of a home economics education symposium. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences Education.

[59] Bandura A. Swimming against the mainstream: The early years from chilly tributary to transformative mainstream. Behaviour Research and Therapy.

[Accessed: 24 July 2018]

2016;**33**(2):25-36

2004;**42**(6):613-630

[60] Boyatzis RE, Rochford K, Taylor SN. The role of the positive emotional attractor in vision: Toward effective leadership, relationships, and engagement. Frontiers in Psychology. 2015;**6**:670. DOI: 10.3389fpsyg.2015.00670

[61] Bass BM. From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision. Organisational Dynamics. 1990;**18**(3):19-31. DOI: 10.1016/0090-2616(90)90061-S

[62] Jedwab R, Kerby E, Moradi A. How colonial railroads defined Africa's

between Piaget and Vygotsky on the developmental acquisition of the notions of necessity and possibility: A south African case study. Journal of Educational Studies. 2009;**8**(1):68-90

underpinnings, basic principles and core methods. Educational Psychology Review. 2012;**24**(4):

Transformational teaching: Theoretical

[46] Mezirow J. Fostering Critical Reflection in Adulthood: A Guide to Transformative and Emancipatory Learning. Michigan: Jossey-Bass; 1990. 388 p. ISBN 1555422071,

[47] Mezirow J. Transformative Dimensions of Adult Learning. Michigan: Wiley; 1991. 272 p. ISBN

[48] Boyd RD. Facilitating personal transformations in small groups part 1. Small Group behaviour.

[49] Freire P. Pedagogy of the Oppressed: 50th Anniversary Edition. London, UK: Bloomsbury Academic; 2018. 232 p. ISBN 1501314149, 9781501314148

[50] Gaigulo P. A purely mechanical energy machine to deter petty residential thieves [BSc Eng. Project report]. Kampala, Uganda: Makerere

[51] Costinot A, Donaldson D, Vogel J, Werning I. Comparative advantage and optimal trade policy [Internet]. 2013. Available from: www.nber.org/ papers/w19689.pdf [Accessed: 24 July

[52] Kitchenham A. The evolution of John Mezirow's transformative learning theory. Journal of Transformative Education. 2008;**6**(2):104-123. DOI: 10.1177/1541344608322678

[53] Nohl A-M. Typical phases of transformative learning a practicebased model. Adult Education Quarterly. 2015;**65**(1):35-49. DOI:

[54] Christie M, Carey M, Robertson A, Grainger P. Putting transformative learning theory into practice.

Australian Journal of Adult Learning.

10.1177/0741713614558582

1555423396, 9781555423391

1989;**20**(4):459-471

University; 1985

2018]

99781555422073

**24**

2015;**55**(1):9-30

[63] Deych T. BRICS as an important actor in Africa. Insight on Africa. 2015;**7**(2):169-185. DOI: 10.1177/0975087815581459

[64] Oryem-Origa HO. State of research and teaching resources available for basic sciences in schools and universities. In: Proceedings of 1st Regional Conference of Vice Chancellors, Provosts and Deans of Science Engineering and Technology (COVIDSET 2005); 15-17 Nov 2005; Accra Ghana. pp. 46-54

[65] Falade F. Challenges in engineering education in Africa [Internet]. 2007. Available from: http://www.deans-conference. com/media/papers/17\_3\_Paper\_ Falade\_CHALLENGES\_FACING\_ ENGINEERING\_EDUCATION\_IN\_ AFRICA\_v1.pdf [Accessed: 24 July 2018]

[66] Mohammed JO, Ismail MSM, Taib M. Engineering education and product design: Nigeria's challenge. Procedia. Social Sciences and Behavioural Sciences. 2012;**56**:679-684

[67] Knight J, de Wit H, editors. Quality and Internationalisation in Higher Education. Paris: OECD; 1999. 268 p. ISBN 92-64-17049-9-No 50603 1999

[68] Schuster K, Hees F, Jeschke S. Dipl-Ing rest in peace? The implementation of the Bologna process in Germany's engineering education. In Proceedings of the 2010 AaeE Conference; 5-8 December 2010; Sydney Australia. pp. 38-45

[69] Kanyarusoke KE, Ngonda T. Decolonising engineering education in sub-Sahara Africa: Some perspectives. In Proceedings of 4th biennial SASEE Conference; 14-15 June 2017; Cape Town South Africa. pp. 403-406

[70] Bilau AA, Ajagbe MA, Kigbu HH, Sholanke AB. Review of shortage of skilled craftsmen in small and medium construction firms in Nigeria. Journal of Environment and Earth Science. 2015;**5**(15):98-110

[71] Jordaan N, Barry ML. Investigating the reasons for lack of skilled artisans in South Africa: The perspective of artisans. South African Journal of Industrial Engineering. 2009;**20**(1):173-184

[72] Kanyarusoke KE. Nurturing competitive teamwork with individual excellence in an engineering classroom. Innovations in Education and Teaching International. 2017;**54**(5):438-447

[73] Kanyarusoke KE. Seeding energy sustainability through transformative teaching: Any way forward for sub-Sahara Africa? In: Delfino E, Vezzoli C, editors. Proceedings of 2016 LeNSes Conference on Sustainable Energy for All; 28-30 September 2016; Cape Town. pp. 167-176

[74] Kanyarusoke KE. Here—Come the sun tracking solar siphons. In: Proceedings of 26th International Commercial Use of Energy Conference; 13-15 August 2018; Cape Town. pp. 203-210

[75] du Toit R, Roodt J. Engineering professionals: Crucial key to development and growth in South Africa. In: Scarce and Critical Skills Research Project Report. RSA: Dept. Labour; 2008

[76] Taiwo AO. Power and womanhood in Africa: An introductory evaluation. The Journal of Pan African Studies. 2010;**3**(6):229-238

[77] Tella C. Understanding xenophobia in South Africa: The individual, the state and the international system. Insight on Africa. 2016;**8**(2):142-158. DOI: 10.1177/0975087816655014

[78] Kanyarusoke KE. Novel approaches to improving domestic solar panel energy yields in sub-Sahara Africa [DEng. thesis]. Cape Town: Cape Peninsula University of Technology; 2017

[79] Kanyarusoke KE, Gryzagoridis J. A hydraulic drive mechanism, south African provisional patent No. P72557ZP00 for Cape Peninsula University of Technology. South Africa Patent Journal. 2016;**49**(1) part II of II:12

[80] Runganga T. Design, construction and performance testing of solar crop dryers for rural areas [MEng. thesis]. Cape Town: Cape Peninsula University of Technology; 2018

[81] Mbadinga PJK. A solar water purifier for rural areas [MTech. thesis]. Cape Town: Cape Peninsula University of Technology; 2015

[82] Kanyarusoke KE. Solar water purifiers for small rural African homesteads: Evaluation of alternative designs. In: Proceedings of 3rd New Energy and Future Energy Systems (NEFES 2018); 21-24th August 2018; Shanghai, China (forthcoming)

[83] Engohang AD. Design, construction and performance testing of a double glazing solar water purifier (MEng. thesis). Cape Town: Cape Peninsula University of Technology; 2018

**27**

**Chapter 2**

**Abstract**

Explored

*Usha Iyer-Raniga*

to mainstream teaching and learning.

transdisciplinary

**1. Introduction**

Interdisciplinary Engagement in

Higher Education: Opportunities

There are increasing pressures on universities to make their graduates ready for life and work, in addition to ensuring technical and professional competence. This chapter discusses the implications of supporting such an approach for higher education in a university in Australia where the university was treated as an urban living lab, supporting student engagement for a course innovated to cover three different disciplines. Urban living labs are a form of collaborative partnership particularly in urban areas to support sustainability outcomes. The innovation presented here was in using a green building on campus, bringing students from different disciplines, to study this green building, thereby also partnering with industry. The key question driving the research was whether academic-industry partnerships may be used to understand the performance of green buildings on an urban campus. The anchor course was in construction management and the other disciplines were business and computer science. Twenty three students undertook study of predetermined spaces of a green building on campus. The results show that as a pilot study, this project was successful, with good engagement of students, teaching and non-teaching staff from the university and industry. However, it was more difficult to convert the pilot

**Keywords:** Australian, university, innovation, built environment, students, sustainability, urban learning labs, green buildings, interdisciplinary,

Sustainability is about tackling real-world problems. To meet the needs of the Sustainable Development Goals, New Urban Agenda and future challenges, built environment professionals face unique challenges. The work of designing, procuring, financing, renewing and maintaining the built environment is undertaken by professionals who are being confronted with incorporating new knowledge and professional practices into the way they produce and renew less carbon and water-intensive built environments. Higher educational institutions the world over educating built environment professionals, such as in architecture, engineering, building, construction management, project management and urban planning, are being tested to renew their curricula and research capacities so that their graduates can contribute more to urban sustainability. While industry and government have responded to some of our current sustainability challenges by developing rating

#### **Chapter 2**

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

[78] Kanyarusoke KE. Novel approaches to improving domestic solar panel energy yields in sub-Sahara Africa [DEng. thesis]. Cape Town: Cape Peninsula University of Technology; 2017

[79] Kanyarusoke KE, Gryzagoridis J. A hydraulic drive mechanism, south African provisional patent No. P72557ZP00 for Cape Peninsula University of Technology. South Africa Patent Journal. 2016;**49**(1) part II of II:12

[80] Runganga T. Design, construction and performance testing of solar crop dryers for rural areas [MEng. thesis]. Cape Town: Cape Peninsula University

[81] Mbadinga PJK. A solar water purifier for rural areas [MTech. thesis]. Cape Town: Cape Peninsula University

[82] Kanyarusoke KE. Solar water purifiers for small rural African homesteads: Evaluation of alternative designs. In: Proceedings of 3rd New Energy and Future Energy Systems (NEFES 2018); 21-24th August 2018; Shanghai, China (forthcoming)

[83] Engohang AD. Design, construction and performance testing of a double glazing solar water purifier (MEng. thesis). Cape Town: Cape Peninsula University of Technology; 2018

of Technology; 2018

of Technology; 2015

**26**

## Interdisciplinary Engagement in Higher Education: Opportunities Explored

*Usha Iyer-Raniga*

#### **Abstract**

There are increasing pressures on universities to make their graduates ready for life and work, in addition to ensuring technical and professional competence. This chapter discusses the implications of supporting such an approach for higher education in a university in Australia where the university was treated as an urban living lab, supporting student engagement for a course innovated to cover three different disciplines. Urban living labs are a form of collaborative partnership particularly in urban areas to support sustainability outcomes. The innovation presented here was in using a green building on campus, bringing students from different disciplines, to study this green building, thereby also partnering with industry. The key question driving the research was whether academic-industry partnerships may be used to understand the performance of green buildings on an urban campus. The anchor course was in construction management and the other disciplines were business and computer science. Twenty three students undertook study of predetermined spaces of a green building on campus. The results show that as a pilot study, this project was successful, with good engagement of students, teaching and non-teaching staff from the university and industry. However, it was more difficult to convert the pilot to mainstream teaching and learning.

**Keywords:** Australian, university, innovation, built environment, students, sustainability, urban learning labs, green buildings, interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary

#### **1. Introduction**

Sustainability is about tackling real-world problems. To meet the needs of the Sustainable Development Goals, New Urban Agenda and future challenges, built environment professionals face unique challenges. The work of designing, procuring, financing, renewing and maintaining the built environment is undertaken by professionals who are being confronted with incorporating new knowledge and professional practices into the way they produce and renew less carbon and water-intensive built environments. Higher educational institutions the world over educating built environment professionals, such as in architecture, engineering, building, construction management, project management and urban planning, are being tested to renew their curricula and research capacities so that their graduates can contribute more to urban sustainability. While industry and government have responded to some of our current sustainability challenges by developing rating

tools and regulations for reducing energy and water use in the built environment, academia and curricula in the built environment have not kept pace with these challenges.

This chapter focuses on innovating an existing course to support student learning outcomes while also understanding how buildings are performing on an urban university campus. This is undertaken by exploring the sweet spot between using a green building on campus as a living laboratory for education in construction management, business and computer science students and structuring the curriculum for not just meeting academic outcomes, but also considering building performance from a user perspective. This brings in a real-world context, engagement with industry while also aligning sustainability outcomes of the university. The chapter focuses on curricular innovation engaging cohorts of students from different disciplines, while also preparing students to work in the real world where employees may work across diverse work groups. This was undertaken by innovating the curriculum, with very little change to the course and programme learning outcomes.

The primary question driving this research was to explore whether a green building on campus may be used as a vehicle for engaging students from different disciplines while also working with industry. Secondly, what learnings may be gleaned from such an approach and can student-academic-industry partnerships be strengthened in the future particularly for built environment education? A case study [1] approach was taken for this innovation trialled as a pilot and catalysed by a state government grant.

The overall findings of this study resulting from stakeholder engagement, student interactions, assessments, course and programme learning outcomes and teacher participation have already been presented [2]. This chapter focuses on the curricular innovation and the process that supported it, and related student and teacher experiences. The chapter commences with a literature review of universities and their responses to sustainability, followed by sustainability integration in built environment curricula focusing on innovation in particular. This is followed by an explanation of how a course was modified to incorporate student and industry engagement for a building on campus for the three disciplines considered. The findings of this engagement have been analysed from the building performance perspective, student and teacher experiences followed by some general discussions with conclusions at the end.

#### **2. Universities and sustainability**

The twentieth anniversary of the Tbilisi Declaration (1977) [3] was celebrated through an international conference in Thessaloniki, Greece, resulting in the Thessaloniki Declaration [4]. These are some of the earliest attempts for bringing in education for environment and sustainability, and these early attempts to include the environment have now been expanded to include beyond environmental concerns to social and economic concerns for sustainability. Further to this are the 'newer' challenges of also considering climate change, adaptation and resilience, particularly since the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals were adopted in 2016. There is a lot written but still not much evidence in practice on sustainability becoming mainstream since the first conference on sustainability in Rio in 1992, and the most recent conference in 2012, that capacity building for sustainability needs to be urgently addressed. The importance of refocusing on sustainability education, particularly, in light of the current challenges to the built environment

**29**

sustainability outcomes.

*Interdisciplinary Engagement in Higher Education: Opportunities Explored*

has been discussed [5]. The author indicates that supportive platforms to encourage and learn from each other for understanding and engaging with sustainability in the

Filho [6] posits that while there are many problems preventing universities from implementing sustainable development as part of their programme, there are also opportunities to be explored. Filho et al. [7] state that while universities are now incorporating sustainability principles into practice, transformational changes in society to address sustainability concerns have yet to be seen. They report successful cases at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences and Bournemouth University in the UK, where research and teaching on sustainability have been successful, so also extension into the community through capacity building and other such activities. These examples have deliberately moved away from traditional models of university operations, by investing time and effort to work collaboratively across professional and practitioner domains beyond traditional disciplinary silos. Transdisciplinary engagement is really critical if true sustainable development is to

Lozano et al. [8] discuss the importance of moving away from traditional models of teaching and learning, if universities are to become leaders and change drivers. Universities need to engage with sustainable development principles and paradigms; they need to educate themselves before they can educate others. Universities are organisations that are typically slow to change. While universities are involved in the business of education, they are also involved in research and scholarship and in looking after and maintaining their own buildings. Shiel et al. [9] argue strongly the critical role universities play in community development, and a key tenet of that

Velazquez et al. [10] note the various factors that may obstruct the implementation of sustainability initiatives in higher educational institutions. They argue that the current focus tends to be on good experiences rather than examining how these good experiences have *evolved*. Likewise, with the bad experiences, the learning itself is not supportive enough to ensure that other people and organisations *do not* make the same mistakes. Failures, therefore, may be used as a learning experience particularly when considering institutional barriers in particular situations. Among the many factors identified with respect to barriers are: lack of awareness, interest and involvement; organisational structure not supporting sustainability outcomes; lack of funding; lack of support from university administrators; lack of time; lack of access to data; lack of training; lack of opportune communication and information; resistance to change; focus purely on profits; lack of more rigorous regulations; lack of interdisciplinary research; lack of performance indicators; lack of policies to promote sustainability on campus; lack of standard definition of concepts; lack of designated workplace; lack of standard definitions of concepts and male-dominated workplace, not supporting 'softer' skills required with

Trencher et al. [11] state that there is increasing focus now on the co-design and co-production of knowledge and solutions for advancing urban sustainability. Their research to understand the features of university partnerships across many areas also included the role of diverse actors, and they sought to identify drivers, barriers and impacts. Their study found that while quantitative measures such as energy, buildings, governance and social systems are integrated well into local scales, individual partnerships are important for making strong environmental and sustainability impacts; and academic, industry and government timelines are not always in sync. This has also been echoed by Pereira et al. [12] examining the relationship between the environmental management practices at a campus of a

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84209*

be achieved.

built environment are required as local contexts vary.

engagement is prioritising sustainability outcomes.

#### *Interdisciplinary Engagement in Higher Education: Opportunities Explored DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84209*

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

challenges.

outcomes.

a state government grant.

with conclusions at the end.

**2. Universities and sustainability**

tools and regulations for reducing energy and water use in the built environment, academia and curricula in the built environment have not kept pace with these

This chapter focuses on innovating an existing course to support student learning outcomes while also understanding how buildings are performing on an urban university campus. This is undertaken by exploring the sweet spot between using a green building on campus as a living laboratory for education in construction management, business and computer science students and structuring the curriculum for not just meeting academic outcomes, but also considering building performance from a user perspective. This brings in a real-world context, engagement with industry while also aligning sustainability outcomes of the university. The chapter focuses on curricular innovation engaging cohorts of students from different disciplines, while also preparing students to work in the real world where employees may work across diverse work groups. This was undertaken by innovating the curriculum, with very little change to the course and programme learning

The primary question driving this research was to explore whether a green building on campus may be used as a vehicle for engaging students from different disciplines while also working with industry. Secondly, what learnings may be gleaned from such an approach and can student-academic-industry partnerships be strengthened in the future particularly for built environment education? A case study [1] approach was taken for this innovation trialled as a pilot and catalysed by

The overall findings of this study resulting from stakeholder engagement, student interactions, assessments, course and programme learning outcomes and teacher participation have already been presented [2]. This chapter focuses on the curricular innovation and the process that supported it, and related student and teacher experiences. The chapter commences with a literature review of universities and their responses to sustainability, followed by sustainability integration in built environment curricula focusing on innovation in particular. This is followed by an explanation of how a course was modified to incorporate student and industry engagement for a building on campus for the three disciplines considered. The findings of this engagement have been analysed from the building performance perspective, student and teacher experiences followed by some general discussions

The twentieth anniversary of the Tbilisi Declaration (1977) [3] was celebrated

through an international conference in Thessaloniki, Greece, resulting in the Thessaloniki Declaration [4]. These are some of the earliest attempts for bringing in education for environment and sustainability, and these early attempts to include the environment have now been expanded to include beyond environmental concerns to social and economic concerns for sustainability. Further to this are the 'newer' challenges of also considering climate change, adaptation and resilience, particularly since the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals were adopted in 2016. There is a lot written but still not much evidence in practice on sustainability becoming mainstream since the first conference on sustainability in Rio in 1992, and the most recent conference in 2012, that capacity building for sustainability needs to be urgently addressed. The importance of refocusing on sustainability education, particularly, in light of the current challenges to the built environment

**28**

has been discussed [5]. The author indicates that supportive platforms to encourage and learn from each other for understanding and engaging with sustainability in the built environment are required as local contexts vary.

Filho [6] posits that while there are many problems preventing universities from implementing sustainable development as part of their programme, there are also opportunities to be explored. Filho et al. [7] state that while universities are now incorporating sustainability principles into practice, transformational changes in society to address sustainability concerns have yet to be seen. They report successful cases at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences and Bournemouth University in the UK, where research and teaching on sustainability have been successful, so also extension into the community through capacity building and other such activities. These examples have deliberately moved away from traditional models of university operations, by investing time and effort to work collaboratively across professional and practitioner domains beyond traditional disciplinary silos. Transdisciplinary engagement is really critical if true sustainable development is to be achieved.

Lozano et al. [8] discuss the importance of moving away from traditional models of teaching and learning, if universities are to become leaders and change drivers. Universities need to engage with sustainable development principles and paradigms; they need to educate themselves before they can educate others. Universities are organisations that are typically slow to change. While universities are involved in the business of education, they are also involved in research and scholarship and in looking after and maintaining their own buildings. Shiel et al. [9] argue strongly the critical role universities play in community development, and a key tenet of that engagement is prioritising sustainability outcomes.

Velazquez et al. [10] note the various factors that may obstruct the implementation of sustainability initiatives in higher educational institutions. They argue that the current focus tends to be on good experiences rather than examining how these good experiences have *evolved*. Likewise, with the bad experiences, the learning itself is not supportive enough to ensure that other people and organisations *do not* make the same mistakes. Failures, therefore, may be used as a learning experience particularly when considering institutional barriers in particular situations. Among the many factors identified with respect to barriers are: lack of awareness, interest and involvement; organisational structure not supporting sustainability outcomes; lack of funding; lack of support from university administrators; lack of time; lack of access to data; lack of training; lack of opportune communication and information; resistance to change; focus purely on profits; lack of more rigorous regulations; lack of interdisciplinary research; lack of performance indicators; lack of policies to promote sustainability on campus; lack of standard definition of concepts; lack of designated workplace; lack of standard definitions of concepts and male-dominated workplace, not supporting 'softer' skills required with sustainability outcomes.

Trencher et al. [11] state that there is increasing focus now on the co-design and co-production of knowledge and solutions for advancing urban sustainability. Their research to understand the features of university partnerships across many areas also included the role of diverse actors, and they sought to identify drivers, barriers and impacts. Their study found that while quantitative measures such as energy, buildings, governance and social systems are integrated well into local scales, individual partnerships are important for making strong environmental and sustainability impacts; and academic, industry and government timelines are not always in sync. This has also been echoed by Pereira et al. [12] examining the relationship between the environmental management practices at a campus of a

Brazilian university and the greening of its organisational culture. The university bureaucracy and hierarchy got in the way of implementing and delivering on an environmental management programme for the university and the key performance indicators of the teaching staff was focused on publications not on practice or supporting practical outcomes.

Urban living labs or laboratories (ULLs) offer another model of participation, collaboration, experimentation, learning and governance particularly where low carbon and sustainability outcomes are desired [13]. They may be applied across cities, where geographical embeddedness, experimentation and learning, participation and user involvement, leadership and ownership, and evaluation and refinement form the key characteristics of ULL. ULLs offer a type of partnership that enables the co-production of knowledge and often support innovative solutions. Hence, ULLs may be seen as a form of partnership, they may be seen as forms of experimentation or they may be seen as opportunities to test a product, service or technology. ULLs are test grounds in a real-world environment and, thus, are very context specific by definition. Therefore, ULL requires contextualisation and translation to other urban realities [14].

Evans et al. [15] describe the establishment of living labs at the University of Manchester where teaching and learning and research on sustainability were trialled. They also use a co-production approach where diverse stakeholders get together to co-produce knowledge in real-world settings. Living laboratories offer an opportunity to push the boundary for innovation of collective urban governance and experimentation to address sustainability challenges and opportunities created by urbanisation [13, 16]. The greatest advantage of using living labs is the engagement with students and staff for applied sustainability issues.

Similarly, the role of campus, curricula and community in higher education has been discussed [17] where universities can clearly play a leadership role in being exemplars of sustainability for the community. The importance of engagement of students in university campuses may be seen as opportunities for interaction with the real world and these offer prospects for curricular innovation as well.

Thus, urban universities may function as living labs. Chambers [18] shows how the University of Melbourne in Australia is working to become a sustainable organisation. They were able to do this by supporting recycling initiatives on campus; supporting teaching, research, community engagement and education, and operations through the development of a green roof on one of their campuses and pushing innovation through the development of a shallow geothermal system on their main campus.

The research undertaken is set against the background of universities acting as living labs for engagement with students and the wider communities. At the same time, universities are also working to improve the sustainability outcomes of their own campuses by reducing resource use, energy and water. Often, learning outcomes and anticipated student attributes between academia and industry are not quite aligned. While academics tend to focus on discipline/competence, industry tends to focus on wider inter- and transdisciplinary attributes. Using campuses as learning labs offers an untapped opportunity for universities to walk the talk and show students that universities can become exemplars of sustainability models.

The next section examines how built environment curricula have dealt with integration of sustainability in their programmes.

#### **3. Sustainability in built environment curricula**

Built environment curricula have largely tended to focus on imparting technical skills to students. This may be attributed to pressures of accreditation, focusing on

**31**

*Interdisciplinary Engagement in Higher Education: Opportunities Explored*

the competencies graduates need to gain entry as a professional and to practise in a built environment profession. Certainly, in Australia at least, the focus of employers in most disciplines including the built environment has shifted from purely technical or professional skills. Employer perspectives on work trials and work experience indicate that they are looking for employees with 'an interest in the industry and personal attributes such as good communication skills, a willingness to listen and

There is not much in the literature by way of practical application of how built environment educators may approach either interdisciplinary education or innovation in the classroom, particularly where the subject content is about engaging on sustainability underpinnings. By its nature, sustainability requires an action-oriented practical approach. Yocom et al. [20] indicate that deliberately keeping a built environment studio experimental supported students to pursue new approaches and suggest alternative approaches and disciplinary responses. Developing a collaborative understanding between students was more difficult and communication is essential to tease out the issues and develop shared understandings. They highlight that adjusting pedagogical frameworks is an important aspect of education today and into the future. Posch and Steiner [21] strongly endorse linking innovation with inter- and transdisciplinary underpinnings. An integrated process of knowledge production, they argue, is bringing together scientists and practitioners in a real-world context to produce more robust societies. Transdisciplinary approaches may be seen to be an instrument in a common process of inquiry beyond problem-solving and mutual learning. Knowing, understanding and applying in a circular or non-linear approach enable students and other learners to gather knowledge as a tool for problem-solving in real-world situations. Along similar lines, Callaghan [22] discusses how a reflective collaboration framework can support academics to find unique solutions in different academic contexts. He sees this as an opportunity to collaborate across traditional disciplinary contexts, providing unique problem-solving opportunities.

Informal collaborations may also support formal collaborative practices.

change. Hence, the next section focuses on innovation.

**3.1 Innovation for education for sustainability**

project/engagement with the users.

Some level of contextualisation is required, which needs to move away from prescriptive approaches. This is the case for built environment engagement [5] as well as in other areas intersecting with the built environment such as for disability planning [23] and also where health and built environments intersect [24]. The literature has some examples of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary underpinnings in curricula, but not many applicable for the built environment, and examples particularly using urban campuses for academic-industry collaboration. One thing that is commonly seen though in the literature is that innovations of some form, quite distinctly different from traditional pedagogies, are essential components of

Innovation for sustainability responds to issues that are relevant for society, and where innovation becomes the underlying platform for problem-solving approaches, it is an essential element to creative thinking and practice for sustainability in the built environment. The role of interdisciplinary, intradisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches as indicated in the section above is therefore critical, as is the context. Taking a systems approach to innovation for sustainability also presents its own challenges, particularly with respect to temporal issues, which may need further development and understanding with feedback over the time of the

Taking an example of the real world, Nidumolu et al. [25] show in their research that sustainability underpins organisational and technological innovations leading

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84209*

learn, a positive attitude and good work ethic' [19].

#### *Interdisciplinary Engagement in Higher Education: Opportunities Explored DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84209*

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

porting practical outcomes.

Brazilian university and the greening of its organisational culture. The university bureaucracy and hierarchy got in the way of implementing and delivering on an environmental management programme for the university and the key performance indicators of the teaching staff was focused on publications not on practice or sup-

Urban living labs or laboratories (ULLs) offer another model of participation, collaboration, experimentation, learning and governance particularly where low carbon and sustainability outcomes are desired [13]. They may be applied across cities, where geographical embeddedness, experimentation and learning, participation and user involvement, leadership and ownership, and evaluation and refinement form the key characteristics of ULL. ULLs offer a type of partnership that enables the co-production of knowledge and often support innovative solutions. Hence, ULLs may be seen as a form of partnership, they may be seen as forms of experimentation or they may be seen as opportunities to test a product, service or technology. ULLs are test grounds in a real-world environment and, thus, are very context specific by definition. Therefore,

ULL requires contextualisation and translation to other urban realities [14].

the real world and these offer prospects for curricular innovation as well.

ment with students and staff for applied sustainability issues.

integration of sustainability in their programmes.

**3. Sustainability in built environment curricula**

Evans et al. [15] describe the establishment of living labs at the University of Manchester where teaching and learning and research on sustainability were trialled. They also use a co-production approach where diverse stakeholders get together to co-produce knowledge in real-world settings. Living laboratories offer an opportunity to push the boundary for innovation of collective urban governance and experimentation to address sustainability challenges and opportunities created by urbanisation [13, 16]. The greatest advantage of using living labs is the engage-

Similarly, the role of campus, curricula and community in higher education has been discussed [17] where universities can clearly play a leadership role in being exemplars of sustainability for the community. The importance of engagement of students in university campuses may be seen as opportunities for interaction with

Thus, urban universities may function as living labs. Chambers [18] shows how the University of Melbourne in Australia is working to become a sustainable organisation. They were able to do this by supporting recycling initiatives on campus; supporting teaching, research, community engagement and education, and operations through the development of a green roof on one of their campuses and pushing innovation through the development of a shallow geothermal system on their main

The research undertaken is set against the background of universities acting as living labs for engagement with students and the wider communities. At the same time, universities are also working to improve the sustainability outcomes of their own campuses by reducing resource use, energy and water. Often, learning outcomes and anticipated student attributes between academia and industry are not quite aligned. While academics tend to focus on discipline/competence, industry tends to focus on wider inter- and transdisciplinary attributes. Using campuses as learning labs offers an untapped opportunity for universities to walk the talk and show students that universities can become exemplars of sustainability models. The next section examines how built environment curricula have dealt with

Built environment curricula have largely tended to focus on imparting technical skills to students. This may be attributed to pressures of accreditation, focusing on

**30**

campus.

the competencies graduates need to gain entry as a professional and to practise in a built environment profession. Certainly, in Australia at least, the focus of employers in most disciplines including the built environment has shifted from purely technical or professional skills. Employer perspectives on work trials and work experience indicate that they are looking for employees with 'an interest in the industry and personal attributes such as good communication skills, a willingness to listen and learn, a positive attitude and good work ethic' [19].

There is not much in the literature by way of practical application of how built environment educators may approach either interdisciplinary education or innovation in the classroom, particularly where the subject content is about engaging on sustainability underpinnings. By its nature, sustainability requires an action-oriented practical approach. Yocom et al. [20] indicate that deliberately keeping a built environment studio experimental supported students to pursue new approaches and suggest alternative approaches and disciplinary responses. Developing a collaborative understanding between students was more difficult and communication is essential to tease out the issues and develop shared understandings. They highlight that adjusting pedagogical frameworks is an important aspect of education today and into the future.

Posch and Steiner [21] strongly endorse linking innovation with inter- and transdisciplinary underpinnings. An integrated process of knowledge production, they argue, is bringing together scientists and practitioners in a real-world context to produce more robust societies. Transdisciplinary approaches may be seen to be an instrument in a common process of inquiry beyond problem-solving and mutual learning. Knowing, understanding and applying in a circular or non-linear approach enable students and other learners to gather knowledge as a tool for problem-solving in real-world situations. Along similar lines, Callaghan [22] discusses how a reflective collaboration framework can support academics to find unique solutions in different academic contexts. He sees this as an opportunity to collaborate across traditional disciplinary contexts, providing unique problem-solving opportunities. Informal collaborations may also support formal collaborative practices.

Some level of contextualisation is required, which needs to move away from prescriptive approaches. This is the case for built environment engagement [5] as well as in other areas intersecting with the built environment such as for disability planning [23] and also where health and built environments intersect [24]. The literature has some examples of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary underpinnings in curricula, but not many applicable for the built environment, and examples particularly using urban campuses for academic-industry collaboration. One thing that is commonly seen though in the literature is that innovations of some form, quite distinctly different from traditional pedagogies, are essential components of change. Hence, the next section focuses on innovation.

#### **3.1 Innovation for education for sustainability**

Innovation for sustainability responds to issues that are relevant for society, and where innovation becomes the underlying platform for problem-solving approaches, it is an essential element to creative thinking and practice for sustainability in the built environment. The role of interdisciplinary, intradisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches as indicated in the section above is therefore critical, as is the context. Taking a systems approach to innovation for sustainability also presents its own challenges, particularly with respect to temporal issues, which may need further development and understanding with feedback over the time of the project/engagement with the users.

Taking an example of the real world, Nidumolu et al. [25] show in their research that sustainability underpins organisational and technological innovations leading

to both top-line and bottom-line returns. Smart companies treat sustainability as innovation's new frontier. As discussed by Barbieri et al. [26], the role of various actors is critical for generating, implementing and diffusing technological innovations. As universities are responsible for educating vast number of students, it is critical they are constantly innovating across teaching and learning, research outcomes and the application of this knowledge.

In a study in the UK at the University of Salford [27], the development and implementation of an interdisciplinary course in the final year for five different built environment disciplines showed that both staff and students felt that the course was successful. However, feedback provided also indicated that sufficient time was not allocated for delivery and management of the course. Assessment criteria also needed more work.

Innovation in education has inherently been linked with technology; however, it may also be linked to teaching practices, curriculum development and learning [28]. Innovation in education needs to be proactive, it involves knowledge transfer and, therefore, the process of transfer: the 'why' and 'how' rather than the 'what' becomes the focus. In a study across four universities in Australia [29], the authors show that communities of practice supported to build collaborative relationships of trust and reciprocity between teachers in a wide range of disciplines. Their study was able to integrate diverse disciplinary perspectives, teach collaboratively, promote innovation through exchange and, by doing these, demonstrate leadership within their own institutions. In another study, also in Australia [30], it is shown that collegiality and support for teaching innovation were a primary measure of success; however, increased workloads and lack of time were also reported by the participants. As administrative structures are predominantly discipline-based, if such innovation is to succeed in the long term, early adoptive measures for interdisciplinary teaching need to be supported by financial and other resources to be fully embedded.

The Faculty of Built Environment in UNSW underwent a radical change in 2012, where there was a deliberate attempt to bring in inter and transdisciplinary engagement through a faculty-wide initiative called the common learning experiences [31]. This was seen as an innovative approach by the school. These experiences not only embedded interdisciplinary experiences in the faculty's undergraduate curriculum; it was also supported by staff through a process of ongoing engagement and supported by the leadership team of the faculty.

Using an example of an environmental subject in the sciences [32], Simon and others show that curriculum design, engagement in small groups and field trips outside the classroom supported interdisciplinary understandings in undergraduate curricula. In yet another example on development of a sustainability course, it was found that engaging teaching staff from various disciplines supported organisational change to become a core course in a university-wide programme on sustainability.

Alongside formal curricular changes, the informal curriculum is also seen to be significant. Winter and Cotton [33] refer to 'informal curriculum', extra-curricular activities and student activities linking estates and operations to formal study. Such informal curricula, they believe, have been overlooked as potential influence on student learning and behaviour. Using the UK experience, the authors state that helping students deconstruct the hidden campus curriculum may enhance aspects of sustainability literacy, developing students' understanding about sustainability and creating solutions to sustainability issues, enabling evaluative dialogue around campus sustainability and also self-reflection, which could be transformative and translate into pro-environmental behaviour change.

Beyond the built environment disciplines and attendant curricula, and examining the integration of sustainability in business disciplines and curricula show that most business schools are focusing on 'piggy backing', 'digging deep',

**33**

*Interdisciplinary Engagement in Higher Education: Opportunities Explored*

'mainstreaming' or 'focusing' their sustainability and ethical approaches to curricula [34]. Each of these curricular approaches refer to 'blending' approaches where they may be added to existing courses in a very narrow curricular context of piggy backing, and development of new stand-alone structures through digging deep. Mainstreaming is still tinkering with existing structures but taking a broader curricular approach of emphasising cross-curricular perspectives. Focusing also takes a broader curricular approach where new structures are created through new cross-

Therefore, curricular changes are not simply a matter of 'academic' engagement; it is also about its holistic interaction about engagement with students, teaching and

The innovation of the course (subject) was deliberately not set up as a new multidisciplinary course for students from different disciplines as the timeline to do so was not considered to be practical. First, an anchor course was needed to allow innovation for student engagement on campus. As the project leader was from a built environment school, the anchor course logically rested within this school. The school offers undergraduate programmes in property and valuation, construction management and project management. Other built environment programmes such as planning, architecture and landscape architecture are part of other schools. The anchor course selected was a construction management course on research; so, it was relatively easy to bring in building post-occupancy study as part of the research course. The course was undertaken in the final semester of the final year of construction management students. The students were encouraged to solve an authentic industry problem or address real issues within the various professions. The students were encouraged to seek question/s, collect and evaluate data, analyse and report their findings and

Second, since the intent was to use the campus as an urban living lab, a building was selected for the study. The building selected was where the author had already undertaken a post-occupancy survey to understand if the green building met its intended performance targets. In the post-occupancy research, staff and higher degree by research students were involved and also key stakeholders such as the architects, project managers, builders, various ESD (environmental and sustainable design) consultants and the facilities managers of the building and the property services section of the university were engaged in the research process. The green building was completed in 2012 and staff and students moved into the building not long after mid-2012, just prior to the commencement of the second semester that year. The outcomes of the post-occupancy evaluation focusing on staff and higher degree by research students, stakeholder engagement and its learnings from various

Third, innovation was required for students to engage with industry, the building occupants and other stakeholders. But, as the literature demonstrates, innovation is also about engaging students beyond their own disciplinary boundaries. Therefore, at least two other schools, attendant courses, teaching staff and students needed to be engaged. Through informal discussions, teachers from two other disciplines interested in cross-disciplinary engagement expressed interest. They were from business and computer science. Each of the business and computer science courses selected was such that industry engagement was part of the course requirement. Industry stakeholders acted as mentors to support student learning and

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84209*

disciplinary offerings including new programmes.

perspectives have already been presented [35–38].

**4. The anchor course and innovation**

recommendations.

non-teaching staff and strategic outcomes for the university.

#### *Interdisciplinary Engagement in Higher Education: Opportunities Explored DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84209*

'mainstreaming' or 'focusing' their sustainability and ethical approaches to curricula [34]. Each of these curricular approaches refer to 'blending' approaches where they may be added to existing courses in a very narrow curricular context of piggy backing, and development of new stand-alone structures through digging deep. Mainstreaming is still tinkering with existing structures but taking a broader curricular approach of emphasising cross-curricular perspectives. Focusing also takes a broader curricular approach where new structures are created through new crossdisciplinary offerings including new programmes.

Therefore, curricular changes are not simply a matter of 'academic' engagement; it is also about its holistic interaction about engagement with students, teaching and non-teaching staff and strategic outcomes for the university.

#### **4. The anchor course and innovation**

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

outcomes and the application of this knowledge.

and supported by the leadership team of the faculty.

translate into pro-environmental behaviour change.

criteria also needed more work.

to both top-line and bottom-line returns. Smart companies treat sustainability as innovation's new frontier. As discussed by Barbieri et al. [26], the role of various actors is critical for generating, implementing and diffusing technological innovations. As universities are responsible for educating vast number of students, it is critical they are constantly innovating across teaching and learning, research

In a study in the UK at the University of Salford [27], the development and implementation of an interdisciplinary course in the final year for five different built environment disciplines showed that both staff and students felt that the course was successful. However, feedback provided also indicated that sufficient time was not allocated for delivery and management of the course. Assessment

Innovation in education has inherently been linked with technology; however, it may also be linked to teaching practices, curriculum development and learning [28]. Innovation in education needs to be proactive, it involves knowledge transfer and, therefore, the process of transfer: the 'why' and 'how' rather than the 'what' becomes the focus. In a study across four universities in Australia [29], the authors show that communities of practice supported to build collaborative relationships of trust and reciprocity between teachers in a wide range of disciplines. Their study was able to integrate diverse disciplinary perspectives, teach collaboratively, promote innovation through exchange and, by doing these, demonstrate leadership within their own institutions. In another study, also in Australia [30], it is shown that collegiality and support for teaching innovation were a primary measure of success; however, increased workloads and lack of time were also reported by the participants. As administrative structures are predominantly discipline-based, if such innovation is to succeed in the long term, early adoptive measures for interdisciplinary teaching need to be supported by financial and other resources to be fully embedded.

The Faculty of Built Environment in UNSW underwent a radical change in 2012, where there was a deliberate attempt to bring in inter and transdisciplinary engagement through a faculty-wide initiative called the common learning experiences [31]. This was seen as an innovative approach by the school. These experiences not only embedded interdisciplinary experiences in the faculty's undergraduate curriculum; it was also supported by staff through a process of ongoing engagement

Using an example of an environmental subject in the sciences [32], Simon and others show that curriculum design, engagement in small groups and field trips outside the classroom supported interdisciplinary understandings in undergraduate curricula. In yet another example on development of a sustainability course, it was found that engaging teaching staff from various disciplines supported organisational change to become a core course in a university-wide programme on sustainability. Alongside formal curricular changes, the informal curriculum is also seen to be significant. Winter and Cotton [33] refer to 'informal curriculum', extra-curricular activities and student activities linking estates and operations to formal study. Such informal curricula, they believe, have been overlooked as potential influence on student learning and behaviour. Using the UK experience, the authors state that helping students deconstruct the hidden campus curriculum may enhance aspects of sustainability literacy, developing students' understanding about sustainability and creating solutions to sustainability issues, enabling evaluative dialogue around campus sustainability and also self-reflection, which could be transformative and

Beyond the built environment disciplines and attendant curricula, and examining the integration of sustainability in business disciplines and curricula show that most business schools are focusing on 'piggy backing', 'digging deep',

**32**

The innovation of the course (subject) was deliberately not set up as a new multidisciplinary course for students from different disciplines as the timeline to do so was not considered to be practical. First, an anchor course was needed to allow innovation for student engagement on campus. As the project leader was from a built environment school, the anchor course logically rested within this school. The school offers undergraduate programmes in property and valuation, construction management and project management. Other built environment programmes such as planning, architecture and landscape architecture are part of other schools. The anchor course selected was a construction management course on research; so, it was relatively easy to bring in building post-occupancy study as part of the research course. The course was undertaken in the final semester of the final year of construction management students. The students were encouraged to solve an authentic industry problem or address real issues within the various professions. The students were encouraged to seek question/s, collect and evaluate data, analyse and report their findings and recommendations.

Second, since the intent was to use the campus as an urban living lab, a building was selected for the study. The building selected was where the author had already undertaken a post-occupancy survey to understand if the green building met its intended performance targets. In the post-occupancy research, staff and higher degree by research students were involved and also key stakeholders such as the architects, project managers, builders, various ESD (environmental and sustainable design) consultants and the facilities managers of the building and the property services section of the university were engaged in the research process. The green building was completed in 2012 and staff and students moved into the building not long after mid-2012, just prior to the commencement of the second semester that year. The outcomes of the post-occupancy evaluation focusing on staff and higher degree by research students, stakeholder engagement and its learnings from various perspectives have already been presented [35–38].

Third, innovation was required for students to engage with industry, the building occupants and other stakeholders. But, as the literature demonstrates, innovation is also about engaging students beyond their own disciplinary boundaries. Therefore, at least two other schools, attendant courses, teaching staff and students needed to be engaged. Through informal discussions, teachers from two other disciplines interested in cross-disciplinary engagement expressed interest. They were from business and computer science. Each of the business and computer science courses selected was such that industry engagement was part of the course requirement. Industry stakeholders acted as mentors to support student learning and

provided industry input as appropriate. This included an industry mentor's input through the formulation of the research question/s itself, situating the research with industry, data collection, analysis and evaluation as appropriate.

Thus, innovation lays in not just using a building on campus, but also with understanding the sustainability underpinnings, engaging with industry and working with students from other disciplines to promote transdisciplinary engagement. The opportunity for innovation in the course came in the form of an application and, eventually, as successful recipient of a grant undertaken through a state government competitive grant process. The objective of the grant was to support students and future designers to learn from real-world problems and suggest improvements in the design and post-design process. The grant supported employment of an assistant for project management and administration.

Thus, students from three different disciplines were brought together to study different aspects of the building. The engagement of the different student cohorts supported multidisciplinary engagement in the urban living lab. The process for engagement with each of the disciplines has been provided below.

The initial idea of engaging with the business and computer science students was to also seek students in the final years of their programme, undertaking a research component. It was not realistic to set up a new course with common course learning outcomes across the three cohorts of students as this required a two-year lead time to go through administrative processes within each of the relevant schools and university to set up a multidisciplinary course. Moreover, the timing of receiving the grant and its contractual obligations did not allow equivalent levels of engagement with the business and computer science students as, again, administrative processes and securing commitments from relevant course coordinators took time.

Clearly, the university's property and facilities services department needed to be involved and this was not a problem due to the relationship the project leader had with the said department owing to previous research undertaken on postoccupancy evaluation of the building. Since students from three disciplines, teaching and non-teaching staff and industry were involved, ethics clearance from the university was needed and obtained before commencement of the course. Students were surveyed at the end of the course across all the disciplines as normal for any course undertaken in the university. Although a survey was deployed specifically relating to this course, it did not provide any insight as the survey was deployed quite late in the semester.

#### **4.1 Student engagement**

As explained in the previous section, the catalyst for student engagement commenced with construction management students undertaking their final-year research projects with the author of this paper being their supervisor. A total of nine students in groups of three each studied various components of the building. Computer science students were much older students and they were in the final semester of their Masters by course work programme. Business students were in their final year/final semester of Bachelor of Business programme. Eight computer science and six business students participated in the study of this building. For the computer science and business students, the course was part of an existing course, similar to the construction students, although it was not a research course.

Spaces to be studied by the students in the green building included student portals, teaching rooms and one café. The students engaged in three workshops: one at the beginning of the semester, one in the middle of the semester and one at the end. The workshops included the academic coordinators/supervisors for the three cohorts of students, the students themselves, and the industry stakeholders such as

**35**

*Interdisciplinary Engagement in Higher Education: Opportunities Explored*

the architects, project manager, building managers and property services staff of the university. The first workshop was to explain the project, identify the spaces and do a general walk around in the building to view the various spaces in the building and get a sense of user interaction. The second workshop was for students to present their interim work and seek feedback from the industry stakeholders (including appropriate university property and facilities staff). The final workshop was for

The construction management students undertook a thermal comfort study of the building examining the specific predetermined areas in consultation with the design and project architect and the building manager of the green building. The construction students focused on day lighting, ventilation, thermal comfort and acoustics, and used appropriate instruments to gather this information. The business students observed and interviewed fellow students and staff in these spaces to understand whether user needs were met. The computer science students prepared an application (app) to be trialled in these spaces by their fellow students and staff

The intent was that all three cohorts of students would undertake their research at the same time so as to minimise disruptions to their fellow students and staff. The students agreed at the first workshop the dates/times when they would do this over three weeks in the semester (weeks 2–5) so that they could then share these findings with each other and report during the second workshop. Students across the three cohorts engaged with their own lecturers/tutors as required to assist their learning throughout the course of the semester. Each cohort of students had to meet the interim and final assessments in their course. So, the student engagement was

The project leader and teachers involved across all three disciplines attended the three workshops and engaged with students and industry (separately and together) at various times during the course of the semester. They also met each other at periodic intervals to discuss student engagement, course learning outcomes and student experiences. No other formal survey was undertaken specifically for these students other than the standard course experience survey undertaken by the university.

As indicated, overall experiences of this study have been presented in another paper [2]. With the scope of this chapter being on course engagement and innovation, these aspects are delved into further detail in this section. The findings of the students' evaluation of the green building, their engagement and experiences and

Generally, the coordination of the industry stakeholders, student and staff was a big challenge. Students' timetables invariably clashed, as did the teachers' availability to attend meetings to discuss students' work, engagement and course progressions. The construction management students focused on the physiological and perception issues related to the environmental side of the building performance. The computer science students undertook an online survey, focusing on the environment and social issues pertaining to sustainability through the development and fine-tuning of their app. Their focus was on the environmental perceptions of comfort as their online tool needed to be finessed and mapped, and further fine-tuned. The business students focused purely on the social issues. However, the integration

The overall findings and learnings from this project have been summarised in

those of the teachers are provided briefly in the forthcoming sections.

between the groups of students could have been done better.

**Table 1** and also presented in the sections below.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84209*

students to present their work and seek feedback.

to understand the use of space and attendant user needs.

designed to meet the learning outcomes for all the three courses.

**5. Findings and discussions**

#### *Interdisciplinary Engagement in Higher Education: Opportunities Explored DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84209*

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

industry, data collection, analysis and evaluation as appropriate.

ment of an assistant for project management and administration.

engagement with each of the disciplines has been provided below.

and securing commitments from relevant course coordinators took time.

provided industry input as appropriate. This included an industry mentor's input through the formulation of the research question/s itself, situating the research with

Thus, innovation lays in not just using a building on campus, but also with understanding the sustainability underpinnings, engaging with industry and working with students from other disciplines to promote transdisciplinary engagement. The opportunity for innovation in the course came in the form of an application and, eventually, as successful recipient of a grant undertaken through a state government competitive grant process. The objective of the grant was to support students and future designers to learn from real-world problems and suggest improvements in the design and post-design process. The grant supported employ-

Thus, students from three different disciplines were brought together to study different aspects of the building. The engagement of the different student cohorts supported multidisciplinary engagement in the urban living lab. The process for

The initial idea of engaging with the business and computer science students was to also seek students in the final years of their programme, undertaking a research component. It was not realistic to set up a new course with common course learning outcomes across the three cohorts of students as this required a two-year lead time to go through administrative processes within each of the relevant schools and university to set up a multidisciplinary course. Moreover, the timing of receiving the grant and its contractual obligations did not allow equivalent levels of engagement with the business and computer science students as, again, administrative processes

Clearly, the university's property and facilities services department needed to be involved and this was not a problem due to the relationship the project leader had with the said department owing to previous research undertaken on postoccupancy evaluation of the building. Since students from three disciplines, teaching and non-teaching staff and industry were involved, ethics clearance from the university was needed and obtained before commencement of the course. Students were surveyed at the end of the course across all the disciplines as normal for any course undertaken in the university. Although a survey was deployed specifically relating to this course, it did not provide any insight as the survey was deployed

As explained in the previous section, the catalyst for student engagement commenced with construction management students undertaking their final-year research projects with the author of this paper being their supervisor. A total of nine students in groups of three each studied various components of the building. Computer science students were much older students and they were in the final semester of their Masters by course work programme. Business students were in their final year/final semester of Bachelor of Business programme. Eight computer science and six business students participated in the study of this building. For the computer science and business students, the course was part of an existing course,

similar to the construction students, although it was not a research course.

Spaces to be studied by the students in the green building included student portals, teaching rooms and one café. The students engaged in three workshops: one at the beginning of the semester, one in the middle of the semester and one at the end. The workshops included the academic coordinators/supervisors for the three cohorts of students, the students themselves, and the industry stakeholders such as

**34**

quite late in the semester.

**4.1 Student engagement**

the architects, project manager, building managers and property services staff of the university. The first workshop was to explain the project, identify the spaces and do a general walk around in the building to view the various spaces in the building and get a sense of user interaction. The second workshop was for students to present their interim work and seek feedback from the industry stakeholders (including appropriate university property and facilities staff). The final workshop was for students to present their work and seek feedback.

The construction management students undertook a thermal comfort study of the building examining the specific predetermined areas in consultation with the design and project architect and the building manager of the green building. The construction students focused on day lighting, ventilation, thermal comfort and acoustics, and used appropriate instruments to gather this information. The business students observed and interviewed fellow students and staff in these spaces to understand whether user needs were met. The computer science students prepared an application (app) to be trialled in these spaces by their fellow students and staff to understand the use of space and attendant user needs.

The intent was that all three cohorts of students would undertake their research at the same time so as to minimise disruptions to their fellow students and staff. The students agreed at the first workshop the dates/times when they would do this over three weeks in the semester (weeks 2–5) so that they could then share these findings with each other and report during the second workshop. Students across the three cohorts engaged with their own lecturers/tutors as required to assist their learning throughout the course of the semester. Each cohort of students had to meet the interim and final assessments in their course. So, the student engagement was designed to meet the learning outcomes for all the three courses.

The project leader and teachers involved across all three disciplines attended the three workshops and engaged with students and industry (separately and together) at various times during the course of the semester. They also met each other at periodic intervals to discuss student engagement, course learning outcomes and student experiences. No other formal survey was undertaken specifically for these students other than the standard course experience survey undertaken by the university.

#### **5. Findings and discussions**

As indicated, overall experiences of this study have been presented in another paper [2]. With the scope of this chapter being on course engagement and innovation, these aspects are delved into further detail in this section. The findings of the students' evaluation of the green building, their engagement and experiences and those of the teachers are provided briefly in the forthcoming sections.

Generally, the coordination of the industry stakeholders, student and staff was a big challenge. Students' timetables invariably clashed, as did the teachers' availability to attend meetings to discuss students' work, engagement and course progressions.

The construction management students focused on the physiological and perception issues related to the environmental side of the building performance. The computer science students undertook an online survey, focusing on the environment and social issues pertaining to sustainability through the development and fine-tuning of their app. Their focus was on the environmental perceptions of comfort as their online tool needed to be finessed and mapped, and further fine-tuned. The business students focused purely on the social issues. However, the integration between the groups of students could have been done better.

The overall findings and learnings from this project have been summarised in **Table 1** and also presented in the sections below.


**37**

*Interdisciplinary Engagement in Higher Education: Opportunities Explored*

**Issue Pilot output/outcomes Lessons learned**

Limitations: coordination between planning staff/leadership team and teacher may have been better achieved.

Very supportive and got the most out

of the project.

Better planning would ensure better communication between the teachers involved in course development and teaching. Recognition of workload

management will support bottom-up

Industry engagement varies depending on the types of personalities involved. Relationships between teaching and non-teaching staff and students need nurturing

issues would assist.

engagement.

and support.

Limited. Top-down engagement from senior

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84209*

**Teacher and stakeholder experiences**

Teachers involved in discussions and teaching not the same

Senior management

Industry stakeholders, including facility managers

*Summary of the findings and learnings.*

support

**Table 1.**

**5.1 Overall course innovation outcomes**

resources to put into practice.

The primary question driving this research on the nature of academic-industry engagement to understand the performance of a green building on campus has been answered in the affirmative through the research. Urban campuses may be used as learning labs. As to whether these partnerships may be strengthened for built environment education is also in the affirmative. Sustainability education for built environment students may be undertaken using buildings on campus as educational opportunities. Not only built environment students but students from other disciplines may also benefit from a study of campus assets. However, putting this into practice is not straightforward. Curricular innovation requires injection of

The overall experience of the course innovation was that it was successful, but not without some limitations. Using a building on campus for student learning was a good idea, and it benefitted the university in doing so as they got information about what worked and did not work well in their own building. The green building findings, particularly student responses, were very similar to that of the staff who took part in the post-occupancy evaluation undertaken by the author and team post the completion and occupation of the green building [35–38]. Some of the challenges of comfort in the student portal areas and cafes have been addressed by the property services department of the university. Relationships with on-campus facility managers are needed to support green building outcomes; hence, nurturing these relationships between academic staff, students, industries and campus staff is quite important. The course experience surveys did not reveal any specific point of success or challenge across students from all disciplines; nevertheless, the students' verbal feedback during the course of the semester was positive. Student course experience surveys deployed by the university did not separate the students involved in the study of the building from their peers. While an online survey was deployed specifically to capture student experiences involved in the study of the green building at the end of the semester, it was undertaken too late and students did not respond to this survey as they had already completed all their requirements for graduation.

The teachers involved in the course across the three disciplines were keen to share their experience with their peers, particularly to continue to engage students across

*Interdisciplinary Engagement in Higher Education: Opportunities Explored DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84209*


#### **Table 1.**

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

**Issue Pilot output/outcomes Lessons learned**

Needed more coordination than

Suits built environment students. This study used computer science and

Office and teaching space, student

Assessments Integrated into existing courses. For true transdisciplinary

Limited due to practicalities such as

The cohort that got the best value from

International students got more value as their interaction with industry is usually limited in the programme due to various reasons. Local students are usually working even if not in the same

Learning outcomes Integrated into existing courses. Learning outcomes would need

business students too.

portals.

timetabling.

the pilot.

discipline/industry.

Plan early and seek support.

both top-down and bottom-up

leadership team as early as possible.

vary, need to involve property services department of the university.

support student learning outcomes. Industry-academic collaboration is possible but needs to be planned.

Can cover a range of built environment disciplines such as property, construction, building, architecture and design, project management. Can include other disciplines such as engineering,

agriculture, health.

May be extended to include vegetation/green areas on campus, café/eating areas, student residences, seminar rooms and other such spaces.

to be set up appropriately.

various disciplines.

similar factors.

Limited. May be improved by ensuring better

to be set up for courses that are appropriately structured as a new course taking into consideration

Course may be developed such that interaction of students is optimised.

optimisation in timetabling and recognition in workloads of teachers.

Industry engagement may be further improved, for instance, industry may also be involved in assessments.

Industry engagement for local and international students varies due to a range of different issues, context, age, discipline base and a range of other

engagement, assessments would need

More than estimated. Factor in administrative time, seek

Limitations. Involve the teaching staff and

Selection based on convenience. Depending on study, disciplines will

Successful pilot. Green buildings may be used to

support.

estimated.

Overall coordination of the project

Overall time spent on

**Course innovation** Teachers involved in discussions and teachers involved in project not same

Targeting the correct disciplines

**Study of the building** Green buildings may be used to seek industry-academic engagement as well as student learning

Thermal comfort

Types of building/s

**Student experiences**

Student interaction with other students between disciplines

Teacher interaction with students from other disciplines

Engagement with industry

International and local students

study

to study

the project

**36**

*Summary of the findings and learnings.*

#### **5.1 Overall course innovation outcomes**

The primary question driving this research on the nature of academic-industry engagement to understand the performance of a green building on campus has been answered in the affirmative through the research. Urban campuses may be used as learning labs. As to whether these partnerships may be strengthened for built environment education is also in the affirmative. Sustainability education for built environment students may be undertaken using buildings on campus as educational opportunities. Not only built environment students but students from other disciplines may also benefit from a study of campus assets. However, putting this into practice is not straightforward. Curricular innovation requires injection of resources to put into practice.

The overall experience of the course innovation was that it was successful, but not without some limitations. Using a building on campus for student learning was a good idea, and it benefitted the university in doing so as they got information about what worked and did not work well in their own building. The green building findings, particularly student responses, were very similar to that of the staff who took part in the post-occupancy evaluation undertaken by the author and team post the completion and occupation of the green building [35–38]. Some of the challenges of comfort in the student portal areas and cafes have been addressed by the property services department of the university. Relationships with on-campus facility managers are needed to support green building outcomes; hence, nurturing these relationships between academic staff, students, industries and campus staff is quite important.

The course experience surveys did not reveal any specific point of success or challenge across students from all disciplines; nevertheless, the students' verbal feedback during the course of the semester was positive. Student course experience surveys deployed by the university did not separate the students involved in the study of the building from their peers. While an online survey was deployed specifically to capture student experiences involved in the study of the green building at the end of the semester, it was undertaken too late and students did not respond to this survey as they had already completed all their requirements for graduation.

The teachers involved in the course across the three disciplines were keen to share their experience with their peers, particularly to continue to engage students across

the disciplines in future courses. However, this did not happen in practice for several reasons. Firstly, the teachers did not end up being involved in the same courses that allowed innovative course learning and student engagement to be incorporated for the following academic year and continue on the successes built in the pilot. Secondly, the teachers who were teaching these courses in the following academic year were reluctant to add to their academic workloads as it required project managing across the disciplines, over and above the normal teaching/assessment times. Thirdly, the leadership team across the three schools did not particularly care for engaging their students on campus projects because it required engagement with non-academic part of the university, which again, requires more time involvement and relationship building. Fourthly, the time to select appropriate courses/ disciplines that can meaningfully engage with university assets while ensuring the course and programme learning outcomes are aligned needs to be considered at the outset. Time is also required for project managing the stakeholders including the students and the teachers. If it had not been the grant that spurred the project, allowing a research assistant to be employed, the idea would probably never have taken off.

This pilot example shows that it is possible to provide a vehicle for engaging in realworld teaching and learning using a building on campus. Providing genuine transdisciplinary engagement and learning outcomes using an existing course with defined learning outcomes already is not possible. To do so will require development of new course/s to support learning outcomes that will genuinely engage students beyond their own disciplinary boundaries, along with appropriate assessments to support this. This needs time, and it also needs support from discipline leaders as well as strong engagement from teaching and learning services of the university to support such outcomes. Long-term planning for such a scenario is required. As Painter-Moreland et al. [34] argue, there needs to be a systemic institutional integration which can be defined as

'building a systemic capability towards sustainability, distributed and nurtured throughout the organisation, which creates the impetus towards change in students, faculty, administrators, the institution as a whole, as well as organisations that hire its alumni' (p. 743).

#### **5.2 Green building findings**

The student surveys and thermal comfort testing undertaken by the three cohorts of students included lecture theatres and other tutorial rooms, cafe and student portals. Rather than separate the findings for each of the cohorts of students, general findings have been presented. A general observation made by all students was that the building was very well used, with far higher utilisation rate than other buildings on campus. This was validated by the property services staff. Students liked working in the building, not just students from the business schools that were housed in the building, but also students from other schools across the university. This was largely because the spaces in this green building were comfortable, convenient and modern. Generally, spaces that were mostly liked by students were the lecture theatre, teaching spaces and the student portals.

In terms of room layout of the teaching spaces:


**39**

*Interdisciplinary Engagement in Higher Education: Opportunities Explored*

not all teachers knew how to use the special pens.

to be used. This may seem a trivial matter, but since the technology was new,

• Room layouts were not necessarily always conducive always to communication where eye contact between teacher and students could be maintained. There were situations where the room layout presented the person's back to the class

• Placement of air vents under the chairs was not the most effective way to dispense air circulation in the space, as the few students felt quite cold at the

• From a thermal comfort perspective, most of the teaching spaces were comfortable. Daylight levels were good, artificial lighting-supported day-lit spaces where required and temperatures were usually comfortable. Air movement was

Feedback regarding common student spaces, including cafe, were as follows:

• Students complained of glare in common student spaces. *Sometimes, the sun shines in too strongly*, and its variations were comments often heard. Students

• Few students preferred a designated quiet study area. They preferred to work with other students around (even though most students often used ear phones).

• Where there were designated quiet study areas, these did not work particularly well, as the acoustic separation was still a problem. Some students discussed

• Students indicated that there were not enough power outlets. Almost 90% of students using the study area were observed to be using an electronic device and it was critical to provide more of these to facilitate student learning outcomes.

• Some spots in the building also had poor internet connectivity, which was a

• Unsatisfactory air flow in the café space, student hub, portals and common areas were also reported, making the space quite uncomfortable to be in for long periods of time, particularly during the winter when the study took place.

All students passed the course. For the construction management students, all students were international students and they found the experience of engaging with the industry particularly useful, as this was a further insight that they normally would not have had access to. Undertaking some primary research was also interesting for them, particularly compared to their peers who mostly used secondary data. They also found interacting with students from other disciplines useful as there were not too many opportunities for them to interact with students beyond

Student experiences of taking part in this course are presented next.

fine in most places and the teaching spaces were not noisy.

needed to move around in these spaces as the day advanced.

their work creating issues for others.

cause of frustration for some students.

**5.3 Student experiences**

their own disciplines in a study setting.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84209*

while discussions took place.

end of the class.

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

the disciplines in future courses. However, this did not happen in practice for several reasons. Firstly, the teachers did not end up being involved in the same courses that allowed innovative course learning and student engagement to be incorporated for the following academic year and continue on the successes built in the pilot. Secondly, the teachers who were teaching these courses in the following academic year were reluctant to add to their academic workloads as it required project managing across the disciplines, over and above the normal teaching/assessment times. Thirdly, the leadership team across the three schools did not particularly care for engaging their students on campus projects because it required engagement with non-academic part of the university, which again, requires more time involvement and relationship building. Fourthly, the time to select appropriate courses/ disciplines that can meaningfully engage with university assets while ensuring the course and programme learning outcomes are aligned needs to be considered at the outset. Time is also required for project managing the stakeholders including the students and the teachers. If it had not been the grant that spurred the project, allowing a research assistant to be employed, the idea would probably never have taken off. This pilot example shows that it is possible to provide a vehicle for engaging in realworld teaching and learning using a building on campus. Providing genuine transdisciplinary engagement and learning outcomes using an existing course with defined learning outcomes already is not possible. To do so will require development of new course/s to support learning outcomes that will genuinely engage students beyond their own disciplinary boundaries, along with appropriate assessments to support this. This needs time, and it also needs support from discipline leaders as well as strong engagement from teaching and learning services of the university to support such outcomes. Long-term planning for such a scenario is required. As Painter-Moreland et al. [34] argue, there needs to be a systemic institutional integration which can be defined as 'building a systemic capability towards sustainability, distributed and nurtured throughout the organisation, which creates the impetus towards change in students, faculty, administrators, the institution as a whole, as well as organisations that hire

The student surveys and thermal comfort testing undertaken by the three cohorts of students included lecture theatres and other tutorial rooms, cafe and student portals. Rather than separate the findings for each of the cohorts of students, general findings have been presented. A general observation made by all students was that the building was very well used, with far higher utilisation rate than other buildings on campus. This was validated by the property services staff. Students liked working in the building, not just students from the business schools that were housed in the building, but also students from other schools across the university. This was largely because the spaces in this green building were comfortable, convenient and modern. Generally, spaces that were mostly liked by students were the

• Students were more responsive to learning with the way the rooms were

other due to the room layout supporting student learning outcomes.

• Some lecture spaces used whiteboards. Frequent comments regarding the white boards were: *The whiteboards are difficult to teach with*. These comments refer to technical issues relating to the use of whiteboards, and the type of pens

designed. It was found that students found it easier to communicate with each

lecture theatre, teaching spaces and the student portals. In terms of room layout of the teaching spaces:

**38**

its alumni' (p. 743).

**5.2 Green building findings**

to be used. This may seem a trivial matter, but since the technology was new, not all teachers knew how to use the special pens.


Feedback regarding common student spaces, including cafe, were as follows:


Student experiences of taking part in this course are presented next.

#### **5.3 Student experiences**

All students passed the course. For the construction management students, all students were international students and they found the experience of engaging with the industry particularly useful, as this was a further insight that they normally would not have had access to. Undertaking some primary research was also interesting for them, particularly compared to their peers who mostly used secondary data. They also found interacting with students from other disciplines useful as there were not too many opportunities for them to interact with students beyond their own disciplines in a study setting.

For the business students, their experience of engaging with the industry stakeholders, and particularly the construction management students were interesting. They were all local students and felt they had learnt more about acoustics, thermal comfort and daylighting from the construction students, as these students used instruments to measure these at set points in the building. For the computer science students, the experience was yet again slightly different. The students were postgraduate students, mix of international and local. Their engagement with the industry and other students was a very different experience compared to their other classes where technical work was the main focus. This course supported development of their softer skills.

The intent of the workshops during the semester with the students across the three disciplines and the teachers was to also support interaction between the students. This did not happen to the extent expected or desired. The interaction between the students of the various disciplines was limited. Unsurprisingly, students within the same schools interacted more with each other. While this was disappointing, the practicalities of timetabling, assessment scheduling and such other matters prevented students from engaging with each other beyond the requirements of the project.

#### **5.4 Teacher and stakeholder experiences**

As mentioned, teachers met several times throughout the semester to compare notes, discuss learning outcomes and discuss engagement with the various stakeholders. Not all the teachers were directly involved in interacting with the students. The project leader, also being an academic supervisor stayed in close contact with all the stakeholders. The computer science teacher was also the course coordinator and supervisor for the Master's students, so this teacher closely followed the innovation and student experiences in the course. For the business students, the teacher and the course coordinator were not the same as the business school typically has a large number of students in their classes. Therefore, getting both the course coordinator and teacher/tutor in the discussions was more difficult. It was felt that if support from senior executives such as the dean in the business school had been provided, the experience of the business students and staff would have been much stronger, contributing to a richer experience for all. To achieve better integration, getting buy-in from the staff would have supported better outcomes. A lot of time was also spent on ongoing engagement with the teachers from the three disciplines, contributing to workloads, not accounted for at the start of this project.

The industry stakeholders were very supportive. Despite busy schedules, they took the time and effort to work with the students, sometimes, even seeing students directly, without the presence of staff and guiding the students through industry-related knowledge. The architect, builder and project managers were particularly keen to understand how the spaces were used in the building. They were perhaps the cohort that got the most out of the process, as normally post-occupancy studies are not typically undertaken for buildings, even green buildings. The university property and facilities departments also learned a lot from the exercise as they were able to use this feedback to prepare better briefs for future buildings across various campuses of the university.

#### **6. Conclusions**

The research project set out to understand if a green building on campus may be used to engage students across various disciplines as well as support academic-industry engagement. The response to this is affirmative. The second question underpinning this research was to understand what, if any such innovation may influence built

**41**

provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

1 School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University,

\*Address all correspondence to: usha.iyer-raniga@rmit.edu.au

2 Sustainable Buildings and Construction Programme, One Planet Network (United

The author thanks Victorian Future Designers Grant for providing funds for the

project and the project team, including stakeholders, staff and students.

*Interdisciplinary Engagement in Higher Education: Opportunities Explored*

environment education? The response to this second question is that, while it is not possible to generalise based on the one case study, nevertheless, there are some positive attributes of using campuses as urban learning labs for built environment students. As a pilot project, the engagement of teachers and students in three disciplines, using a building on campus as a real-world example and engagement with industry was successful. Most spaces within the building reported satisfactory outcomes for students and staff. There were however further areas for improvement. Student engagement was successful, although it is difficult to discern if the use of a green building made any difference through the standard university course experience surveys. Staff were committed, and this commitment may be attributed to the success of the project. Time is a big factor in getting engagement between academic staff, students, industry stakeholders and the university facilities staff. Support is required centrally from the university if such projects are to be successful. Relationships between academic and non-academic staff need to be nurtured. The systemic institutional integration of sustainability in existing and new programmes requires work and commitment from the leadership of the discipline at the university, particularly if the campus is to be treated as an urban living lab. If multi- or cross-disciplinary engagement is sought, it needs to be supported by an institutional commitment that influences all aspects of the institution. Such a holistic approach has the greatest potential to lead to change in students, teaching and non-teaching staff and the institution as a whole, including organisations that absorb graduates once they leave the comfort of the university environment.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84209*

**Acknowledgements**

**Conflict of interest**

**Author details**

Australia

Usha Iyer-Raniga1,2

Nations 10YFP), France

There is no conflict of interest.

#### *Interdisciplinary Engagement in Higher Education: Opportunities Explored DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84209*

environment education? The response to this second question is that, while it is not possible to generalise based on the one case study, nevertheless, there are some positive attributes of using campuses as urban learning labs for built environment students.

As a pilot project, the engagement of teachers and students in three disciplines, using a building on campus as a real-world example and engagement with industry was successful. Most spaces within the building reported satisfactory outcomes for students and staff. There were however further areas for improvement. Student engagement was successful, although it is difficult to discern if the use of a green building made any difference through the standard university course experience surveys. Staff were committed, and this commitment may be attributed to the success of the project. Time is a big factor in getting engagement between academic staff, students, industry stakeholders and the university facilities staff. Support is required centrally from the university if such projects are to be successful. Relationships between academic and non-academic staff need to be nurtured.

The systemic institutional integration of sustainability in existing and new programmes requires work and commitment from the leadership of the discipline at the university, particularly if the campus is to be treated as an urban living lab. If multi- or cross-disciplinary engagement is sought, it needs to be supported by an institutional commitment that influences all aspects of the institution. Such a holistic approach has the greatest potential to lead to change in students, teaching and non-teaching staff and the institution as a whole, including organisations that absorb graduates once they leave the comfort of the university environment.

#### **Acknowledgements**

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

ment of their softer skills.

**5.4 Teacher and stakeholder experiences**

For the business students, their experience of engaging with the industry stakeholders, and particularly the construction management students were interesting. They were all local students and felt they had learnt more about acoustics, thermal comfort and daylighting from the construction students, as these students used instruments to measure these at set points in the building. For the computer science students, the experience was yet again slightly different. The students were postgraduate students, mix of international and local. Their engagement with the industry and other students was a very different experience compared to their other classes where technical work was the main focus. This course supported develop-

The intent of the workshops during the semester with the students across the three disciplines and the teachers was to also support interaction between the students. This did not happen to the extent expected or desired. The interaction between the students of the various disciplines was limited. Unsurprisingly, students within the same schools interacted more with each other. While this was disappointing, the practicalities of timetabling, assessment scheduling and such other matters prevented students from engaging with each other beyond the requirements of the project.

As mentioned, teachers met several times throughout the semester to compare notes, discuss learning outcomes and discuss engagement with the various stakeholders. Not all the teachers were directly involved in interacting with the students. The project leader, also being an academic supervisor stayed in close contact with all the stakeholders. The computer science teacher was also the course coordinator and supervisor for the Master's students, so this teacher closely followed the innovation and student experiences in the course. For the business students, the teacher and the course coordinator were not the same as the business school typically has a large number of students in their classes. Therefore, getting both the course coordinator and teacher/tutor in the discussions was more difficult. It was felt that if support from senior executives such as the dean in the business school had been provided, the experience of the business students and staff would have been much stronger, contributing to a richer experience for all. To achieve better integration, getting buy-in from the staff would have supported better outcomes. A lot of time was also spent on ongoing engagement with the teachers from the three disciplines, contrib-

The industry stakeholders were very supportive. Despite busy schedules, they took the time and effort to work with the students, sometimes, even seeing students directly, without the presence of staff and guiding the students through industry-related knowledge. The architect, builder and project managers were particularly keen to understand how the spaces were used in the building. They were perhaps the cohort that got the most out of the process, as normally post-occupancy studies are not typically undertaken for buildings, even green buildings. The university property and facilities departments also learned a lot from the exercise as they were able to use this feedback to prepare better briefs for future buildings across various campuses of the university.

The research project set out to understand if a green building on campus may be used to engage students across various disciplines as well as support academic-industry engagement. The response to this is affirmative. The second question underpinning this research was to understand what, if any such innovation may influence built

uting to workloads, not accounted for at the start of this project.

**40**

**6. Conclusions**

The author thanks Victorian Future Designers Grant for providing funds for the project and the project team, including stakeholders, staff and students.

#### **Conflict of interest**

There is no conflict of interest.

#### **Author details**

Usha Iyer-Raniga1,2

#### 1 School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University, Australia

2 Sustainable Buildings and Construction Programme, One Planet Network (United Nations 10YFP), France

\*Address all correspondence to: usha.iyer-raniga@rmit.edu.au

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Springer; 2015. pp. 195-206. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-08837-2

[19] Department of Employment, Australian Government. Work Trials and Work Experience [Internet]. 2017. Available from: https://docs. employment.gov.au/node/38196

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[Accessed: 20 June 2017]

cosust.2015.06.005

1997;**54**(6):52-55

2014;**62**:134-137

effective interdisciplinary anchors. Educational Leadership.

October 2018]

#### *Interdisciplinary Engagement in Higher Education: Opportunities Explored DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84209*

[14] Riegler, J. Urban Living Labs in China? [Internet]. 2018. Available from: https://jpi-urbaneurope.eu/news/ urban-living-labs-in-china/ [Accessed: 5 October 2018]

[15] Evans J, Jones R, Karvonen A, Millard L, Wendler J. Living labs and co-production: University campuses as platform for sustainability science. Environmental Sustainability. 2015;**16**:1-6. DOI: 10.1016/j. cosust.2015.06.005

[16] Barab SA, Landa A. Designing effective interdisciplinary anchors. Educational Leadership. 1997;**54**(6):52-55

[17] Müller-Christ G, Sterling S, van Dam-Mieras R, Adomßent M, Fischer D, Rieckmann M. The role of campus, curriculum, and community in higher education for sustainable development—A conference report. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2014;**62**:134-137

[18] Chambers D. Maximising sustainability outcomes by amalgamating dimensions of sustainability. In: Filho W, editor. Transformative Approaches to Sustainable Development at Universities. New York: Springer; 2015. pp. 195-206. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-08837-2

[19] Department of Employment, Australian Government. Work Trials and Work Experience [Internet]. 2017. Available from: https://docs. employment.gov.au/node/38196 [Accessed: 20 June 2017]

[20] Yocom K, Proksch G, Born B, Tyman SK. The built environments laboratory: An interdisciplinary framework for studio education in the planning and design disciplines. Journal for Education in the Built Environment. 2015;**7**(2):8-25. DOI: 10.11120/jebe.2012.07020008

[21] Posch A, Steiner G. Integrating research and teaching on innovation for sustainable development. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. 2006;**7**(3):276-292. DOI: 10.1108/14676370610677847

[22] Callaghan R. Transforming teaching challenges into learning opportunities: Interdisciplinary reflective collaboration. Africa Education Review. 2015;**12**(4):599-617. DOI: 10.1080/18146627.2015.1112145

[23] Lid IM. Universal design and disability: An interdisciplinary perspective. Disability and Rehabilitation. 2014;**36**(16):1344-1349. DOI: 10.3109/09638288.2014.931472

[24] Kent J, Thompson S. Health and the built environment: Exploring foundations for a new interdisciplinary profession. Journal of Environmental and Public Health. 2012;**2012**:958175. DOI: 10.1155/2012/958175

[25] Nidumolu R, Prahalad CK, Rangaswami MR. Why Sustainability is Now the Key Driver of Innovation. Harvard Business Publishing; September 2009. pp. 57-64

[26] Barbieri CJ, de Vasconcelos IFG, Andreassi T, de Vasconcelos, FC. Innovation and sustainability: New models and propositions. Revista de Administração de Empresas. 2010;**50**(2). Abr/jun 2010, 146-154. ISSN 0034-7590

[27] Wood G, Wu S. Interdisciplinary studies in built environment education: A case study. IGI Global. 2010:316-334. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61520-889-0. ch025

[28] Dima AM. Challenges and opportunities for innovation in teaching and learning in an interdisciplinary environment. IGI Global. 2013:347-365. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-1969-2.ch017

**42**

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

Journal of Integrative Environmental Sciences. 2015;**12**(1):1-14. DOI: 10.1080/1943815X.2014.988273

[8] Lozano R, Lozano FJ, Mulder K, Huisingh D, Waas T. Declarations for sustainability in higher education: Becoming better leaders, through addressing the university system. Journal of Cleaner Production.

[9] Shiel C, Filho WL, do Paço A, Brandli L. Evaluating the engagement of universities in capacity building for sustainable development in local communities. Evaluation and Program Planning. 2016;**54**:123-134. DOI: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2015.07.006

[10] Velazquez L, Munguia N, Sanchez M. Deterring sustainability in higher education institutions: An appraisal of the factors which influence sustainability in higher education institutions. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. 2015;**6**(4):383-391. DOI:

10.1108/14676370510623865

gloenvcha.2014.06.009

[11] Trencher G, Bai X, Evans J, McCormick K, Yarime M. University partnerships for co-designing and co-producing urban sustainability. Global Environmental Change. 2014;**28**:153-165. DOI: 10.1016/j.

[12] Pereira G d SM, Jabbour C, de Oliveira SVWB, Teixeira AA. Greening the campus of a Brazilian university: Cultural challenges. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. 2014;**15**(1):34-47. DOI: 10.1108/IJSHE-10-2011-0067

[13] Voytenko Y, McCormick K, Evans J, Schliwad S. Exploring urban living labs for sustainability and low carbon cities in Europe. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2016;**123**(1):45-54. DOI:

10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.08.053

2013;**48**(3-9):1-9

[1] Yin RK. Case Study Research Design and Methods. 5th ed. Thousand Oaks,

interdisciplinary thinking and practice: A case study of a Victorian university in Australia. In: Lamb M, editor. Proceedings of the 41st Australasian Universities Building Education Association Conference, AUBEA 2017; 3-5 July 2017; Melbourne, Australia: AUBEA. Melbourne: Proceedia. pp. 46-53

[2] Iyer-Raniga U. Integrating

[3] UNEP and UNESCO. Tbilisi Declaration (1977) [Internet]. 1977. Available from: https://www.gdrc. org/uem/ee/tbilisi.html [Accessed:

[4] Knapp D. The thessaloniki declaration: A wake-up call for environmental education? The Journal of Environmental Education. 2010;**31**(3):32-39. DOI: 10.1080/00958960009598643

[5] Iyer-Raniga U. Resetting the compass: Principles for responsible urban built environment education. In: Filho WL, Rogers J, Iyer-Raniga U, editors. Sustainable Development Research in the Asia Pacific, Education, Cities, Infrastructure and Buildings. Swizterland: Springer

Nature; 2018. pp. 31-77. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-73293-0

[6] Filho WL. Education for sustainable development in higher education: Reviewing needs. In: Filho W, editor. Transformative Approaches to Sustainable Development at Universities. New York: Springer; 2015. pp. 3-12. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-08837-2

[7] Filho WL, Shiel C, do Paço A.

sustainability at universities: An overview of challenges and priorities.

Integrative approaches to environmental

28 September 2018]

CA: Sage; 2014

**References**

[29] Pharo E, Davison A, McGregor H, Warr K, Brown P. Using communities of practice to enhance interdisciplinary teaching: Lessons from four Australian institutions. In: Higher Education Research & Development: Taylor and Francis; 2013

[30] Pharo EJ, Davison A, Warr K, Nursey-Bray M, Beswick K, Wapstra E, et al. Can teacher collaboration overcome barriers to interdisciplinary learning in a disciplinary university? A case study using climate change. Teaching in Higher Education: Taylor and Francis; 2012

[31] Wilson S, Zamberlan L. Show me yours: Developing a faculty wide interdisciplinary initiative in built environment higher education. Contemporary Issues in Education Research — Fourth Quarter. 2012;**5**(4):331-342, The Clute Institute http://www.cluteinstitute.com/

[32] Alagona PS, Gregory LS. The role of field study in humanistic and interdisciplinary environmental education. The Journal of Experimental Education. 2010;**32**(3):191-206

[33] Winter J, Cotton D. Making the hidden curriculum visible: Sustainability literacy in higher education. Environmental Education Research. 2012;**18**(6):783-796. DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2012.670207

[34] Painter-Morland M, Sabet E, Molthan-Hill P, Goworek H, de Leew S. Beyond the curriculum: Integrating sustainability into business schools. Journal of Business Ethics. 2016;**139**:737-754. DOI: 10.1007/ s10551-015-2896-6

[35] Iyer-Raniga U, Moore T, Ridley I, Andamon MM. Reflections for sustainability: Capitalising on stakeholder on stakeholder engagement for optimising outcomes. In: 5th CIB International Conference on Smart

and Sustainable Built Environment (SASBE); 09-11 December 2015; Pretoria: South Africa

[36] Iyer-Raniga U, Moore T, Kashyap K, Ridley I, Andamon MM. Beyond the building: Focusing on holistic sustainability outcomes for educational buildings. In: 15th International Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability (ACTS) Refocus + Renew, 21-23 October 2015; Deakin University: Geelong Australia

[37] Moore T, Iyer-Raniga U. Reflections of a green university building: from design to occupation, Facilities. https:// doi.org/10.1108/F-11-2017-0108

[38] Kashyap K, Iyer-Raniga U, Francis M. Showcasing 'real' green buildings: A case for post occupancy of university buildings. Zero Carbon Buildings Journal. 2017;**5**, CII, Hong Kong

**45**

**Chapter 3**

**Abstract**

**1. Introduction**

The Social Intrapreneurship,

Delivered to Students: Case

Engineering Students of the

strategies that allow students to wake up the social intrapreneurship.

**Keywords:** student, teaching and learning, satisfaction, loyalty, support network

At present, no one argues in the academic environment that we are in a moment of change and profound transformation in the role and function that education has to play in today's society, more specifically, higher education. In the last decade from different academic and also institutional areas, through the adaptation to the European Education Space, it has been declared that the role of the University and of the teachers, must make a radical change to adapt to the knowledge society [1]. Today is a challenge to overcome a teaching based on content and mastery, respond to needs, take advantage of the potential of new generations of students, and make possible a University that is connected to the social and professional environment. Every time it is imposed more in our societies not to separate the academic, labor aspects of the vital ones. In short, we need another university with a different training project for a complex society. It seems that the Bologna process forces in that direction [2], to create a university project focused on student learning in which emotion, connection, interrelation, and collaboration move, if we want it to be deep learning [3]. Undoubtedly, there are few steps that are being taken with the purpose of moving toward that horizon of learning. In the University of the Basque Country, where the experience we are going to present has been developed, we have opted for an educational model that we call IKD (Ikaskuntza kooperatibo and Dinamikoa), terms that in Basque mean Cooperative and Dynamic Learning. It is a collective attempt to develop an innovative model focused on students and their learning [4].

*Segundo Ricardo Cabana Villca*

University of La Serena, Chile

It is important to connect the concepts of innovation and development with the incoming entrance of sociological phenomena, in such a way that an integrating education is allowed, where the role of university education becomes a key element, where innovation in the competences delivered to the undergraduate students it becomes a challenge, which is approached from the perspective provided by the

Innovating in the Competences

#### **Chapter 3**

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

and Sustainable Built Environment (SASBE); 09-11 December 2015;

buildings. In: 15th International Australasian Campuses Towards

[36] Iyer-Raniga U, Moore T, Kashyap K, Ridley I, Andamon MM. Beyond the building: Focusing on holistic sustainability outcomes for educational

Sustainability (ACTS) Refocus + Renew, 21-23 October 2015; Deakin University:

[37] Moore T, Iyer-Raniga U. Reflections of a green university building: from design to occupation, Facilities. https:// doi.org/10.1108/F-11-2017-0108

[38] Kashyap K, Iyer-Raniga U, Francis M. Showcasing 'real' green buildings: A case for post occupancy of university buildings. Zero Carbon Buildings Journal. 2017;**5**, CII, Hong Kong

Pretoria: South Africa

Geelong Australia

[29] Pharo E, Davison A, McGregor H, Warr K, Brown P. Using communities of practice to enhance interdisciplinary teaching: Lessons from four Australian institutions. In: Higher Education Research & Development: Taylor and

[30] Pharo EJ, Davison A, Warr K, Nursey-Bray M, Beswick K, Wapstra E,

[31] Wilson S, Zamberlan L. Show me yours: Developing a faculty wide interdisciplinary initiative in built environment higher education. Contemporary Issues in Education Research — Fourth Quarter.

2012;**5**(4):331-342, The Clute Institute http://www.cluteinstitute.com/

education. The Journal of Experimental

[32] Alagona PS, Gregory LS. The role of field study in humanistic and interdisciplinary environmental

Education. 2010;**32**(3):191-206

[33] Winter J, Cotton D. Making the hidden curriculum visible: Sustainability literacy in higher education. Environmental Education Research. 2012;**18**(6):783-796. DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2012.670207

[34] Painter-Morland M, Sabet E, Molthan-Hill P, Goworek H, de Leew S. Beyond the curriculum: Integrating sustainability into business schools. Journal of Business Ethics. 2016;**139**:737-754. DOI: 10.1007/

[35] Iyer-Raniga U, Moore T, Ridley I, Andamon MM. Reflections for sustainability: Capitalising on

stakeholder on stakeholder engagement for optimising outcomes. In: 5th CIB International Conference on Smart

s10551-015-2896-6

et al. Can teacher collaboration overcome barriers to interdisciplinary learning in a disciplinary university? A case study using climate change. Teaching in Higher Education: Taylor

Francis; 2013

and Francis; 2012

**44**

## The Social Intrapreneurship, Innovating in the Competences Delivered to Students: Case Engineering Students of the University of La Serena, Chile

*Segundo Ricardo Cabana Villca*

### **Abstract**

It is important to connect the concepts of innovation and development with the incoming entrance of sociological phenomena, in such a way that an integrating education is allowed, where the role of university education becomes a key element, where innovation in the competences delivered to the undergraduate students it becomes a challenge, which is approached from the perspective provided by the strategies that allow students to wake up the social intrapreneurship.

**Keywords:** student, teaching and learning, satisfaction, loyalty, support network

#### **1. Introduction**

At present, no one argues in the academic environment that we are in a moment of change and profound transformation in the role and function that education has to play in today's society, more specifically, higher education. In the last decade from different academic and also institutional areas, through the adaptation to the European Education Space, it has been declared that the role of the University and of the teachers, must make a radical change to adapt to the knowledge society [1]. Today is a challenge to overcome a teaching based on content and mastery, respond to needs, take advantage of the potential of new generations of students, and make possible a University that is connected to the social and professional environment. Every time it is imposed more in our societies not to separate the academic, labor aspects of the vital ones. In short, we need another university with a different training project for a complex society. It seems that the Bologna process forces in that direction [2], to create a university project focused on student learning in which emotion, connection, interrelation, and collaboration move, if we want it to be deep learning [3]. Undoubtedly, there are few steps that are being taken with the purpose of moving toward that horizon of learning. In the University of the Basque Country, where the experience we are going to present has been developed, we have opted for an educational model that we call IKD (Ikaskuntza kooperatibo and Dinamikoa), terms that in Basque mean Cooperative and Dynamic Learning. It is a collective attempt to develop an innovative model focused on students and their learning [4].

And in relation to it, all efforts are made to rethink university teaching betting on the use of methodologies that encourage autonomy, critical thinking, and teamwork [5].

Today the university is seen as an organization that has among its activities the generation, dissemination, and transfer of knowledge, becoming a fundamental actor of the new economy, society, and culture, which understand knowledge as a strategic factor that generates competitive advantages for allow the differentiation of organizations and their sustainability. Aware of this, universities have begun to give greater importance to one of its substantive functions: university extension or social projection, through which they hope to bring knowledge to the environment to contribute to local, regional, national, and international development. In this scenario, university students have a fundamental role in acquiring such knowledge and begin to develop their social intrapreneurial behavior, that is, thanks to their activities generate benefits at the university level and positive impact on society.

In Chile, universities are currently competing for students, resources (human and financial), and reputation, the most important being students. This increase in competition between universities is shared in other contexts. Thus, in Europe, and within the framework of the European Higher Education Area, there is also an increase in the level of competition of universities in various aspects [6]. These important changes, together with an increase in society's expectations regarding the work of state universities and the demands of users of these services, have caused great problems and a concern to improve the quality of teaching, research, and all the services that a university provides. This interest has led to a greater emphasis on the analysis of two aspects that are closely linked: quality and satisfaction [6]. Therefore, the educational process is a crucial activity in every university and can be characterized in a simple way as an interactive and intentional process; interactive, not only by the existence of human relationships among its members, but also by the interaction that occurs with a multiplicity of factors associated with this process [7].

On the other hand, when there is a correct relationship between the University and its students, and they have the conviction to formulate and implement initiatives that arise from a need of the same university, a project developed by students with intrapreneurial behaviors will be carried out. Generating activities from within the university, which are beneficial not only for your home study, but also can generate favorable impacts for society, and train an intrapreneurial future corporate character and/or entrepreneur who has his own ambitions, which generate impact in companies, the community and the world [8].

In this chapter, the impact of the variables satisfaction, identification, and fidelity is analyzed in the social intrapreneurial behavior of the students of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of La Serena. From this systemic analysis, the relevance of forming a skills profile consistent with the previous variables in a public university in Chile can be evidenced.

With regard to social innovation and social intrapreneurship, research shows the relationship between both variables. This is consistent with the statement by Esen and Sekerdil [9].

#### **2. Analysis of the university environment**

By uniting two concepts as universal as innovation and social, it is not surprising that the definitions of Social Innovation have taken such different shades over the last 10 years. While there is a general consensus in using the term to describe a novel project that has a social purpose; its focus, scale, and orientation can vary considerably, depending on the context in which it develops. In 2013, the European Commission published a Guide to Social Innovation in which it defined the concept

**47**

indirectly affect their image [18].

*The Social Intrapreneurship, Innovating in the Competences Delivered to Students: Case…*

this term, it considers it as an essential strategy for competitiveness [10].

performance and in the positive disposition to answer it.

as "innovations that are social, both in their end and in their process," which "are not only good for society, but also boost the capacity of individuals to act." Interestingly, although said Guide clarifies that there is still no real consensus as to the meaning of

The satisfaction of the teaching-learning process is the favorable appreciation that students make of the results and experiences associated with their education, based on the attention to their own needs and the achievement of their expectations [11]. There are several researches that studied the positive effects of the confidence and support of teachers. Cokley et al. [12] found that the vast majority of students considered important the relationship with their teachers for their development. Willie [13] points out that through interpersonal relationships of respect and trust, learning environments can be transformed into true learning communities. McNeely and Falci [14] found that adolescents who perceive support from their teachers are more committed to their educational institution and are less vulnerable to engaging in risky behavior. Klem and Connell [15] are recognizing that the link with educational institutions is important for learning and that students through the years of study live a progressive disengagement with these, in their research found that the support of teachers facilitated maintain ties with their schools. In the same line, Yáñez et al. [16] found that trust in teachers was a significant determinant in the attitude of students to believe in the value of the evaluation of teacher

The student sets his objectives according to the institutional image projected by his house of study, which is the importance of the university in the leverage of tools that encourage innovation in the learning stage and link with the environment. This is how various investigations confirm that the way in which the organization is perceived (the evaluation made of it, its image) will influence the identification. Likewise, several researches have explored the influence on the identification of different characteristics of the identity of the organization that favor the satisfaction of said needs for self-definition. In this line, it has been demonstrated that the prestige or reputation of the organization improves the attractiveness of identity and identification. In this way, the brand image of the university will be based on solid and relevant bases for its graduates, directly influencing their levels of identification with the institution, being able to defend and feel part of it, as well as at the levels of loyalty, which will increase the intention to choose it again for postgraduate studies, keep in touch with it, recommend it or speak well of it in their environment [17]. They also contribute to the formation of the image, and in a decisive way, the information coming from the environment of the organization. This last statement must be highlighted, since not only the messages sent by the organization influence or affect the image formation, but also all those that may come from other sources and that contain information about the organization or its activities, as well as those that refer to their scope of work or action (sector to which they belong), which may

The mechanisms linked to communication allow to maintain a motivating relationship between the students and the house of higher education. Corporate communication serves to remind members of their current membership and generate a positive consideration of their organizational identity. A useful communication tool is the corporate media, where the values, norms, and institutional seal are positioned in the educational community to strengthen their cohesion with the University. The frequency and quality of the university's communication with the student, also increases their loyalty with the House of Higher Studies, enhancing their identification and thus generating a positive relationship that will be the basis for social innovations that benefit the University and the society. In addition, the relational and emotional link between the University and the students is enriched,

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84734*

#### *The Social Intrapreneurship, Innovating in the Competences Delivered to Students: Case… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84734*

as "innovations that are social, both in their end and in their process," which "are not only good for society, but also boost the capacity of individuals to act." Interestingly, although said Guide clarifies that there is still no real consensus as to the meaning of this term, it considers it as an essential strategy for competitiveness [10].

The satisfaction of the teaching-learning process is the favorable appreciation that students make of the results and experiences associated with their education, based on the attention to their own needs and the achievement of their expectations [11]. There are several researches that studied the positive effects of the confidence and support of teachers. Cokley et al. [12] found that the vast majority of students considered important the relationship with their teachers for their development. Willie [13] points out that through interpersonal relationships of respect and trust, learning environments can be transformed into true learning communities. McNeely and Falci [14] found that adolescents who perceive support from their teachers are more committed to their educational institution and are less vulnerable to engaging in risky behavior. Klem and Connell [15] are recognizing that the link with educational institutions is important for learning and that students through the years of study live a progressive disengagement with these, in their research found that the support of teachers facilitated maintain ties with their schools. In the same line, Yáñez et al. [16] found that trust in teachers was a significant determinant in the attitude of students to believe in the value of the evaluation of teacher performance and in the positive disposition to answer it.

The student sets his objectives according to the institutional image projected by his house of study, which is the importance of the university in the leverage of tools that encourage innovation in the learning stage and link with the environment. This is how various investigations confirm that the way in which the organization is perceived (the evaluation made of it, its image) will influence the identification. Likewise, several researches have explored the influence on the identification of different characteristics of the identity of the organization that favor the satisfaction of said needs for self-definition. In this line, it has been demonstrated that the prestige or reputation of the organization improves the attractiveness of identity and identification. In this way, the brand image of the university will be based on solid and relevant bases for its graduates, directly influencing their levels of identification with the institution, being able to defend and feel part of it, as well as at the levels of loyalty, which will increase the intention to choose it again for postgraduate studies, keep in touch with it, recommend it or speak well of it in their environment [17].

They also contribute to the formation of the image, and in a decisive way, the information coming from the environment of the organization. This last statement must be highlighted, since not only the messages sent by the organization influence or affect the image formation, but also all those that may come from other sources and that contain information about the organization or its activities, as well as those that refer to their scope of work or action (sector to which they belong), which may indirectly affect their image [18].

The mechanisms linked to communication allow to maintain a motivating relationship between the students and the house of higher education. Corporate communication serves to remind members of their current membership and generate a positive consideration of their organizational identity. A useful communication tool is the corporate media, where the values, norms, and institutional seal are positioned in the educational community to strengthen their cohesion with the University. The frequency and quality of the university's communication with the student, also increases their loyalty with the House of Higher Studies, enhancing their identification and thus generating a positive relationship that will be the basis for social innovations that benefit the University and the society. In addition, the relational and emotional link between the University and the students is enriched,

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

ate impact in companies, the community and the world [8].

public university in Chile can be evidenced.

**2. Analysis of the university environment**

In this chapter, the impact of the variables satisfaction, identification, and fidelity is analyzed in the social intrapreneurial behavior of the students of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of La Serena. From this systemic analysis, the relevance of forming a skills profile consistent with the previous variables in a

With regard to social innovation and social intrapreneurship, research shows the relationship between both variables. This is consistent with the statement by Esen

By uniting two concepts as universal as innovation and social, it is not surprising that the definitions of Social Innovation have taken such different shades over the last 10 years. While there is a general consensus in using the term to describe a novel project that has a social purpose; its focus, scale, and orientation can vary considerably, depending on the context in which it develops. In 2013, the European Commission published a Guide to Social Innovation in which it defined the concept

And in relation to it, all efforts are made to rethink university teaching betting on the use of methodologies that encourage autonomy, critical thinking, and teamwork [5]. Today the university is seen as an organization that has among its activities the generation, dissemination, and transfer of knowledge, becoming a fundamental actor of the new economy, society, and culture, which understand knowledge as a strategic factor that generates competitive advantages for allow the differentiation of organizations and their sustainability. Aware of this, universities have begun to give greater importance to one of its substantive functions: university extension or social projection, through which they hope to bring knowledge to the environment to contribute to local, regional, national, and international development. In this scenario, university students have a fundamental role in acquiring such knowledge and begin to develop their social intrapreneurial behavior, that is, thanks to their activities generate benefits at the university level and positive impact on society. In Chile, universities are currently competing for students, resources (human and financial), and reputation, the most important being students. This increase in competition between universities is shared in other contexts. Thus, in Europe, and within the framework of the European Higher Education Area, there is also an increase in the level of competition of universities in various aspects [6]. These important changes, together with an increase in society's expectations regarding the work of state universities and the demands of users of these services, have caused great problems and a concern to improve the quality of teaching, research, and all the services that a university provides. This interest has led to a greater emphasis on the analysis of two aspects that are closely linked: quality and satisfaction [6]. Therefore, the educational process is a crucial activity in every university and can be characterized in a simple way as an interactive and intentional process; interactive, not only by the existence of human relationships among its members, but also by the interaction that occurs with a multiplicity of factors associated with this process [7]. On the other hand, when there is a correct relationship between the University and its students, and they have the conviction to formulate and implement initiatives that arise from a need of the same university, a project developed by students with intrapreneurial behaviors will be carried out. Generating activities from within the university, which are beneficial not only for your home study, but also can generate favorable impacts for society, and train an intrapreneurial future corporate character and/or entrepreneur who has his own ambitions, which gener-

**46**

and Sekerdil [9].

thus increasing the benefits for all involved, reinforcing student loyalty, and activating extraordinary behaviors to support the organization [19].

From the approach of social identity applied to work, it has been insisted that social identity is the basis for receiving social support within a group and an organization. In fact, there are three different ways in the identification can affect social support: by the availability of one member of the group to provide social support to another, due to the probability that the person in need, what is accepted and finally, depends on the interpretation of the support offer from the recipient. As these studies have shown, social support is contingent on perceptions of a shared social identity, where a person is more likely to provide social support to a member of their own group, social support is more likely to be accepted when who provides it is perceived as a member of a shared social category and it is more likely that the intentions with which support is offered are better interpreted when both people belong to the same social group [20]. In this way, student satisfaction in their insertion in the university, helps to reaffirm their institutional commitment [21].

A study conducted by Schlesinger et al. [22] confirms the influence of identification on fidelity and commitment. Given the current characteristics of the university environment, such as the reduction in the number of students entering and the increase in those who drop out of studies, among others, they justify the importance of analyzing fidelity in this area, which is necessary for the survival of higher education institutions [23]. After graduation, a student identified with the institution can attract new students through positive word-of-mouth communication, improve the image and reputation of the university in their environment or attract entities or organizations that donate or fund research projects. In this way, we can see how the consequences of this identification generate fidelity, which is not limited to the time the student remains in the institution, but continue throughout his life [24]. Strategies focused on improving student satisfaction and fidelity should be converted into strategic decisions at CES, installing a paradigm of priority educational management in Chile, where the quality of education is simultaneously a short-term goal as well as a strategic objective, which should impact the decisions of educational managers [25].

In higher education, the fidelity of the user would be expressed both in their willingness to return to it to continue training as in the possibility of recommending the university to other potential users belonging to their environment (work, family, neighborhood), thus generating attitudes positive toward the institution [26]. For the university, in its educational role, not only must the student be trained to face the dynamic labor market that requires quick, innovative, and specialized answers, but it must also contribute to their citizenship formation, during this process of student training, the university should instill a sense of gratitude for the institution and of retribution for its contribution in its formative development, generating an emotional bond of fidelity [27].

The social intrapreneurship is about the possibility that employees take their value in the workplace and dare to do something with it, its materiality will result in behavior based on intrinsic motivation and resulting in high levels of commitment. The theory suggests that when people are engaged, it leads to greater creativity and greater commitment to make their initiatives a success. That is what is needed to make companies more sustainable and create a more positive impact step by step in the world [28].

The social intrapreneurship not only locates the best minds to find ideas and solutions, but also involves these people in the innovation process, letting them turn their ideas into projects and see how these projects lead to new businesses. Therefore, social innovation is based on an effective conceptual framework of university doing from the social (moral) responsibility that falls within an integrated organization, in a world of vertiginous change and increasing complexity. It is a way

**49**

proposed model.

**3.2 Individual reliability of the indicators**

*The Social Intrapreneurship, Innovating in the Competences Delivered to Students: Case…*

linked to the university function itself, rooted in its mission and vision [29].

of understanding the social meaning of university activity for the personal, civicsocial, political and cultural development of people, communities and peoples. It is

In this research, the social intra-entrepreneurship in universities is deepened, together with the risk that it carries. The willingness to risk can be defined as the preference for situations that can yield beneficial rewards in case of success, but also severe consequences if the individual fails. In this way, the intrapreneur ventures into areas unknown to the organization, without knowing what the results will be. It refers to the willingness of the subject to commit to sources of opportunity that are likely to fail [19]. Personal factors are an important part when making an entrepreneurial profile, since they are talking directly to the individual. Researchers have tried to highlight the psychological aspects and personal characteristics of the entrepreneur. The University of La Salle seeks students to materialize their ideas through the design and implementation of diverse strategies that make it easier for them to present to the world life projects that not only can represent profits in monetary terms, but also provide a life experience and growth at the personal and professional levels, since these influence, in turn, the development and growth of our country. For this reason, it has contributed to the formation of its students, fostering entrepreneurial spirit and the ability to be creative, innovative, leading,

**3. Proposal for a model capable of explaining the generation of social** 

Based on the analysis of the university environment, a model is proposed, whose objective is to describe the relationship between variables that produce social

To validate the proposed model, an empirical study is presented, where the method used to collect the information is of a quantitative nature based on a structured survey of 57 Likert-type questions, scale of 1 (minimum value associated with response) to 5 (maximum value associated with response), the type of sampling is probabilistic with a confidence level of 95%. The survey covered the following items, satisfaction, among which is differentiated according to its origin (Process social support, teaching-learning process, internal support process, and institutional image), identification of students with their careers, student loyalty to their university, innovation, willingness to take risks, and social intrapreneurial behavior in IES, which was evaluated based on the following two questions: Do I execute social actions or social intra-undertakings that manage to generate social value in the University/career or internal activities? Do I execute social actions or social intra-undertakings that manage to generate social value in society? The fieldwork was done personally and online, between December 2015 and May 2016, data that presented measurement errors and inconsistencies, represented with a standard deviation of 0. The valid cases amounted to 401, being all students of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of La Serena-Chile. **Figure 1** shows the outline of the

In order to evaluate the viability of the factorial analysis, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin index (KMO) was quantified, which for each of the factors was greater than

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84734*

and perseverant [30].

**3.1 Methodology**

**intrapreneurship in universities**

intrapreneurship in universities.

#### *The Social Intrapreneurship, Innovating in the Competences Delivered to Students: Case… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84734*

of understanding the social meaning of university activity for the personal, civicsocial, political and cultural development of people, communities and peoples. It is linked to the university function itself, rooted in its mission and vision [29].

In this research, the social intra-entrepreneurship in universities is deepened, together with the risk that it carries. The willingness to risk can be defined as the preference for situations that can yield beneficial rewards in case of success, but also severe consequences if the individual fails. In this way, the intrapreneur ventures into areas unknown to the organization, without knowing what the results will be. It refers to the willingness of the subject to commit to sources of opportunity that are likely to fail [19]. Personal factors are an important part when making an entrepreneurial profile, since they are talking directly to the individual. Researchers have tried to highlight the psychological aspects and personal characteristics of the entrepreneur. The University of La Salle seeks students to materialize their ideas through the design and implementation of diverse strategies that make it easier for them to present to the world life projects that not only can represent profits in monetary terms, but also provide a life experience and growth at the personal and professional levels, since these influence, in turn, the development and growth of our country. For this reason, it has contributed to the formation of its students, fostering entrepreneurial spirit and the ability to be creative, innovative, leading, and perseverant [30].

#### **3. Proposal for a model capable of explaining the generation of social intrapreneurship in universities**

#### **3.1 Methodology**

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

activating extraordinary behaviors to support the organization [19].

thus increasing the benefits for all involved, reinforcing student loyalty, and

From the approach of social identity applied to work, it has been insisted that social identity is the basis for receiving social support within a group and an organization. In fact, there are three different ways in the identification can affect social support: by the availability of one member of the group to provide social support to another, due to the probability that the person in need, what is accepted and finally, depends on the interpretation of the support offer from the recipient. As these studies have shown, social support is contingent on perceptions of a shared social identity, where a person is more likely to provide social support to a member of their own group, social support is more likely to be accepted when who provides it is perceived as a member of a shared social category and it is more likely that the intentions with which support is offered are better interpreted when both people belong to the same social group [20]. In this way, student satisfaction in their insertion in the university, helps to reaffirm their institutional commitment [21]. A study conducted by Schlesinger et al. [22] confirms the influence of identification on fidelity and commitment. Given the current characteristics of the university environment, such as the reduction in the number of students entering and the increase in those who drop out of studies, among others, they justify the importance of analyzing fidelity in this area, which is necessary for the survival of higher education institutions [23]. After graduation, a student identified with the institution can attract new students through positive word-of-mouth communication, improve the image and reputation of the university in their environment or attract entities or organizations that donate or fund research projects. In this way, we can see how the consequences of this identification generate fidelity, which is not limited to the time the student remains in the institution, but continue throughout his life [24]. Strategies focused on improving student satisfaction and fidelity should be converted into strategic decisions at CES, installing a paradigm of priority educational management in Chile, where the quality of education is simultaneously a short-term goal as well as a strategic objective, which should impact the decisions

In higher education, the fidelity of the user would be expressed both in their willingness to return to it to continue training as in the possibility of recommending the university to other potential users belonging to their environment (work, family, neighborhood), thus generating attitudes positive toward the institution [26]. For the university, in its educational role, not only must the student be trained to face the dynamic labor market that requires quick, innovative, and specialized answers, but it must also contribute to their citizenship formation, during this process of student training, the university should instill a sense of gratitude for the institution and of retribution for its contribution in its formative development,

The social intrapreneurship is about the possibility that employees take their value in the workplace and dare to do something with it, its materiality will result in behavior based on intrinsic motivation and resulting in high levels of commitment. The theory suggests that when people are engaged, it leads to greater creativity and greater commitment to make their initiatives a success. That is what is needed to make companies more sustainable and create a more positive impact step by step in the world [28]. The social intrapreneurship not only locates the best minds to find ideas and solutions, but also involves these people in the innovation process, letting them turn their ideas into projects and see how these projects lead to new businesses. Therefore, social innovation is based on an effective conceptual framework of university doing from the social (moral) responsibility that falls within an integrated organization, in a world of vertiginous change and increasing complexity. It is a way

**48**

of educational managers [25].

generating an emotional bond of fidelity [27].

Based on the analysis of the university environment, a model is proposed, whose objective is to describe the relationship between variables that produce social intrapreneurship in universities.

To validate the proposed model, an empirical study is presented, where the method used to collect the information is of a quantitative nature based on a structured survey of 57 Likert-type questions, scale of 1 (minimum value associated with response) to 5 (maximum value associated with response), the type of sampling is probabilistic with a confidence level of 95%. The survey covered the following items, satisfaction, among which is differentiated according to its origin (Process social support, teaching-learning process, internal support process, and institutional image), identification of students with their careers, student loyalty to their university, innovation, willingness to take risks, and social intrapreneurial behavior in IES, which was evaluated based on the following two questions: Do I execute social actions or social intra-undertakings that manage to generate social value in the University/career or internal activities? Do I execute social actions or social intra-undertakings that manage to generate social value in society? The fieldwork was done personally and online, between December 2015 and May 2016, data that presented measurement errors and inconsistencies, represented with a standard deviation of 0. The valid cases amounted to 401, being all students of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of La Serena-Chile. **Figure 1** shows the outline of the proposed model.

#### **3.2 Individual reliability of the indicators**

In order to evaluate the viability of the factorial analysis, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin index (KMO) was quantified, which for each of the factors was greater than 0.5 and the Bartlett's sphericity test (PEB) which must be significant (p < 0.05) [31]. For this, the SmartPLS software version 3.2.6 was used, using the Bootstrap extraction method. In this regard, to accept an indicator as a component of a construct, we considered factor loads with values higher than 0.4 suggested by Hair [32], however, to obtain more rigor in the data, factor loads with values lower than 0.5. **Table 1** shows that the indicators FEU021, SPEA043, SPEA044, SPEA048, SPEA049, SIGI051, SPASP071, SPASP072, IS081, IS082, and DAR094 were eliminated because they did not comply with the minimum established.

#### **3.3 Coefficient of determination and predictive validity of the model**

The coefficient of determination of the endogenous or dependent variables (R2 ) must be equal to or greater than 0.1 as the minimum value [33]. On the other hand, what determines the prediction quality of the structural model is the Stone-Geisser Test (Q2 ). This test is used as a criterion to measure the predictive relevance of the dependent constructs and is calculated using the Blindfolding technique. In the case that Q2 > 0, it indicates that the model has predictive relevance. In **Table 2**, it can be seen how the R2 value for Social Intrapreneur Conduct is 0.465 which means that 46.5% of the variance of this construct is explained satisfactorily. From this empirical criterion all constructs have an acceptable quality of prediction power and in all of them the values of Q2 are positive, which certifies the predictive relevance of the model.

#### **3.4 Goodness of adjustment and hypothesis contrast**

Esposito [34] suggest a global criterion of goodness of fit for PLS structural models, propose that the global goodness index of adjustment be given by means of the square root of the multiplication of the arithmetic mean of the analysis of the variance extracted (AVE) and the arithmetic mean of the coefficient of

**51**

*The Social Intrapreneurship, Innovating in the Competences Delivered to Students: Case…*

**Construct Indicator Factor load** Fidelity of the student with his career and university (FEU) FEU021 0.482

Student identification with career and university (IEC) IEC031 0.798

Satisfaction of the teaching-learning process (SPEA) SPEA041 0.728

Institutional image satisfaction (SIGI) SIGI051 0.464

Satisfaction of internal support processes (SPAI) SPAI061 0.654

Satisfaction process professional social support (SPASP) SPASP071 0.487

Social innovation (ISO) IS081 0.203

FEU022 0.722 FEU023 0.874 FEU024 0.605 FEU025 0.844

IEC032 0.845 IEC033 0.858 IEC034 0.650 IEC035 0.688

SPEA042 0.695 SPEA043 0.379 SPEA044 0.301 SPEA045 0.714 SPEA046 0.771 SPEA047 0.684 SPEA048 0.055 SPEA049 0.168 SPEA050 0.661

SIGI052 0.629 SIGI053 0.778 SIGI054 0.765 SIGI055 0.727 SIGI056 0.811

SPAI062 0.771 SPAI063 0.730 SPAI064 0.663 SPAI065 0.719

SPASP072 0.314 SPASP073 0.882 SPASP074 0.892

IS082 0.086 IS083 0.742 IS084 0.812 IS085 0.788

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84734*


*The Social Intrapreneurship, Innovating in the Competences Delivered to Students: Case… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84734*

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

nated because they did not comply with the minimum established.

**3.4 Goodness of adjustment and hypothesis contrast**

**3.3 Coefficient of determination and predictive validity of the model**

The coefficient of determination of the endogenous or dependent variables (R2

). This test is used as a criterion to measure the predictive relevance of the dependent constructs and is calculated using the Blindfolding technique. In the case that

> 0, it indicates that the model has predictive relevance. In **Table 2**, it can be seen

the variance of this construct is explained satisfactorily. From this empirical criterion all constructs have an acceptable quality of prediction power and in all of them the

Esposito [34] suggest a global criterion of goodness of fit for PLS structural models, propose that the global goodness index of adjustment be given by means of the square root of the multiplication of the arithmetic mean of the analysis of the variance extracted (AVE) and the arithmetic mean of the coefficient of

*Causal model on social Intrapreneur conduct in higher education institutions. H: Hypothesis.*

are positive, which certifies the predictive relevance of the model.

value for Social Intrapreneur Conduct is 0.465 which means that 46.5% of

must be equal to or greater than 0.1 as the minimum value [33]. On the other hand, what determines the prediction quality of the structural model is the Stone-Geisser Test

)

0.5 and the Bartlett's sphericity test (PEB) which must be significant (p < 0.05) [31]. For this, the SmartPLS software version 3.2.6 was used, using the Bootstrap extraction method. In this regard, to accept an indicator as a component of a construct, we considered factor loads with values higher than 0.4 suggested by Hair [32], however, to obtain more rigor in the data, factor loads with values lower than 0.5. **Table 1** shows that the indicators FEU021, SPEA043, SPEA044, SPEA048, SPEA049, SIGI051, SPASP071, SPASP072, IS081, IS082, and DAR094 were elimi-

**50**

**Figure 1.**

(Q2

Q2

how the R2

values of Q2

#### *Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*


#### **Table 1.**

*Factorial loads of the indicators.*


#### **Table 2.**

*Explained variance and predictive validity of the model.*


#### **Table 3.**

*Structural equation model: Analysis of causal relationships and hypothesis testing.*

determination (R<sup>2</sup> ) of the endogenous or dependent variables. As can be seen in **Table 3**, the goodness of fit index (GoF) of the analysis model is 0.454, showing that there is a good fit in the measurement model and in the structural model, thus complying with the empirical criterion that the Goodness of fit measure should vary between 0 and 1, the higher the value, the better the index [35].

#### **3.5 Analysis of causal relationships and hypothesis testing**

The PLS methodology does not presume that the information is normally distributed, which means that, in order to evaluate the quality of the complete model, it is necessary to apply a nonparametric re-sampling technique called bootstrapping, which involves random re-sampling with replacement of the original sample,

**53**

*The Social Intrapreneurship, Innovating in the Competences Delivered to Students: Case…*

creating new pseudo-samples from the original sample in order to obtain sample errors for hypothesis testing. The new sample obtained by this process allows the estimation of coefficients in the PLS-SEM methodology to test their statistical significance. This technique offers the calculation of the standard error of the parameters, where the condition of the statistic T ≥ 1.96 must be verified in order to

Esposito et al. [34] suggest a global criterion of goodness of fit for PLS structural models, propose that the index of goodness of global adjustment is given by means of the square root of the multiplication of the arithmetic mean of the analysis of the extracted variance (AVE) and the arithmetic mean of the coefficient of determina-

) of the endogenous or dependent variables. As can be seen in **Table 3**, the

goodness of fit index (GoF) of the analysis model is 0.454, showing that there is a good fit in the measurement model and in the structural model, thus complying with the empirical criterion that the Goodness of fit measure should vary between 0

The correlation between social innovation and intra-entrepreneurial social behavior represents a paradigm of educational management that is a priority in Chile, given the current challenges of higher education, it is necessary that educational organizations integrate the student in a planned way in the creation of

The management of the satisfaction of the teaching-learning process and the satisfaction with the institutional image, will influence directly and positively with statistical significance, in the identification of the student with his career. The other two variables that are part of the model have no statistical influence: satisfaction of the social-professional support process and satisfaction of the internal support process. That is, students are committed to their career, if the decisions of their managers make "profitable investment" that they perform during undergraduate, by providing quality education and simultaneously enhance the brand and corporate image that projects an education center superior (CES), variables that together

The satisfaction for the institutional image and the satisfaction derived from the teaching-learning processes are the only ones that manage to influence the identification of the students with their university, and given their relevance in increasing the value of the HEI, through internalizing the benefits of social intra-entrepreneurial behavior, installs in its managers the challenge of managing the stakeholders that are part of their environment, because they represent providers of resources, skills and knowledge that will allow them to increasingly improve the identification

The search to better explore the role of the university and its interaction with the actors of its environment, has been the focus of intense study during the last two decades. They have investigated from different perspectives the processes of innovation and generation of value, which would be associated with the interaction between key actors of a territory, such as the university, the State and the Industry;

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84734*

determine its level of significance (see **Table 3**) [36].

**4. Comments regarding the proposed model**

and 1, the higher the value, the better the index [35].

innovations in support processes and educational services.

influence to achieve a job placement consistent with the career.

of the student and its causal variables.

**5. Final reflections (Conclusions)**

which is known as the Triple Helix [37].

tion (R2

*The Social Intrapreneurship, Innovating in the Competences Delivered to Students: Case… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84734*

creating new pseudo-samples from the original sample in order to obtain sample errors for hypothesis testing. The new sample obtained by this process allows the estimation of coefficients in the PLS-SEM methodology to test their statistical significance. This technique offers the calculation of the standard error of the parameters, where the condition of the statistic T ≥ 1.96 must be verified in order to determine its level of significance (see **Table 3**) [36].

#### **4. Comments regarding the proposed model**

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

**Construct R2 Q2** Social intrapreneur conduct in IES 0.465 0.364 Fidelity of the student with his university 0.280 0.154 Identification of the student with his career 0.216 0.115

Social intrapreneur conduct at CES (CIIES) CIIES010 0.906

**Construct Indicator Factor load** Risk disposition (DAR) DAR091 0.837

> DAR092 0.864 DAR093 0.815 DAR094 0.369

CIIES011 0.912

**P Value Contrast**

) of the endogenous or dependent variables. As can be seen in

**coefficient**

H1 SPEA → IEC 0.333 6750 0.000 Accepted H2 SIGI → IEC 0.179 3550 0.000 Accepted H3 SPAI → IEC 0.006 0.104 0.917 Rejected H4 SPASP → IEC 0.054 1181 0.238 Rejected H5 IEC → FEU 0.529 13,061 0.000 Accepted H6 FEU → CIIES 0.101 2248 0.047 Accepted H7 ISO → CIIES 0.602 16,045 0.000 Accepted H8 DAR → CIIES 0.117 2427 0.016 Accepted

**T statistic**

**Table 3**, the goodness of fit index (GoF) of the analysis model is 0.454, showing that there is a good fit in the measurement model and in the structural model, thus complying with the empirical criterion that the Goodness of fit measure should

The PLS methodology does not presume that the information is normally distributed, which means that, in order to evaluate the quality of the complete model, it is necessary to apply a nonparametric re-sampling technique called bootstrapping, which involves random re-sampling with replacement of the original sample,

vary between 0 and 1, the higher the value, the better the index [35].

**3.5 Analysis of causal relationships and hypothesis testing**

*Structural equation model: Analysis of causal relationships and hypothesis testing.*

**52**

determination (R<sup>2</sup>

**Table 3.**

**Table 2.**

**Table 1.**

*Factorial loads of the indicators.*

*Explained variance and predictive validity of the model.*

Adjustment Goodness Index (GoF): 0.454

**Hypothesis Relations PATH** 

Esposito et al. [34] suggest a global criterion of goodness of fit for PLS structural models, propose that the index of goodness of global adjustment is given by means of the square root of the multiplication of the arithmetic mean of the analysis of the extracted variance (AVE) and the arithmetic mean of the coefficient of determination (R2 ) of the endogenous or dependent variables. As can be seen in **Table 3**, the goodness of fit index (GoF) of the analysis model is 0.454, showing that there is a good fit in the measurement model and in the structural model, thus complying with the empirical criterion that the Goodness of fit measure should vary between 0 and 1, the higher the value, the better the index [35].

The correlation between social innovation and intra-entrepreneurial social behavior represents a paradigm of educational management that is a priority in Chile, given the current challenges of higher education, it is necessary that educational organizations integrate the student in a planned way in the creation of innovations in support processes and educational services.

The management of the satisfaction of the teaching-learning process and the satisfaction with the institutional image, will influence directly and positively with statistical significance, in the identification of the student with his career. The other two variables that are part of the model have no statistical influence: satisfaction of the social-professional support process and satisfaction of the internal support process. That is, students are committed to their career, if the decisions of their managers make "profitable investment" that they perform during undergraduate, by providing quality education and simultaneously enhance the brand and corporate image that projects an education center superior (CES), variables that together influence to achieve a job placement consistent with the career.

The satisfaction for the institutional image and the satisfaction derived from the teaching-learning processes are the only ones that manage to influence the identification of the students with their university, and given their relevance in increasing the value of the HEI, through internalizing the benefits of social intra-entrepreneurial behavior, installs in its managers the challenge of managing the stakeholders that are part of their environment, because they represent providers of resources, skills and knowledge that will allow them to increasingly improve the identification of the student and its causal variables.

#### **5. Final reflections (Conclusions)**

The search to better explore the role of the university and its interaction with the actors of its environment, has been the focus of intense study during the last two decades. They have investigated from different perspectives the processes of innovation and generation of value, which would be associated with the interaction between key actors of a territory, such as the university, the State and the Industry; which is known as the Triple Helix [37].

The strategic direction contains as a supra system the Theory of Resources and Capacities, this considers the complex organization as a set of resources and capabilities that form competitive advantages. Therefore, the learning capacity becomes dynamic when the intentions and the results change. This theory focuses on analyzing the resources and capabilities of organizations as a basis for formulating their strategy. It also proposes the promotion of core competencies that allow offering products and/or services that contribute in value to the client [38].

Some authors say that entrepreneurial education must be shared throughout the university, without distinguishing it as their own only from a particular school or faculty. They also point out that at least two changes are needed to meet the objectives of entrepreneurial education: curricula must be changed and different teaching-learning methods must be developed [39].

The university, as an organization that has among its activities the generation, dissemination, and transfer of knowledge, has become a fundamental actor in the new economy, which understands knowledge as a strategic factor that generates competitive advantages to allow the differentiation of organizations and its sustainability in the context. Aware of this, the university has begun to give greater importance to one of its substantive functions: university extension or social projection, through which they hope to bring knowledge to the environment to contribute to local, regional, national, and international development [40].

Social innovation, student loyalty, and willingness to risk manage to explain the social intrapreneurial behavior of the students of the Faculty of Engineering of the University. The greater the identification of the students, the greater the fidelity they feel for their home, positively impacting the social intrapreneurial behavior of the students.

The management of the directors of a higher education center (CES) regarding the satisfaction of the process of social-professional support and the satisfaction of the internal support process, do not influence with statistical significance the identification of the student with his career, without However, this does not imply that their operational and strategic management should be ruled out, given that they provide the "minimum conditions" expected in a CES, according to the institutional accreditation standards [41].

The satisfaction for the institutional image and the satisfaction derived from the teaching-learning processes are the only ones that manage to influence the identification of the students with their university, and given its relevance in increasing the value of the CES, through internalizing the benefits of social intra-entrepreneurial behavior, installs in its managers the challenge of managing the stakeholders that are part of their environment, as they represent providers of resources, skills and knowledge that will allow them to increasingly improve the identification of the student and its causal variables [41].

The systemic management of higher education centers should focus on strengthening social innovation, strengthening students' risk-taking and improving teachinglearning processes and institutional image, thus contributing to the training of students with intra-entrepreneurial behaviors and to initiate the way to build world-class CES.

At present, the educational market is on offer, due to the increase in higher education institutions, since they are not only found in large cities but have also entered intermediate cities and municipalities; Likewise, every day the clients become more demanding and their expectations increase, not only demanding quality in the products or services, but in the added value that is around them. Reason why, the fundamental strategy is to build loyalty with the brand and this is only achieved with an organizational culture focused on customer service [42].

Student loyalty with its Higher Education Center is the key to follow the transformations that result in attitudes that go hand in hand with manifestations of

**55**

**Author details**

Segundo Ricardo Cabana Villca

University of La Serena, La Serena, Chile

provided the original work is properly cited.

\*Address all correspondence to: rcabana@userena.cl

© 2020 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

*The Social Intrapreneurship, Innovating in the Competences Delivered to Students: Case…*

therefore also it is key in the sustainable development of the University.

innovation in the student's thinking. This is why it is a key to satisfy students with the teaching-learning processes by incorporating modifications to the plans that are

Therefore, in the CES, innovation in educational management and marketing should be assumed as a daily practice at the undergraduate level. The "profitability" of the associated investments will also be reflected in the contributions and quality of the relationship with the graduates, who are relevant participants of the external support network to improve satisfaction and the teaching-learning process and

Although the results of this research cannot be generalized to other Universities in Chile, it cannot be denied that other national and international research positions the student as a central actor, even without specifying it, assigning him the student-client role. For this reason, it is necessary that these educational organizations integrate it in a planned manner in the co-creation of innovations in support

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84734*

processes and in educational services [43].

the pillars of the curriculum.

#### *The Social Intrapreneurship, Innovating in the Competences Delivered to Students: Case… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84734*

innovation in the student's thinking. This is why it is a key to satisfy students with the teaching-learning processes by incorporating modifications to the plans that are the pillars of the curriculum.

Therefore, in the CES, innovation in educational management and marketing should be assumed as a daily practice at the undergraduate level. The "profitability" of the associated investments will also be reflected in the contributions and quality of the relationship with the graduates, who are relevant participants of the external support network to improve satisfaction and the teaching-learning process and therefore also it is key in the sustainable development of the University.

Although the results of this research cannot be generalized to other Universities in Chile, it cannot be denied that other national and international research positions the student as a central actor, even without specifying it, assigning him the student-client role. For this reason, it is necessary that these educational organizations integrate it in a planned manner in the co-creation of innovations in support processes and in educational services [43].

#### **Author details**

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

products and/or services that contribute in value to the client [38].

teaching-learning methods must be developed [39].

institutional accreditation standards [41].

student and its causal variables [41].

local, regional, national, and international development [40].

The strategic direction contains as a supra system the Theory of Resources and Capacities, this considers the complex organization as a set of resources and capabilities that form competitive advantages. Therefore, the learning capacity becomes dynamic when the intentions and the results change. This theory focuses on analyzing the resources and capabilities of organizations as a basis for formulating their strategy. It also proposes the promotion of core competencies that allow offering

Some authors say that entrepreneurial education must be shared throughout the university, without distinguishing it as their own only from a particular school or faculty. They also point out that at least two changes are needed to meet the objectives of entrepreneurial education: curricula must be changed and different

The university, as an organization that has among its activities the generation, dissemination, and transfer of knowledge, has become a fundamental actor in the new economy, which understands knowledge as a strategic factor that generates competitive advantages to allow the differentiation of organizations and its sustainability in the context. Aware of this, the university has begun to give greater importance to one of its substantive functions: university extension or social projection, through which they hope to bring knowledge to the environment to contribute to

Social innovation, student loyalty, and willingness to risk manage to explain the social intrapreneurial behavior of the students of the Faculty of Engineering of the University. The greater the identification of the students, the greater the fidelity they feel for their home, positively impacting the social intrapreneurial behavior of

The management of the directors of a higher education center (CES) regarding

The satisfaction for the institutional image and the satisfaction derived from the teaching-learning processes are the only ones that manage to influence the identification of the students with their university, and given its relevance in increasing the value of the CES, through internalizing the benefits of social intra-entrepreneurial behavior, installs in its managers the challenge of managing the stakeholders that are part of their environment, as they represent providers of resources, skills and knowledge that will allow them to increasingly improve the identification of the

The systemic management of higher education centers should focus on strengthening social innovation, strengthening students' risk-taking and improving teachinglearning processes and institutional image, thus contributing to the training of students with intra-entrepreneurial behaviors and to initiate the way to build world-class CES. At present, the educational market is on offer, due to the increase in higher education institutions, since they are not only found in large cities but have also entered intermediate cities and municipalities; Likewise, every day the clients become more demanding and their expectations increase, not only demanding quality in the products or services, but in the added value that is around them. Reason why, the fundamental strategy is to build loyalty with the brand and this is only achieved

Student loyalty with its Higher Education Center is the key to follow the transformations that result in attitudes that go hand in hand with manifestations of

with an organizational culture focused on customer service [42].

the satisfaction of the process of social-professional support and the satisfaction of the internal support process, do not influence with statistical significance the identification of the student with his career, without However, this does not imply that their operational and strategic management should be ruled out, given that they provide the "minimum conditions" expected in a CES, according to the

**54**

the students.

Segundo Ricardo Cabana Villca University of La Serena, La Serena, Chile

\*Address all correspondence to: rcabana@userena.cl

© 2020 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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[15] Klem AM, Connell JP. Relationships matter: Linking teacher support to student engagement and achievement. Journal of School Health. 2004;**74**:262-273

[16] Yáñez R, Pérez V, Yáñez C. The reliability towards teachers by students and their influence in the construction of trust and organizational

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*The Social Intrapreneurship, Innovating in the Competences Delivered to Students: Case… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84734*

identification towards their careers. Pedagogical Studies XXXI. 2005;**3**(2):89-103

[17] Scott S, Lane L. A stakeholder approach to organizational identity. The Academy of Management Review. 2000;**25**(1):43-62

[18] Capriotti P. Strategic Planning of the Corporate Image. Málaga, Spain: Editorial IIRP; 2013

[19] Moriano J, Topa G, Valero E, Levy J. Organizational identification and intrapreneurial behavior. Annals of Psychology. 2009;**25**(2):277-287

[20] Topa G, Moriano J, Morales J, Moreno A. Identificaciones múltiples y ciudadanía en el trabajo: Mediación de las fuentes de apoyo social. Revista Latinoamericana De Psicología. 2010;**42**(3):427-436

[21] Donoso S, Schiefelbein E. Analysis of explanatory models of student retention in the university: A vision from the social inequality. Pedagogical Studies. 2007;**33**(1):7-27

[22] Schlesinger W, Cervera A, Calderón H. The role of trust, image and shared values in the creation of value and loyalty: Application to the graduateuniversity relationship. Spanish Research Magazine and Research - ESIC. 2014;**18**:126-139

[23] Helgesen Ø, Nesset E. What accounts for students' loyalty? Some field study evidence. International Journal of Educational Management. 2007;**21**(2):126-143

[24] Fullerton C. Creating advocates: The roles of satisfaction, trust and commitment. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. 2011;**18**(1):92-100

[25] Cabana SR, Cortés F, Vega D, Cortés R. Analysis of student loyalty in engineering with its higher education

center: Challenges in educational management, university. Education. 2016;**9**(6):93-104. DOI: 10.4067/ S0718-50062016000600009

[26] Pereira M. Nuevas tendencias en la evaluación de la calidad de las universidades: Los índices de calidad percibida y satisfacción de los egresados. Con Modelos de Ecuaciones Estructurales. 2011;**39**(3):73-84

[27] Petrella C. Management of the relationship of universities with teachers, students and graduates. Iberoamerican Journal of Education. 2008;**47**(5):1681-5653

[28] Nijhof A, Looise JC, de Leede J. Social Intrapreneurship: A conceptual, theoretical and empirical exploration of its meaning and contribution. In: de Weerd P, Visscher K, Visser J, editors. Innovation, Social Responsibility, Creativity, Ethics and Olaf Fisscher. The Netherlands: Enschede; 2012. pp. 109-128

[29] Villa A. Social innovation in the university field: A proposal for its diagnosis. Argentina Journal of Higher Education. 2014;**8**:188-218

[30] Cuervo C, Amaya J. Four Interviews with Lasallian Entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs as Part of the Dissemination and Promotion Strategies of the Faculty of Administrative and Accounting Sciences at the University of Salle. Bogota: Universidad de Salle; 2016

[31] Méndez C, Rondón M. Introduction to exploratory factor analysis. Colombian Journal of Psychiatry. 2012;**41**(1):197-207

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[33] Falk R, Miller N. A First for Soft Modeling. 1st ed. Akron, OH: University of Akron Press; 1992

**56**

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

[9] Esen M, Sekerdil R. The effects of intrapreneurship on social innovation: A research in Izmir. International Journal of Contemporary Economics

and Administrative Sciences.

[10] Buckland, Murillo. Social Innovation in Latin America,

Barcelona: Institute of Social

[11] Candelas C, Gurruchaga M, Mejías A, Flores L. Measurement of university student satisfaction: A case study in a Mexican institution. Iberoamerican Journal of Industrial Engineering. 2013;**5**(9):261-274

Conceptual Framework and Nagentes.

Innovation, Ramon Llull University;

[12] Cokley K, Komarraju M, Patel N, Piedrahita S, Rosales R, Castillon J, et al. Construction and initial validation of the student–professor interaction scale (SPIS). College Student Affairs Journal.

[13] Willie C. Confidence, trust and respect: The preeminent goals of educational reform. The Journal of Negro Education. 2000;**69**(4):255-262

[14] McNeely C, Falci C. School connectedness and the transition into and out of health-risk behavior among adolescents: A comparison of social belonging and teacher support. Journal of School Health. 2004;**74**(7):284-292. DOI: 10.1111/j.1746-1561.2004.tb08285.x

[15] Klem AM, Connell JP. Relationships

achievement. Journal of School Health.

[16] Yáñez R, Pérez V, Yáñez C. The reliability towards teachers by students and their influence in the construction of trust and organizational

matter: Linking teacher support to student engagement and

2004;**74**:262-273

2017;**7**(1-2):13-30

2004;**24**(1):32-50

2014

[1] Alonso I, Arandia M. Learn by creating: "Creative factory" in the university classrooms. REDU: Journal of University Teaching.

[2] Bologna Working Group. A Framework for Qualifications of the European Higher Education Area. Copenhagen: Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation;

[3] Lantieri L. Emotional Intelligence for Children and Youth. Madrid: Aguilar;

[4] Fernández I, Palomares T. How to develop a university curriculum in the knowledge society? IKD, a curricular development model at the University of the Basque Country. In: Balluerka N, Alkorta I, editors. Curricular Development of the New Degrees. Basque Country: Editorial Service of the University of the Basque Country; 2011

[5] Arandia M, Fernández I. Is a curriculum beyond the subjects possible? Design and practice of the degree of social education at the University of the Basque Country. REDU: Journal of University Teaching.

[6] de la Fuente Mella H, Marzo

Navarro M, Reyes Riquelme M. Análisis de la satisfacción universitaria en la facultad de ingeniería de la Universidad de Talca. Ingeniare. Revista Chilena De Ingeniería. 2010;**18**(3):350-363. DOI: 10.4067/s0718-33052010000300009

[7] Bertoglia L. The teacher-student interaction, a vision from the

attributional processes. Psychological

Perspectives. 2005;**4**:57-73

[8] Salcedo J. The Importance of Intrapreneurs in Companies. 2012. Available from: goo.gl/n9U6Um

2012;**10**(3):99-123

2014;**12**(1):443-468

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[41] Cabana SR, Cortés FH, Aguilera MI, Vargas FA. Determinant factors for social Intrapreneurism: The case of the engineering students of the University of the Serena, Chile. University Education. 2018;**11**(2):87-98. DOI: 10.4067/S0718-50062018000200087

[42] Socarras E. Communication as the Axis of Customer Service in Higher Education Institutions, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Specialization

in Management of Administrative Development. Colombia: University of Bogota; 2014

[43] Cabana SR, Cortés FH, Vega DL, Cortés RA. Analysis of engineering student loyalty to his/her center of higher education: Education management challenges. University. Education. 2016;**9**(6):93-104. DOI: 10.4067/S0718-50062016000600009

**59**

**Chapter 4**

**Abstract**

**1. Introduction**

in new forms of credentials.

A Responsive Higher Education

This case illustrates how a large, regional university redesigned its program review, curriculum proposal, and curriculum approval processes to maintain currency and viability and meet regional educational needs. The chapter analyzes the problem, process, and outcomes of the changes, and discusses implications for broader contexts. It introduces the concept of disruptive innovation, discusses innovation and change within higher education, provides context for the institution highlighted in the case study, and outlines the initiatives. It then reviews the innovations from a change process model perspective and considers the implications of the case analysis. The chapter concludes with thoughts on the extent of change needed in higher education to keep pace with a continually-evolving global environment.

**Keywords:** disruptive innovations, curricular change, change models, institutional

"Most traditional organizations have accepted, in theory at least, that they must either change or die" ([1], para. 1). While dramatic, this statement bears consideration. Higher education is a traditional organization. "For a millennium, the basic structures of how universities produce and disseminate knowledge and evaluate students have survived intact through the sweeping societal changes created by technology—the moveable-type printing press, the Industrial Revolution, the telegraph, telephone, radio, television, and computers" ([2], para. 1). However, higher education institutions "are recognizing the need to change in order to provide an

Concerns with return on investment, accountability, measuring quality with seat time and credit hours [4], and competition from for-profit institutions and learning organizations are causing disruption [2]. Disruptions include competencybased learning, work-based learning, prior learning credit, condensed degrees, distance learning, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), personalized learning, outsourcing of educational services, new or revamped delivery modalities such as online learning, and partnerships between industry and higher education resulting

One of the most increasingly common disruptions in traditional higher education is online learning, which institutions typically adopt to be competitive,

affordable, high quality product to a broader population" ([3], p. 87).

Curriculum: Change and

Disruptive Innovation

*Maureen Snow Andrade*

mission, higher education transformation

#### **Chapter 4**

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

in Management of Administrative Development. Colombia: University of

[43] Cabana SR, Cortés FH, Vega DL, Cortés RA. Analysis of engineering student loyalty to his/her center of higher education: Education management challenges. University. Education. 2016;**9**(6):93-104. DOI: 10.4067/S0718-50062016000600009

Bogota; 2014

[34] Esposito V, Chin W, Henseler J, Wang H. Handbook of Partial Least Squares: Concepts, Methods and Applications. 1st ed. Berlin: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg; 2011

[35] Tenenhaus M, Esposito V,

[36] Kwong K. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) techniques using SmartPLS. Marketing Bulletin.

[37] Gatica S, Soto W, Dela D. The Case of the Universities of Latin America. Santiago, Chile: Ecosystems of Social

[38] Garzón-Castrillón MA. El aprendizaje para impulsar el intraemprendimiento en organizaciones complejas. Ide@s Concyteg.

[39] Jones C, Matlay H, Maritz A. Enterprise education: For all, or just some? Education and Training.

Ortiz C. University and environment

[41] Cabana SR, Cortés FH, Aguilera MI, Vargas FA. Determinant factors for social Intrapreneurism: The case of the engineering students of the University of the Serena, Chile. University Education. 2018;**11**(2):87-98. DOI: 10.4067/S0718-50062018000200087

[42] Socarras E. Communication as the Axis of Customer Service in Higher Education Institutions, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Specialization

2013;**24**:1-32

Innovation; 2015

2011;**6**(74):919-939

2012;**54**(8/9):813-824

[40] Sanabria P, Morales M,

interaction: Framework for entrepreneurship. Education and Educators. 2018. Available from: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo. oa?id=83439194007. ISSN: 0123-1294

Chatelin Y, Lauro C. PLS path modeling. Computational Statistics and Data Analysis. 2005;**48**(1):159-205

**58**

## A Responsive Higher Education Curriculum: Change and Disruptive Innovation

*Maureen Snow Andrade*

#### **Abstract**

This case illustrates how a large, regional university redesigned its program review, curriculum proposal, and curriculum approval processes to maintain currency and viability and meet regional educational needs. The chapter analyzes the problem, process, and outcomes of the changes, and discusses implications for broader contexts. It introduces the concept of disruptive innovation, discusses innovation and change within higher education, provides context for the institution highlighted in the case study, and outlines the initiatives. It then reviews the innovations from a change process model perspective and considers the implications of the case analysis. The chapter concludes with thoughts on the extent of change needed in higher education to keep pace with a continually-evolving global environment.

**Keywords:** disruptive innovations, curricular change, change models, institutional mission, higher education transformation

#### **1. Introduction**

"Most traditional organizations have accepted, in theory at least, that they must either change or die" ([1], para. 1). While dramatic, this statement bears consideration. Higher education is a traditional organization. "For a millennium, the basic structures of how universities produce and disseminate knowledge and evaluate students have survived intact through the sweeping societal changes created by technology—the moveable-type printing press, the Industrial Revolution, the telegraph, telephone, radio, television, and computers" ([2], para. 1). However, higher education institutions "are recognizing the need to change in order to provide an affordable, high quality product to a broader population" ([3], p. 87).

Concerns with return on investment, accountability, measuring quality with seat time and credit hours [4], and competition from for-profit institutions and learning organizations are causing disruption [2]. Disruptions include competencybased learning, work-based learning, prior learning credit, condensed degrees, distance learning, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), personalized learning, outsourcing of educational services, new or revamped delivery modalities such as online learning, and partnerships between industry and higher education resulting in new forms of credentials.

One of the most increasingly common disruptions in traditional higher education is online learning, which institutions typically adopt to be competitive,

economically viable, and responsive to a changing market [3]. Formerly a disruption characteristic of open universities, distance learning has now become mainstream, with the potential to transform "curriculum and learning" ([4], p. 4). In addition to delivery modalities, transformations might also involve revising current curricula and creating new curricula based on findings from review and evaluation processes and in response to employer needs.

Employers of recent college graduates value cross-cutting skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, oral and written communication, and teamwork [5]. These skills can be developed in programs of study throughout the university. However, universities must review current courses and program offerings to determine their effectiveness and currency, both in terms of cross-cutting skills and discipline-based knowledge, and identify new programs to address changing workforce needs. Although employers continue to rate these skills highly and consider them more important than area of study, they do not feel that recent college graduates have attained these skills [5], thus a gap exists between what higher education institutions are providing and what is needed.

This case illustrates how a large, regional university redesigned its program review, curriculum proposal, and curriculum approval processes to maintain currency and viability and meet regional educational needs. The changes aimed to address issues in these processes that had been identified by stakeholders, and to ensure that program revisions and new programs were strategic in terms of the institution's ability to prepare students with appropriate cross-cutting and disciplinary knowledge, skills, and abilities. This also entailed designing a more timely curriculum approval process so that curriculum changes and new programs reflected disciplinary currency and changing employer needs. In short, innovations to the institution's curricular processes were needed to ensure that the university was providing academic programs that were current and in demand, and that it was prioritizing the right new programs for development.

The chapter analyzes the problem, process, and outcomes of the changes, and discusses implications for broader contexts. It introduces the concept of disruptive innovations, discusses innovation and change within higher education, provides context for the institution highlighted in the case study, and outlines the initiatives. It then reviews the innovations from a change process model perspective and considers the implications of the case analysis. The chapter concludes with thoughts on the extent of change needed in higher education to keep pace with a continuallyevolving global environment.

#### **2. Disruptive innovation**

Higher education is considered a sustaining innovation. Until fairly recently, in many contexts, participation was limited to those with the cultural capital (e.g., knowledge, skills, behaviors, social networks) [6] to be admitted and successful [3]. However, these formerly elite systems of higher education are now encouraging broad participation [7], particularly for those from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, certain geographical locations, and ethnic groups who do not have a traditional of higher education with the aim of improving social equity [8]. Various goals have been set related to degree attainment. European countries are striving for 40% of all 30–34 year-olds to complete a tertiary education by 2020 [9], and in the U.S., the goal is for 60% of working age Americans to obtain a postsecondary degree or credential by 2025 [10].

Due to the changing landscape of higher education, and specifically the diverse populations of learners, as well as increasing competition from disruptive

**61**

innovation.

*A Responsive Higher Education Curriculum: Change and Disruptive Innovation*

innovators such as for-profit and other educational providers, some traditional institutions are becoming disruptive innovators. Disruptive innovation is defined as

*The process by which products and services, which at one point were so expensive, complicated, and inconvenient that only a small fraction of people could access them, become transformed into ones that are simpler, more convenient, lower in* 

In general, disruptive innovations involve emerging technologies and related practices, which are initially unproven and appeal to a limited number of people, but as they improve, they attract more customers and displace current providers [3, 4]. Included in the category of disruptive innovations is flexible learning, including technology-enhanced and work-based/work-place learning, which provides choice in "how, what, when and where" to learn and "the pace, place and mode of delivery" ([11], para. 1, 19; [12]). Another example of a disruptive innovation is open and distance universities, which were formerly innovative in their approach to the provision of higher education credentials, but are now looking for ways to distinguish themselves because traditional universities have become more like them. The concept of disruptive innovation provides a lens through which to examine change in higher education generally and the changes discussed in this case

Change can easily go awry, particularly when people can "choose their own balance between conformity and innovation" ([13], p. 55), which is generally the case in higher education. Not only does the faculty have considerable autonomy, but often schools, colleges, and departments operate largely independently. Higher education is loosely coupled in terms of organizational structure, which can counter efforts at standardization [14]. In the case of the curriculum, the faculty have primary responsibility due to their disciplinary expertise. However, curricular changes and particularly the introduction of new programs can be a considerable investment to an institution, which suggests the need for a deliberate approach to decisionmaking related to curricular change. Thus, collaboration and effective processes are

Another issue that impacts change in higher education is what some refer to as initiative fatigue—this occurs when various areas in the institution want to innovate, respond to needs, embrace opportunities, and contribute to student success. "In our experience, the reason for most [change] failures is that in their rush to change their organizations, managers end up immersing themselves in an alphabet soup of initiatives" ([1], para. 2). This is evident in higher education, particularly with the expanse of technological solutions designed to solve current issues, such as the use of data-analytics to improve student retention and completion, a significant problem in U.S. institutions of higher education (30% of students admitted leave during or after their first year) [15]. With multiple areas on campus striving to improve, enhance, and innovate, change can become too much to manage and end in frustration, or in compromise and incremental tweaking rather than true

Determining where to focus change efforts and how to manage them, then, are critical considerations. Leaders must determine if they are basing the need for change on a sense of intuition, their own agendas, past experience (e.g., when I

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.5772/intechopen.80443*

*cost, and far more accessible* [4]*.*

**3. Innovation and change in higher education**

follows:

specifically.

needed.

*A Responsive Higher Education Curriculum: Change and Disruptive Innovation DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.5772/intechopen.80443*

innovators such as for-profit and other educational providers, some traditional institutions are becoming disruptive innovators. Disruptive innovation is defined as follows:

*The process by which products and services, which at one point were so expensive, complicated, and inconvenient that only a small fraction of people could access them, become transformed into ones that are simpler, more convenient, lower in cost, and far more accessible* [4]*.*

In general, disruptive innovations involve emerging technologies and related practices, which are initially unproven and appeal to a limited number of people, but as they improve, they attract more customers and displace current providers [3, 4]. Included in the category of disruptive innovations is flexible learning, including technology-enhanced and work-based/work-place learning, which provides choice in "how, what, when and where" to learn and "the pace, place and mode of delivery" ([11], para. 1, 19; [12]). Another example of a disruptive innovation is open and distance universities, which were formerly innovative in their approach to the provision of higher education credentials, but are now looking for ways to distinguish themselves because traditional universities have become more like them. The concept of disruptive innovation provides a lens through which to examine change in higher education generally and the changes discussed in this case specifically.

#### **3. Innovation and change in higher education**

Change can easily go awry, particularly when people can "choose their own balance between conformity and innovation" ([13], p. 55), which is generally the case in higher education. Not only does the faculty have considerable autonomy, but often schools, colleges, and departments operate largely independently. Higher education is loosely coupled in terms of organizational structure, which can counter efforts at standardization [14]. In the case of the curriculum, the faculty have primary responsibility due to their disciplinary expertise. However, curricular changes and particularly the introduction of new programs can be a considerable investment to an institution, which suggests the need for a deliberate approach to decisionmaking related to curricular change. Thus, collaboration and effective processes are needed.

Another issue that impacts change in higher education is what some refer to as initiative fatigue—this occurs when various areas in the institution want to innovate, respond to needs, embrace opportunities, and contribute to student success. "In our experience, the reason for most [change] failures is that in their rush to change their organizations, managers end up immersing themselves in an alphabet soup of initiatives" ([1], para. 2). This is evident in higher education, particularly with the expanse of technological solutions designed to solve current issues, such as the use of data-analytics to improve student retention and completion, a significant problem in U.S. institutions of higher education (30% of students admitted leave during or after their first year) [15]. With multiple areas on campus striving to improve, enhance, and innovate, change can become too much to manage and end in frustration, or in compromise and incremental tweaking rather than true innovation.

Determining where to focus change efforts and how to manage them, then, are critical considerations. Leaders must determine if they are basing the need for change on a sense of intuition, their own agendas, past experience (e.g., when I

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

processes and in response to employer needs.

institutions are providing and what is needed.

prioritizing the right new programs for development.

evolving global environment.

**2. Disruptive innovation**

or credential by 2025 [10].

economically viable, and responsive to a changing market [3]. Formerly a disruption characteristic of open universities, distance learning has now become mainstream, with the potential to transform "curriculum and learning" ([4], p. 4). In addition to delivery modalities, transformations might also involve revising current curricula and creating new curricula based on findings from review and evaluation

Employers of recent college graduates value cross-cutting skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, oral and written communication, and teamwork [5]. These skills can be developed in programs of study throughout the university. However, universities must review current courses and program offerings to

determine their effectiveness and currency, both in terms of cross-cutting skills and discipline-based knowledge, and identify new programs to address changing workforce needs. Although employers continue to rate these skills highly and consider them more important than area of study, they do not feel that recent college graduates have attained these skills [5], thus a gap exists between what higher education

This case illustrates how a large, regional university redesigned its program review, curriculum proposal, and curriculum approval processes to maintain currency and viability and meet regional educational needs. The changes aimed to address issues in these processes that had been identified by stakeholders, and to ensure that program revisions and new programs were strategic in terms of the institution's ability to prepare students with appropriate cross-cutting and disciplinary knowledge, skills, and abilities. This also entailed designing a more timely curriculum approval process so that curriculum changes and new programs reflected disciplinary currency and changing employer needs. In short, innovations to the institution's curricular processes were needed to ensure that the university was providing academic programs that were current and in demand, and that it was

The chapter analyzes the problem, process, and outcomes of the changes, and discusses implications for broader contexts. It introduces the concept of disruptive innovations, discusses innovation and change within higher education, provides context for the institution highlighted in the case study, and outlines the initiatives. It then reviews the innovations from a change process model perspective and considers the implications of the case analysis. The chapter concludes with thoughts on the extent of change needed in higher education to keep pace with a continually-

Higher education is considered a sustaining innovation. Until fairly recently, in many contexts, participation was limited to those with the cultural capital (e.g., knowledge, skills, behaviors, social networks) [6] to be admitted and successful [3]. However, these formerly elite systems of higher education are now encouraging broad participation [7], particularly for those from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, certain geographical locations, and ethnic groups who do not have a traditional of higher education with the aim of improving social equity [8]. Various goals have been set related to degree attainment. European countries are striving for 40% of all 30–34 year-olds to complete a tertiary education by 2020 [9], and in the U.S., the goal is for 60% of working age Americans to obtain a postsecondary degree

Due to the changing landscape of higher education, and specifically the diverse populations of learners, as well as increasing competition from disruptive

**60**

was at my former institution, we did this and it worked wonderfully), or personal opinion, or if they have identified a new opportunity for a highly desirable future for the organization or a danger in maintaining the status quo. They also need to determine the extent to which they can convincingly show their vision to stakeholders so that the latter can see the end result. Too much consideration and failure to act, however, can have repercussions. University presidents have been fired for not pursuing change quickly enough [2]. As they prepare for change, leaders might ask:


A first step, then, is to identify a true need or opportunity for change, determine how it will impact other initiatives, set priorities, and anticipate stakeholder reactions.

Related to stakeholder reactions, leading or managing change requires an understanding of sources of resistance. These include an unwillingness to change habits, concerns about security (job loss, lack of required skills, possible changes in pay), structural inertia (embedded policies and procedures), group norms that influence individuals not to change, and the threat of power redistribution [16]. Other factors are complacency, immobilization (due to fear or panic), defiance, and pessimism [17]. All of these apply to higher education. Leaders must determine the best approach to persuading and influencing others as well as initiating, implementing, and sustaining change.

In a study of 26 higher education institutions seeking to implement different types of change, those most successful at transformation were characterized as follows:


These findings identify commonalities in successful higher education change, but do not specifically establish how to manage change. Kotter and Cohen's 8-step model [17] provides further direction for change management, and is based on data examining instances of why change failed. See **Table 1**.

Successful change involves careful planning and effective leadership. Models such as this provide a framework through which to consider opportunities, potential barriers and derailers, and determine strategies to make change last. They provide a means of implementing a disruptive change.

**63**

*A Responsive Higher Education Curriculum: Change and Disruptive Innovation*

Examine opportunities and threats. Show people the need to change – not with data

Share, report, motivate, get feedback. Listen to people's opinions and views. Involve

Do not start too many initiatives at once. Aim for immediate, highly visible, and

people to innovate and solve sticky problems. Build on short-terms wins and

and presentations but with compelling stories. Appeal to emotions

Form a guiding team Identify change agents and stakeholders and involve them in leading the change Get the vision right Communicate a clear and concise vision that helps people visualize what the organization will look like when the change is implemented

Empower action Remove barriers. Examine policies and processes that hinder change. Provide

Do not let up Avoid bureaucratic practices that take up time. Create structures that empower

Make change stick Cultural changes take time. Reinforce positive behaviors with recognition; celebrate; reward; embed change into the culture

training. Reward change behaviors

unambiguous wins

continue the momentum

The context for this case is a large, open admission university in the United States. The university has nearly 40,000 students, of whom a growing percentage are non-traditional (first in their families to pursue a degree) and non-traditional (25 years old and older). The institution has a teaching, rather than a research, mission, and its primary purpose is addressing regional educational needs. As such, it has a range of programs—certificates, associate's degrees, applied associate's

This in itself is unique as most higher education institutions in the U.S. serve a community college function with 2-year technical or preparatory degrees (e.g., the latter prepare students to transfer to a 4-year institution), offer 4-year undergraduate degrees, or a combination undergraduate and graduate degrees. The university in this case study offers a wide range of degree programs. This is challenging as the inclusion of technical training along with traditional liberal arts degrees requires differentiation in terms of faculty credentials, tenure and promotion, course delivery modalities, scheduling, and other logistics. Also, due to being open admission, the university provides developmental education programs in English (reading/ writing) and math. It has a range of student support programming such as a student success course, academic tutoring, and retention mentors (peers who reach out to

The university also holds an elective Carnegie classification as a community engaged institution, reflecting its commitment to its surrounding community and to forging mutually beneficial partnerships with local organizations and businesses [19]. As such, it provides extensive community service learning opportunities through which students apply the academic content they are studying in their courses to help resolve community or organizational issues while simultaneously

Finally, the institution has experienced steady and consistent growth in student enrollment and projections indicate continued future growth. As such, new degree programs are added each year to respond to needs and opportunities, and new faculty members are hired with the expertise to offer these programs. The institution

degrees, bachelor's degrees, and selected master's degrees.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.5772/intechopen.80443*

others

Create a sense of urgency

Communicate for

Create short-term

buy-in

wins

**Table 1.**

**4. Context and overview**

*Kotter and Cohen's 8-step model for change.*

students who may need help).

gaining practical, hands-on experience.

*A Responsive Higher Education Curriculum: Change and Disruptive Innovation DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.5772/intechopen.80443*


#### **Table 1.**

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

should be prioritized?

How do I know?

examination?

ing, and sustaining change.

and had a long-term perspective.

reactions.

follows:

was at my former institution, we did this and it worked wonderfully), or personal opinion, or if they have identified a new opportunity for a highly desirable future for the organization or a danger in maintaining the status quo. They also need to determine the extent to which they can convincingly show their vision to stakeholders so that the latter can see the end result. Too much consideration and failure to act, however, can have repercussions. University presidents have been fired for not pursuing change quickly enough [2]. As they prepare for change, leaders might ask:

• How are various change efforts or proposed efforts connected and which

• What is the rationale for the change and will it stand up to stakeholder

A first step, then, is to identify a true need or opportunity for change, determine how it will impact other initiatives, set priorities, and anticipate stakeholder

Related to stakeholder reactions, leading or managing change requires an understanding of sources of resistance. These include an unwillingness to change habits, concerns about security (job loss, lack of required skills, possible changes in pay), structural inertia (embedded policies and procedures), group norms that influence individuals not to change, and the threat of power redistribution [16]. Other factors are complacency, immobilization (due to fear or panic), defiance, and pessimism [17]. All of these apply to higher education. Leaders must determine the best approach to persuading and influencing others as well as initiating, implement-

In a study of 26 higher education institutions seeking to implement different types of change, those most successful at transformation were characterized as

1.Favorable external environments and internal conditions allowed institutions to create and control their futures in the face of outside pressure to change.

2.Leaders upheld academic values, established trust, shared credit for success,

3.Leaders understood the need for new practices, structures, and procedures and encouraged people to examine underlying assumptions of the status quo.

4.Leaders made adjustments in their actions as they listened to stakeholders

These findings identify commonalities in successful higher education change, but do not specifically establish how to manage change. Kotter and Cohen's 8-step model [17] provides further direction for change management, and is based on data

Successful change involves careful planning and effective leadership. Models such as this provide a framework through which to consider opportunities, potential barriers and derailers, and determine strategies to make change last. They

across the institution and learned from them [18].

examining instances of why change failed. See **Table 1**.

provide a means of implementing a disruptive change.

• Will the proposed change address a particular issue or opportunity or threat?

**62**

*Kotter and Cohen's 8-step model for change.*

#### **4. Context and overview**

The context for this case is a large, open admission university in the United States. The university has nearly 40,000 students, of whom a growing percentage are non-traditional (first in their families to pursue a degree) and non-traditional (25 years old and older). The institution has a teaching, rather than a research, mission, and its primary purpose is addressing regional educational needs. As such, it has a range of programs—certificates, associate's degrees, applied associate's degrees, bachelor's degrees, and selected master's degrees.

This in itself is unique as most higher education institutions in the U.S. serve a community college function with 2-year technical or preparatory degrees (e.g., the latter prepare students to transfer to a 4-year institution), offer 4-year undergraduate degrees, or a combination undergraduate and graduate degrees. The university in this case study offers a wide range of degree programs. This is challenging as the inclusion of technical training along with traditional liberal arts degrees requires differentiation in terms of faculty credentials, tenure and promotion, course delivery modalities, scheduling, and other logistics. Also, due to being open admission, the university provides developmental education programs in English (reading/ writing) and math. It has a range of student support programming such as a student success course, academic tutoring, and retention mentors (peers who reach out to students who may need help).

The university also holds an elective Carnegie classification as a community engaged institution, reflecting its commitment to its surrounding community and to forging mutually beneficial partnerships with local organizations and businesses [19]. As such, it provides extensive community service learning opportunities through which students apply the academic content they are studying in their courses to help resolve community or organizational issues while simultaneously gaining practical, hands-on experience.

Finally, the institution has experienced steady and consistent growth in student enrollment and projections indicate continued future growth. As such, new degree programs are added each year to respond to needs and opportunities, and new faculty members are hired with the expertise to offer these programs. The institution

reviews proposals for new programs on a regular basis and may have as many as 35 new programs or program revisions in process at any given time.

#### **5. The initiatives**

This section discusses three change initiatives, all of them related to the university's mission, and specifically, its academic programs. These initiatives address the challenge identified in the introduction—to ensure that the institution's existing academic programs are in demand and current, that new programs are appropriately prioritized for development, and that all curricular changes are made in a timely manner. The overall goal of these initiatives is to prepare graduates with the cross-cutting and disciplinary knowledge, skills, and abilities to meet regional workforce needs. For each initiative, the following is provided: problem, change process, outcomes.

#### **5.1 Program review**

*Problem*: Program review is required by the governing body of the university every 7 years. The purpose of the review is to examine the purpose of the program, qualifications of faculty who provide it, costs, and outcomes; in other words, to ensure that programs are effective, in demand, and are graduating students. Prior to the change, program reviews tended to focus on compliance and rarely resulted in change or curricular enhancements. Department chairs or an assigned person in the department completed the report, submitted it, and then it sat unused. When time for the next review came around, generally those responsible for completing it had difficulty finding the previous review. It simply was not meaningful.

*Change process*: To examine the viability of changing the program review process, a consultant with expertise in a particular curriculum prioritization model was invited to campus. He talked to stakeholders (e.g., administrators, faculty members, staff, state regent's office representatives) to share possible new directions and determine readiness for change. Based on these discussions and ensuing feedback, a guiding team led the identification of new evaluation criteria and coordinated with the office of institutional research to provide needed data in a readily accessible interactive format on its website. The criteria, or sections of the report, were as follows: department description, workforce data and analysis, institutional data and analysis, student learning outcome results, and strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats.

The workforce data section involved reviewing and analyzing employment trends and projections such as job openings (local, state, national), number of graduates in the state with relevant degrees, salary ranges, and year over year changes. This information is directly related to the institution's mission to meet regional workforce needs and had not been previously available. Institutional data included information about students (e.g., number of majors, number of enrollments outside the department, number of students by class standing and minority status), graduation (e.g., number of degrees awarded, number of semesters to graduation – by student population), faculty (e.g., number, full/part-time ratio, teaching loads), and costs (e.g., cost per student). The focus of this component was to examine program effectiveness in terms of student completions (by ethnicity, age, full/part-time) and also costs based on number of faculty members and their teaching loads (along with other variables).

Two departments piloted the criteria and process. The guiding team worked closely with them. Based on this experience, modifications were made after which

**65**

*A Responsive Higher Education Curriculum: Change and Disruptive Innovation*

a second pilot occurred to test the changes. Following additional adjustments, the new review process was fully launched. It entailed all departments in a single college or school undergoing review in the same year. Each department was given a packet with the criteria and guiding questions and access to a website with their data. The data was presented in a format allowing comparisons across the college/school and at an institutional level. Department members analyzed the information and provided written comments for each criteria after which their report was reviewed by their dean and the guiding team. The process required departments to create an action plan that was reviewed annually at the dean and vice president levels.

*Outcomes*: As a result of this program review innovation, departments had access

to new types of data, giving them a better idea of the extent to which they were supporting the institution's mission and how they compared to other units. This information was available to institutional leaders who then had a comparative, analytical snapshot of all their programs. The purpose for the review was clearer and the results more meaningful. Also, for the first time, the data could be viewed by all degree types (e.g., emphases, certificates, 2-year degrees), which enabled faculty members to view numbers of students in these programs and their graduation rates. A key goal of the change was to integrate planning, assessment, and program review processes. The integration is reflected in **Figure 1**. The requirement for commentary on student learning outcomes assessment in the program review reports connected review and assessment processes rather than having them be separate analyses. Additionally, budget requests could be supported with program review evidence. In other words, weaknesses in a program, identified as part of program review, could lead to funding requests (e.g., more faculty, new equipment), and subsequently, additional resources. The new reporting format could also show deans and leaders, however, that some programs had more positions that were

**Figure 1** also indicates that program review reports no longer sat on a shelf, but that the resulting action plans were reviewed annually. For department chairs, this review occurred with the dean, after which deans reported outcomes to the vice president. Overall, the change resulted in closer connections across planning, review, assessment, and budget functions as well as ensuring greater accountability. It addressed concerns with the currency and relevance of curricular content, the degree to which students were acquiring needed content and skills, the demand for a program, and needed budgetary adjustments by collecting and examining

*Problem*: With the enrollment growth of the university and extensive business and industry development in the region, the university had to be responsive to the needs of its community, which entailed consideration of program revisions and new programs. The typical process for new program approval prior to the innovation was for a faculty member to get an idea for a program and discuss it with his department chair and dean after which the dean would bring it to the dean's council. If there was general support, faculty member completed and submitted the formal

Nearly all ideas were considered worthy and moved forward to the formal proposal stage and were subsequently approved. There was minimal scrutiny of which programs should be prioritized; new programs were proposed throughout the year and approved as they were presented. Each proposal had budget implications—new faculty and staff positions, equipment, and office space. No one tracked what additional proposals were in the idea or development stage at the department level.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.5772/intechopen.80443*

justifiable given student enrollments.

relevant data and acting on the findings.

**5.2 New program proposals**

curriculum proposal form.

#### *A Responsive Higher Education Curriculum: Change and Disruptive Innovation DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.5772/intechopen.80443*

a second pilot occurred to test the changes. Following additional adjustments, the new review process was fully launched. It entailed all departments in a single college or school undergoing review in the same year. Each department was given a packet with the criteria and guiding questions and access to a website with their data. The data was presented in a format allowing comparisons across the college/school and at an institutional level. Department members analyzed the information and provided written comments for each criteria after which their report was reviewed by their dean and the guiding team. The process required departments to create an action plan that was reviewed annually at the dean and vice president levels.

*Outcomes*: As a result of this program review innovation, departments had access to new types of data, giving them a better idea of the extent to which they were supporting the institution's mission and how they compared to other units. This information was available to institutional leaders who then had a comparative, analytical snapshot of all their programs. The purpose for the review was clearer and the results more meaningful. Also, for the first time, the data could be viewed by all degree types (e.g., emphases, certificates, 2-year degrees), which enabled faculty members to view numbers of students in these programs and their graduation rates.

A key goal of the change was to integrate planning, assessment, and program review processes. The integration is reflected in **Figure 1**. The requirement for commentary on student learning outcomes assessment in the program review reports connected review and assessment processes rather than having them be separate analyses. Additionally, budget requests could be supported with program review evidence. In other words, weaknesses in a program, identified as part of program review, could lead to funding requests (e.g., more faculty, new equipment), and subsequently, additional resources. The new reporting format could also show deans and leaders, however, that some programs had more positions that were justifiable given student enrollments.

**Figure 1** also indicates that program review reports no longer sat on a shelf, but that the resulting action plans were reviewed annually. For department chairs, this review occurred with the dean, after which deans reported outcomes to the vice president. Overall, the change resulted in closer connections across planning, review, assessment, and budget functions as well as ensuring greater accountability. It addressed concerns with the currency and relevance of curricular content, the degree to which students were acquiring needed content and skills, the demand for a program, and needed budgetary adjustments by collecting and examining relevant data and acting on the findings.

#### **5.2 New program proposals**

*Problem*: With the enrollment growth of the university and extensive business and industry development in the region, the university had to be responsive to the needs of its community, which entailed consideration of program revisions and new programs. The typical process for new program approval prior to the innovation was for a faculty member to get an idea for a program and discuss it with his department chair and dean after which the dean would bring it to the dean's council. If there was general support, faculty member completed and submitted the formal curriculum proposal form.

Nearly all ideas were considered worthy and moved forward to the formal proposal stage and were subsequently approved. There was minimal scrutiny of which programs should be prioritized; new programs were proposed throughout the year and approved as they were presented. Each proposal had budget implications—new faculty and staff positions, equipment, and office space. No one tracked what additional proposals were in the idea or development stage at the department level.

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

new programs or program revisions in process at any given time.

**5. The initiatives**

process, outcomes.

**5.1 Program review**

reviews proposals for new programs on a regular basis and may have as many as 35

This section discusses three change initiatives, all of them related to the university's mission, and specifically, its academic programs. These initiatives address the challenge identified in the introduction—to ensure that the institution's existing academic programs are in demand and current, that new programs are appropriately prioritized for development, and that all curricular changes are made in a timely manner. The overall goal of these initiatives is to prepare graduates with the cross-cutting and disciplinary knowledge, skills, and abilities to meet regional workforce needs. For each initiative, the following is provided: problem, change

*Problem*: Program review is required by the governing body of the university every 7 years. The purpose of the review is to examine the purpose of the program, qualifications of faculty who provide it, costs, and outcomes; in other words, to ensure that programs are effective, in demand, and are graduating students. Prior to the change, program reviews tended to focus on compliance and rarely resulted in change or curricular enhancements. Department chairs or an assigned person in the department completed the report, submitted it, and then it sat unused. When time for the next review came around, generally those responsible for completing it had

*Change process*: To examine the viability of changing the program review process,

a consultant with expertise in a particular curriculum prioritization model was invited to campus. He talked to stakeholders (e.g., administrators, faculty members, staff, state regent's office representatives) to share possible new directions and determine readiness for change. Based on these discussions and ensuing feedback, a guiding team led the identification of new evaluation criteria and coordinated with the office of institutional research to provide needed data in a readily accessible interactive format on its website. The criteria, or sections of the report, were as follows: department description, workforce data and analysis, institutional data and analysis, student learning outcome results, and strengths, weaknesses, opportuni-

The workforce data section involved reviewing and analyzing employment trends and projections such as job openings (local, state, national), number of graduates in the state with relevant degrees, salary ranges, and year over year changes. This information is directly related to the institution's mission to meet regional workforce needs and had not been previously available. Institutional data included information about students (e.g., number of majors, number of enrollments outside the department, number of students by class standing and minority status), graduation (e.g., number of degrees awarded, number of semesters to graduation – by student population), faculty (e.g., number, full/part-time ratio, teaching loads), and costs (e.g., cost per student). The focus of this component was to examine program effectiveness in terms of student completions (by ethnicity, age, full/part-time) and also costs based on number of faculty members and their

Two departments piloted the criteria and process. The guiding team worked closely with them. Based on this experience, modifications were made after which

difficulty finding the previous review. It simply was not meaningful.

**64**

ties, threats.

teaching loads (along with other variables).

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

**Figure 1.**

*Program review, assessment, and planning/budgeting cycle.*

Initial proposals were simply approved when presented with no consistency in the types of information, evidence, or data provided, and even though formal proposals contained standardized information, these were generally moved forward although requests for clarification or additional information were sometimes made.

*Change process*: To address this issue, particularly due to the resource implications of establishing new programs and the desire to ensure their relevance, the dean's council decided to have a preliminary review of all programs under consideration at a set time each year. The review would also require specific standardized information. As such, a feasibility template was created and refined with feedback from the deans and their faculty as well as the curriculum office. The template included information needed for the full template that would be completed if the proposal was approved to move forward. The full template needed dean's council, provost, trustee, and regent approvals. Programs approved through this process also needed to be submitted to the university's accrediting body.

The feasibility template consisted of the following criteria: program name, sponsoring department/college, number of required credit hours, program type, proposed beginning term, rationale, consistency with university mission, labor market demand (e.g., Bureau of Labor forecasts, growth rate, wages, required

**67**

*A Responsive Higher Education Curriculum: Change and Disruptive Innovation*

education, job postings over a 3-year period), student demand (e.g., number of degree completers in the region, enrollments in core courses required in the degree – if applicable), similar programs offered at universities in the region, external accreditation requirements, estimated enrollments and expenses (e.g., new positions, capital costs). Additional questions were mandatory for proposed graduate programs to ensure appropriate pathways from undergraduate programs and department capacity. These included how the graduate program would be distinct from the undergraduate program (if one existed); faculty staff, or resources from the undergraduate program needed to support the graduate program, reassignment of faculty members' workload hours from teaching undergraduate courses to teaching graduate courses, and recommended tuition rate with rationale. The required data for the feasibility template was provided upon request from the institutional research office, and partially overlapped with the data for program review.

*Outcomes*: In the past, the information presented for initial approval of a new program was inconsistent. Data sources varied, and student demand typically consisted of surveying students to see how interested they would be in a particular degree. The new system addressed these issues. Moreover, all ideas for new programs were reviewed annually as a set and discussed based on the standardized criteria, and programs deemed the most compelling were selected to move forward

As an example, in the first round of the process, 25 initial ideas for new master's

degree programs were considered based on feasibility studies. Only eight were selected to move to the next stage and the rest were put on hold for future consideration. Determination for the selections was based on projections of workforce demand, costs, and other criteria as provided in the new template. Decision-makers prioritized the programs that were of most relevance and value to students and employers. In this way, they were supporting the mission of the university and making a wise investment in the future. The changes resulted in a system that addressed the challenge of developing new academic programs based on faculty expertise or

*Problem*: One of the most critical aspects of being responsive to workforce needs, specifically the ability to create new programs, was the curriculum approval process, which was thorough and lengthy prior to the change initiative. Based on the approval steps and the number of bodies which needed to approve new programs, it could take as long as 2 years for a program to be implemented. This was particularly problematic when local businesses approached the university to request training and certification programs, and was also frustrating to faculty members who could not understand why the process was slow and entailed so many steps as well as

In addition to new program approvals, changes in existing curricula were also quite involved. Due to the detail and complexity of preparing the required documentation for a change and the scrutiny this information received, curricular revisions could take a considerable amount of time to be approved. Extensive revisions were often needed until departments got all the information right, and implementation of changes had to be far in advance of the start date of classes to account for catalog inputting and registration processes. Overall, the curriculum process was

*Change process*: Similar to the process for program review changes, in this case, a consultant was involved. One reason for this was that the current system was strongly embedded into the university and previous attempts at change had not

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.5772/intechopen.80443*

to the next step which entailed further review.

**5.3 Curriculum process**

cumbersome forms.

preference rather than responsiveness to external demand.

one of the most criticized areas at the university.

#### *A Responsive Higher Education Curriculum: Change and Disruptive Innovation DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.5772/intechopen.80443*

education, job postings over a 3-year period), student demand (e.g., number of degree completers in the region, enrollments in core courses required in the degree – if applicable), similar programs offered at universities in the region, external accreditation requirements, estimated enrollments and expenses (e.g., new positions, capital costs). Additional questions were mandatory for proposed graduate programs to ensure appropriate pathways from undergraduate programs and department capacity. These included how the graduate program would be distinct from the undergraduate program (if one existed); faculty staff, or resources from the undergraduate program needed to support the graduate program, reassignment of faculty members' workload hours from teaching undergraduate courses to teaching graduate courses, and recommended tuition rate with rationale. The required data for the feasibility template was provided upon request from the institutional research office, and partially overlapped with the data for program review.

*Outcomes*: In the past, the information presented for initial approval of a new program was inconsistent. Data sources varied, and student demand typically consisted of surveying students to see how interested they would be in a particular degree. The new system addressed these issues. Moreover, all ideas for new programs were reviewed annually as a set and discussed based on the standardized criteria, and programs deemed the most compelling were selected to move forward to the next step which entailed further review.

As an example, in the first round of the process, 25 initial ideas for new master's degree programs were considered based on feasibility studies. Only eight were selected to move to the next stage and the rest were put on hold for future consideration. Determination for the selections was based on projections of workforce demand, costs, and other criteria as provided in the new template. Decision-makers prioritized the programs that were of most relevance and value to students and employers. In this way, they were supporting the mission of the university and making a wise investment in the future. The changes resulted in a system that addressed the challenge of developing new academic programs based on faculty expertise or preference rather than responsiveness to external demand.

#### **5.3 Curriculum process**

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

Initial proposals were simply approved when presented with no consistency in the types of information, evidence, or data provided, and even though formal proposals contained standardized information, these were generally moved forward although

The feasibility template consisted of the following criteria: program name, sponsoring department/college, number of required credit hours, program type, proposed beginning term, rationale, consistency with university mission, labor market demand (e.g., Bureau of Labor forecasts, growth rate, wages, required

*Change process*: To address this issue, particularly due to the resource implications of establishing new programs and the desire to ensure their relevance, the dean's council decided to have a preliminary review of all programs under consideration at a set time each year. The review would also require specific standardized information. As such, a feasibility template was created and refined with feedback from the deans and their faculty as well as the curriculum office. The template included information needed for the full template that would be completed if the proposal was approved to move forward. The full template needed dean's council, provost, trustee, and regent approvals. Programs approved through this process also needed

requests for clarification or additional information were sometimes made.

to be submitted to the university's accrediting body.

*Program review, assessment, and planning/budgeting cycle.*

**66**

**Figure 1.**

*Problem*: One of the most critical aspects of being responsive to workforce needs, specifically the ability to create new programs, was the curriculum approval process, which was thorough and lengthy prior to the change initiative. Based on the approval steps and the number of bodies which needed to approve new programs, it could take as long as 2 years for a program to be implemented. This was particularly problematic when local businesses approached the university to request training and certification programs, and was also frustrating to faculty members who could not understand why the process was slow and entailed so many steps as well as cumbersome forms.

In addition to new program approvals, changes in existing curricula were also quite involved. Due to the detail and complexity of preparing the required documentation for a change and the scrutiny this information received, curricular revisions could take a considerable amount of time to be approved. Extensive revisions were often needed until departments got all the information right, and implementation of changes had to be far in advance of the start date of classes to account for catalog inputting and registration processes. Overall, the curriculum process was one of the most criticized areas at the university.

*Change process*: Similar to the process for program review changes, in this case, a consultant was involved. One reason for this was that the current system was strongly embedded into the university and previous attempts at change had not

been received favorably by those with direct responsibility for the process. Having an external perspective by one with expertise in the area was hoped to have an impact. The consultant did preliminary work by reviewing documentation prior to her visit to consider not only process, but organizational structure, roles, and responsibilities; she then engaged with constituent groups across campus during her visit. She identified a number of ways the process could maintain an emphasis on quality yet be shortened.

Subsequently, a number of changes that were under the control of the institution were made to expedite internal approvals. The primary goals were to devolve greater responsibility for curriculum processes to faculty, departments, colleges, and schools, shortening the timeline for curriculum approvals, and simplifying and streamlining the types of information required for curriculum changes. In essence, the new process allowed for a greater number of curricular changes to be approved at the department/college level and simply communicated to the university-level curriculum committee as information items rather than having to be reviewed and approved at that level.

Other aspects of the curriculum approval process, such as those involving the trustees, regents, and accrediting body were more problematic. However, the institution made a significant change to address this. Rather than allowing curriculum change proposals to be submitted only once a year, it moved to a rolling submission process. This meant that once all the needed steps had been accomplished at the institutional level, proposals could move forward to other approving bodies and be considered at their scheduled meetings throughout the year rather than at only a limited number of meetings as was the case previously. The rolling process also allowed changes to be implemented into university systems at more points during the year rather than only annually. Related changes involved new curriculum management software and a curriculum policy outlining responsibilities, roles, and process.

*Outcomes*: The changes had a positive impact on the curriculum process, particularly by giving it more flexibility with implementation of the rolling process and identifying consent items that did not need full curriculum committee review. Having responsibilities documented in policy was also helpful in terms of providing guidance. As such, the change addressed the challenge of the institution's inability to respond to workforce needs in a timely way. However, turnover in various positions created a lack of follow-through and understanding of what needed to occur and why. Devolving responsibility to the college level was only partially successful as the need to appoint someone responsible for this fell through the cracks at the dean level.

Additionally, existing systems and structures within the institution, such as having an annual catalog, were somewhat set in stone and those responsible for them insisted they could not change. This resulted in minor tweaks rather than the overhaul needed to be truly responsive to regional workforce needs. Business and industry representatives have difficulty understanding the slow pace of higher education. This initiative is a prime example of higher education as a sustaining organization rather than a disruptive innovator. The constraints higher education operates under need to be disrupted for true innovation to occur. This did not completely occur in this case.

#### **6. Analysis and observations**

The innovations described had the same underlying goal—to be responsive to employer needs by making curricular adjustments and developing new programs,

**69**

**Table 2.**

*A Responsive Higher Education Curriculum: Change and Disruptive Innovation*

thereby preparing students with knowledge, skills, and abilities for their careers. In the case of program review, data on employment demand as well as student learning outcomes was included, thus addressing this goal. The same was true of proposals for new programs—the change resulted in substantiating requests with evidence of demand. The curriculum approval process change aimed to enable the university to decrease bureaucracy, increase flexibility, and decrease time to implementation. All

Although a change model did not guide these innovations, it may be helpful to review the changes from the perspective of Kotter and Cohen's 8-step change process [7] in order to determine what might have been done differently. See **Table 1** for a review of each step and **Table 2** for an evaluation of the changes in terms of the model. For most of the change initiatives, a fairly compelling reason existed but a great deal of *urgency* was not evident; the systems that were the focus of the change had been in place for a considerable time and were stable, and those closest to them did not see a need for change. Those leading the changes did not appeal to people's emotions or help people see the need to the extent necessary; thus some were unconvinced. The need for the curriculum approval process change was clearly evident to one group of stakeholders, but not to those most closely responsible for the process and who had designed the existing process, which met their goals but

Although the program review change was led by a *guiding team*, the other initiatives were largely top-down from the administration. The *vision*, or the purpose for the changes and where the university wanted to end up was clear, yet communication of the vision likely did not reach all levels of the organization nor was it touted on a regular basis by organizational leaders. They were leading a number

**proposals**

Some stakeholders perceived more urgency than others. A compelling need was not

change agents

The vision for the initiatives was appropriate to the institution and its mission, but the intended results of the vision were not clearly established for the stakeholders

Communication was uneven due to being left to unit leaders. Buy-in was somewhat accomplished due to the appeal of simplification of processes and consistency of standards, but change was primarily accomplished through compliance

> The new proposal template provided structure and guidance

Short-term wins were present in all cases as new procedures were initially

or eliminate bureaucratic processes or launch further

Change was permanent largely due to the fact that the new processes were required and embedded into **Curriculum approval** 

Implementation was uneven due to lack of training at department/ college levels

Turnover of people in key positions resulted in limited change

Further changes to more fully expedite curriculum approvals did not occur

**process**

Changes were initiated and led by top-level administrators rather than by key stakeholders and

**Step Program review New program** 

established for all stakeholders

A team of key stakeholders

with needed data, which simplified the program review process

implemented and evaluated Do not let up Short-term wins were not utilized to further refine

led the initiative

Empower action Departments were provided

innovations

existing systems

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.5772/intechopen.80443*

changes resulted in some level of success.

not the institution's goals.

Create a sense of urgency

Form a guiding team

Get the vision right

Communicate for buy-in

Create shortterm wins

Make change stick

*Evaluation of curricular innovations.*

#### *A Responsive Higher Education Curriculum: Change and Disruptive Innovation DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.5772/intechopen.80443*

thereby preparing students with knowledge, skills, and abilities for their careers. In the case of program review, data on employment demand as well as student learning outcomes was included, thus addressing this goal. The same was true of proposals for new programs—the change resulted in substantiating requests with evidence of demand. The curriculum approval process change aimed to enable the university to decrease bureaucracy, increase flexibility, and decrease time to implementation. All changes resulted in some level of success.

Although a change model did not guide these innovations, it may be helpful to review the changes from the perspective of Kotter and Cohen's 8-step change process [7] in order to determine what might have been done differently. See **Table 1** for a review of each step and **Table 2** for an evaluation of the changes in terms of the model.

For most of the change initiatives, a fairly compelling reason existed but a great deal of *urgency* was not evident; the systems that were the focus of the change had been in place for a considerable time and were stable, and those closest to them did not see a need for change. Those leading the changes did not appeal to people's emotions or help people see the need to the extent necessary; thus some were unconvinced. The need for the curriculum approval process change was clearly evident to one group of stakeholders, but not to those most closely responsible for the process and who had designed the existing process, which met their goals but not the institution's goals.

Although the program review change was led by a *guiding team*, the other initiatives were largely top-down from the administration. The *vision*, or the purpose for the changes and where the university wanted to end up was clear, yet communication of the vision likely did not reach all levels of the organization nor was it touted on a regular basis by organizational leaders. They were leading a number


### **Table 2.**

*Evaluation of curricular innovations.*

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

on quality yet be shortened.

approved at that level.

process.

dean level.

completely occur in this case.

**6. Analysis and observations**

been received favorably by those with direct responsibility for the process. Having an external perspective by one with expertise in the area was hoped to have an impact. The consultant did preliminary work by reviewing documentation prior to her visit to consider not only process, but organizational structure, roles, and responsibilities; she then engaged with constituent groups across campus during her visit. She identified a number of ways the process could maintain an emphasis

Subsequently, a number of changes that were under the control of the institution were made to expedite internal approvals. The primary goals were to devolve greater responsibility for curriculum processes to faculty, departments, colleges, and schools, shortening the timeline for curriculum approvals, and simplifying and streamlining the types of information required for curriculum changes. In essence, the new process allowed for a greater number of curricular changes to be approved at the department/college level and simply communicated to the university-level curriculum committee as information items rather than having to be reviewed and

Other aspects of the curriculum approval process, such as those involving the trustees, regents, and accrediting body were more problematic. However, the institution made a significant change to address this. Rather than allowing curriculum change proposals to be submitted only once a year, it moved to a rolling submission process. This meant that once all the needed steps had been accomplished at the institutional level, proposals could move forward to other approving bodies and be considered at their scheduled meetings throughout the year rather than at only a limited number of meetings as was the case previously. The rolling process also allowed changes to be implemented into university systems at more points during the year rather than only annually. Related changes involved new curriculum management software and a curriculum policy outlining responsibilities, roles, and

*Outcomes*: The changes had a positive impact on the curriculum process, particularly by giving it more flexibility with implementation of the rolling process and identifying consent items that did not need full curriculum committee review. Having responsibilities documented in policy was also helpful in terms of providing guidance. As such, the change addressed the challenge of the institution's inability to respond to workforce needs in a timely way. However, turnover in various positions created a lack of follow-through and understanding of what needed to occur and why. Devolving responsibility to the college level was only partially successful as the need to appoint someone responsible for this fell through the cracks at the

Additionally, existing systems and structures within the institution, such as having an annual catalog, were somewhat set in stone and those responsible for them insisted they could not change. This resulted in minor tweaks rather than the overhaul needed to be truly responsive to regional workforce needs. Business and industry representatives have difficulty understanding the slow pace of higher education. This initiative is a prime example of higher education as a sustaining organization rather than a disruptive innovator. The constraints higher education operates under need to be disrupted for true innovation to occur. This did not

The innovations described had the same underlying goal—to be responsive to employer needs by making curricular adjustments and developing new programs,

**68**

of initiatives and placed higher priority on some over others. Thus a consistent message about the vision was lacking. Unit leaders were responsible to convey the vision and this was uneven; thus, *communicating for buy-in* was only moderately accomplished. In the case of the program proposal change, communication was more successful, but likely because those who wanted to propose new programs had to comply with the new template. However, it also gave those proposing a program the opportunity to create a strong case and it leveled the playing field, which were advantages readily recognized.

*Empowering action* involves removing barriers. In the program review scenario, this was accomplished by making the process easier. Departments were provided with data for their reports and the data was consistent across programs to enable comparisons. They did not have to find their own data or request it and wait. This is an example of removing barriers. In the case of new program proposals, structure was provided in the form of procedural documents and notations on the proposal form providing guidance. In this case as well, a packet of needed data to support demand was distributed to departments. Curriculum approval processes fell short due to lack of follow through in identifying and training people at the department level to manage the approvals that had been pushed down from the centralized committee, so once again, this was uneven. The new curriculum policy, however, provided support for the changes to be stabilized.

*Short-term wins* were most visible with the curriculum approval process. There were a few examples early on of approvals occurring in an expedited fashion that were used to illustrate the success of the change. Program review also had some early success with the piloting of the changes, which helped others see the value of the new criteria and data sets. The program proposal process was shown to be effective in its first iteration as proposals were screened more rigorously and consistently.

*Do not let up* and *make change stick* were least evident in the curriculum approval change. This change was characterized by a turnover of people in key positions and much of the momentum was lost. It is not clearly evident that the new system is having the impact originally anticipated. Once the first wave of change occurred, additional change did not ensue. In the case of program review and new program proposals, the desired changes were implemented but not used as a springboard for further refinement or change in bureaucratic processes or to launch further innovations. In all cases, the changes became permanent in the sense that all the processes are required. For example, the new program review process is mandatory, and if one wants to modify curriculum, one must follow set procedures and policies.

#### **7. Discussion and implications**

Lessons learned from this analysis are that for change in higher education to be long-standing and rooted in the culture of an institution, it needs careful planning and effective leadership. Many change models exist, and most of them are based on research that has revealed why change has not succeeded. Without the guidance of a change model, change efforts will result in compromise and small, incremental change, which has little impact. Kotter and Cohen [17] explain a some of the circumstances that block change. In the case of the initiatives in the case study, the one most applicable is the focus on small modifications.

*People without a great deal of bold strategy development experience often flounder. They can't figure out what to do because it's different from anything they have done before. They sometimes back away from the obvious because it's threatening. Or they convince themselves that small modifications in their current ways of operating will* 

**71**

**8. Conclusion**

*A Responsive Higher Education Curriculum: Change and Disruptive Innovation*

have the technical knowledge to counter. This inhibits true innovation.

result in the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed by employers.

fee until after course completion.

managing change were also learned.

*achieve the vision—eventually. Or, because they can think of no strategic possibility, they conclude that the vision is ridiculous, even though it is not* ([17], p. 73)

The basic structure of higher education with its semester system, official annual catalog outlining policies and program offerings, software management systems for processes such as registration, curriculum, and scheduling, and accreditation standards is not designed to be nimble. All of these affected the changes in this case study. The people behind these systems have been trained to ensure that policies and standards are met and are not generally in a position to encourage or make sweeping changes. Those in higher level positions often do not have the detailed knowledge of systems and how they are designed, thus a gap exists that is difficult to overcome. The experts resist and say it cannot be done and the change agents or leaders do not

The innovations described in this case are not disruptive, and likely do not go far enough to address what the university set out to achieve and what it needs to achieve to manage its substantial and continuing enrollment growth with limited appropriated government funding and budgetary restrictions on building projects and infrastructure enhancements. Although the changes discussed in this case resulted in subtle improvements, they fell short of true disruption or innovation due to the stability of traditional practices and culture. These hinder the university from fully meeting its mission as an open admission institution serving all students who enter its doors (e.g. a growing non-traditional student body, many of whom work fulltime and are raising families as well as students with limited cultural capital), and ensuring that these students have a range of appropriate learning experiences that

Innovations in higher education require knowledge about how to lead change and also the vision and commitment to move beyond the confining barriers within institutions into uncharted waters. Some institutions are succeeding at this, and particularly in designing responsive curriculum that addresses both student and workforce needs. Partnering with edX, a MOOC venture developed by Harvard and MIT, one institution is offering credit for completion of MOOC courses at a discounted tuition rate, sets of MOOC courses that result in micro-degrees accepted by employers, and first-year credit-bearing MOOC course packages that are accepted at a range of universities [20]. These initiatives are disruptive in the sense that they are accrediting MOOC courses and not only offering them for credit but credit at half the price of regular campus courses to improve access and cost, and not requiring payment of the

Increasingly, universities will need to come to terms with these innovations by such strategies as altering their entire course pricing structure, concentrating on their core competencies, and perhaps restructure themselves as two-year institutions that contract out the rest of their degree requirements to other providers. If they do not, they could soon be out of business ([20], para. 3). The curriculum is at the heart of higher education and as such, transformations must focus on what is taught and what is learned, and the relevance of this teaching and learning to society. The institution in this case study made strides toward this goal by implementing curricular process innovations relevant to its context. Lessons relevant to

In this chapter, we explored factors directly applicable to higher education change efforts and introduced a model for change. We reviewed three instances

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.5772/intechopen.80443*

*A Responsive Higher Education Curriculum: Change and Disruptive Innovation DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.5772/intechopen.80443*

*achieve the vision—eventually. Or, because they can think of no strategic possibility, they conclude that the vision is ridiculous, even though it is not* ([17], p. 73)

The basic structure of higher education with its semester system, official annual catalog outlining policies and program offerings, software management systems for processes such as registration, curriculum, and scheduling, and accreditation standards is not designed to be nimble. All of these affected the changes in this case study. The people behind these systems have been trained to ensure that policies and standards are met and are not generally in a position to encourage or make sweeping changes. Those in higher level positions often do not have the detailed knowledge of systems and how they are designed, thus a gap exists that is difficult to overcome. The experts resist and say it cannot be done and the change agents or leaders do not have the technical knowledge to counter. This inhibits true innovation.

The innovations described in this case are not disruptive, and likely do not go far enough to address what the university set out to achieve and what it needs to achieve to manage its substantial and continuing enrollment growth with limited appropriated government funding and budgetary restrictions on building projects and infrastructure enhancements. Although the changes discussed in this case resulted in subtle improvements, they fell short of true disruption or innovation due to the stability of traditional practices and culture. These hinder the university from fully meeting its mission as an open admission institution serving all students who enter its doors (e.g. a growing non-traditional student body, many of whom work fulltime and are raising families as well as students with limited cultural capital), and ensuring that these students have a range of appropriate learning experiences that result in the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed by employers.

Innovations in higher education require knowledge about how to lead change and also the vision and commitment to move beyond the confining barriers within institutions into uncharted waters. Some institutions are succeeding at this, and particularly in designing responsive curriculum that addresses both student and workforce needs. Partnering with edX, a MOOC venture developed by Harvard and MIT, one institution is offering credit for completion of MOOC courses at a discounted tuition rate, sets of MOOC courses that result in micro-degrees accepted by employers, and first-year credit-bearing MOOC course packages that are accepted at a range of universities [20]. These initiatives are disruptive in the sense that they are accrediting MOOC courses and not only offering them for credit but credit at half the price of regular campus courses to improve access and cost, and not requiring payment of the fee until after course completion.

Increasingly, universities will need to come to terms with these innovations by such strategies as altering their entire course pricing structure, concentrating on their core competencies, and perhaps restructure themselves as two-year institutions that contract out the rest of their degree requirements to other providers. If they do not, they could soon be out of business ([20], para. 3). The curriculum is at the heart of higher education and as such, transformations must focus on what is taught and what is learned, and the relevance of this teaching and learning to society. The institution in this case study made strides toward this goal by implementing curricular process innovations relevant to its context. Lessons relevant to managing change were also learned.

#### **8. Conclusion**

In this chapter, we explored factors directly applicable to higher education change efforts and introduced a model for change. We reviewed three instances

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

advantages readily recognized.

provided support for the changes to be stabilized.

**7. Discussion and implications**

one most applicable is the focus on small modifications.

of initiatives and placed higher priority on some over others. Thus a consistent message about the vision was lacking. Unit leaders were responsible to convey the vision and this was uneven; thus, *communicating for buy-in* was only moderately accomplished. In the case of the program proposal change, communication was more successful, but likely because those who wanted to propose new programs had to comply with the new template. However, it also gave those proposing a program the opportunity to create a strong case and it leveled the playing field, which were

*Empowering action* involves removing barriers. In the program review scenario, this was accomplished by making the process easier. Departments were provided with data for their reports and the data was consistent across programs to enable comparisons. They did not have to find their own data or request it and wait. This is an example of removing barriers. In the case of new program proposals, structure was provided in the form of procedural documents and notations on the proposal form providing guidance. In this case as well, a packet of needed data to support demand was distributed to departments. Curriculum approval processes fell short due to lack of follow through in identifying and training people at the department level to manage the approvals that had been pushed down from the centralized committee, so once again, this was uneven. The new curriculum policy, however,

*Short-term wins* were most visible with the curriculum approval process. There were a few examples early on of approvals occurring in an expedited fashion that were used to illustrate the success of the change. Program review also had some early success with the piloting of the changes, which helped others see the value of the new criteria and data sets. The program proposal process was shown to be effective in its first iteration as proposals were screened more rigorously and consistently.

*Do not let up* and *make change stick* were least evident in the curriculum approval change. This change was characterized by a turnover of people in key positions and much of the momentum was lost. It is not clearly evident that the new system is having the impact originally anticipated. Once the first wave of change occurred, additional change did not ensue. In the case of program review and new program proposals, the desired changes were implemented but not used as a springboard for further refinement or change in bureaucratic processes or to launch further innovations. In all cases, the changes became permanent in the sense that all the processes are required. For example, the new program review process is mandatory, and if one wants to modify curriculum, one must follow set procedures and policies.

Lessons learned from this analysis are that for change in higher education to be long-standing and rooted in the culture of an institution, it needs careful planning and effective leadership. Many change models exist, and most of them are based on research that has revealed why change has not succeeded. Without the guidance of a change model, change efforts will result in compromise and small, incremental change, which has little impact. Kotter and Cohen [17] explain a some of the circumstances that block change. In the case of the initiatives in the case study, the

*People without a great deal of bold strategy development experience often flounder. They can't figure out what to do because it's different from anything they have done before. They sometimes back away from the obvious because it's threatening. Or they convince themselves that small modifications in their current ways of operating will* 

**70**

of change initiatives at a large open admission university, and analyzed them to determine their degree of success. We reflected on disruptions in higher education and their necessity in order to ensure the relevance and value of higher education to its constituents.

In this particular case, although enhancements to the institution's current processes were made, the changes fell short of the types of disruption needed to fully respond to internal and external stakeholders and make curricular adjustments in a timely manner. Long-standing practices and systems can stagnate change unless needed changes are clearly envisioned and effectively managed.

Disruptions in curriculum delivery and packaging are critical to the higher education sector globally. Opportunities exist for those with the courage and boldness to take risks and innovate. Others will make incremental improvements, as did the institution in this case study, to ensure quality and valued outcomes. Institutions must determine how to innovate their curricula in order to ensure the relevance of higher education in the future. This chapter offered insights into how one institution engaged in this process. An evaluation of the case demonstrated the need to identify and follow a model for change in order to maximize the effectiveness of curricular change. Such a model is needed to ensure the success of disruptive innovations. Only by doing so will higher education institutions be able to transform practice across diverse settings, and not only meet, but anticipate, the needs of a rapidly-changing world.

### **Author details**

Maureen Snow Andrade Utah Valley University, Orem, Utah, USA

\*Address all correspondence to: maureen.andrade@uvu.edu

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

**73**

*A Responsive Higher Education Curriculum: Change and Disruptive Innovation*

Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education. New York: Greenwood;

AP. Democratizing Higher Education. International Comparative Perspectives.

1986. pp. 241-258

[7] Blessinger P, Anchan

New York: Routledge; 2015

[Accessed: 07 June 2018]

[8] Europe 2020 Target: Tertiary Education Attainment. Available from: http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/ themes/28\_tertiary\_education.pdf

[9] European Commission. Europe's 2020 Targets; 2015. Available from: http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/ europe-2020-in-a-nutshell/targets/ index\_en.htm [Accessed: 07 June 2018]

[10] Lumina Foundation for Education. A Stronger Nation through Higher Education; 2016. Available from: http:// strongernation.luminafoundation.org/ report/2016/ [Accessed: 07 June 2018]

[11] Higher Education Academy. Flexible Learning in Higher Education; 2015. Available from: https://www. heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/ downloads/higher\_education\_ academy\_-\_flexible\_learning\_ framework\_-\_210416.pdf [Accessed:

[12] Gordon N. Flexible Pedagogies: Technology-Enhanced Learning. Higher Education Academy; 2014. Available from: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ sites/default/files/resources/tel\_ report\_0.pdf [Accessed: 07 June 2018]

[13] Welch EH. The road to excellence passes through assessment. University

[14] Weick K. Educational organizations

Business. 2008;**11**(6):55

1976;**21**(1):1-9

as loosely coupled systems. Administrative Science Quarterly.

07 June 2018]

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.5772/intechopen.80443* 

[1] Nohria N, Beer M. Cracking the Code of Change. Harvard Business Review. 2000. Available from: https:// hbr.org/2000/05/cracking-the-code-ofchange [Accessed: 07 June 2018]

[2] Anderson J, Boyles, JL, Rainie L. The Future of Higher Education. Pew Research Center; 2012. Available from: http://www.pewinternet. org/2012/07/27/the-future-of-highereducation/ [Accessed: 07 June 2018]

[3] Andrade MS. Online learning: Disrupting current higher education practice. In: Zvacek S, Uhomoibhi J, Costagliola G, McLaren G, editors. Proceedings of the 8th Annual

International Conference on Computer Supported Education. Vol. 2. Lisbon, Portugal: Science and Technology Publications; 2016. pp. 85-90. Available from: http://www.scitepress.org/ DigitalLibrary/ProceedingsDetails. aspx?ID=I3zK85B7vhs=&t=1 [Accessed:

[4] Christensen CM, Horn MB, Caldera L, Soares L. Disrupting College: How Disruptive Innovation can Deliver Quality and Affordability to Postsecondary Education. Washington, DC: Center for American Progress & Mountainview, CA: Innosight Institute;

2011, February. Available from: https://www.americanprogress.org/ wp-content/uploads/issues/2011/02/ pdf/disrupting\_college.pdf [Accessed:

[5] Hart Research Associates. Falling Short? College Learning and Career Success. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities; 2015, January. Available from: https:// www.aacu.org/sites/default/files/files/ LEAP/2015employerstudentsurvey.pdf

[6] Bourdieu P. The forms of capital. In: Richardson JG, editor. Handbook of

[Accessed: 07 June 2018]

**References**

07 June 2018]

07 June 2018]

*A Responsive Higher Education Curriculum: Change and Disruptive Innovation DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.5772/intechopen.80443* 

#### **References**

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

needed changes are clearly envisioned and effectively managed.

of change initiatives at a large open admission university, and analyzed them to determine their degree of success. We reflected on disruptions in higher education and their necessity in order to ensure the relevance and value of higher education to

In this particular case, although enhancements to the institution's current processes were made, the changes fell short of the types of disruption needed to fully respond to internal and external stakeholders and make curricular adjustments in a timely manner. Long-standing practices and systems can stagnate change unless

Disruptions in curriculum delivery and packaging are critical to the higher education sector globally. Opportunities exist for those with the courage and boldness to take risks and innovate. Others will make incremental improvements, as did the institution in this case study, to ensure quality and valued outcomes. Institutions must determine how to innovate their curricula in order to ensure the relevance of higher education in the future. This chapter offered insights into how one institution engaged in this process. An evaluation of the case demonstrated the need to identify and follow a model for change in order to maximize the effectiveness of curricular change. Such a model is needed to ensure the success of disruptive innovations. Only by doing so will higher education institutions be able to transform practice across diverse settings, and not only meet, but anticipate, the needs of

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

**72**

**Author details**

its constituents.

Maureen Snow Andrade

a rapidly-changing world.

provided the original work is properly cited.

Utah Valley University, Orem, Utah, USA

\*Address all correspondence to: maureen.andrade@uvu.edu

[1] Nohria N, Beer M. Cracking the Code of Change. Harvard Business Review. 2000. Available from: https:// hbr.org/2000/05/cracking-the-code-ofchange [Accessed: 07 June 2018]

[2] Anderson J, Boyles, JL, Rainie L. The Future of Higher Education. Pew Research Center; 2012. Available from: http://www.pewinternet. org/2012/07/27/the-future-of-highereducation/ [Accessed: 07 June 2018]

[3] Andrade MS. Online learning: Disrupting current higher education practice. In: Zvacek S, Uhomoibhi J, Costagliola G, McLaren G, editors. Proceedings of the 8th Annual International Conference on Computer Supported Education. Vol. 2. Lisbon, Portugal: Science and Technology Publications; 2016. pp. 85-90. Available from: http://www.scitepress.org/ DigitalLibrary/ProceedingsDetails. aspx?ID=I3zK85B7vhs=&t=1 [Accessed: 07 June 2018]

[4] Christensen CM, Horn MB, Caldera L, Soares L. Disrupting College: How Disruptive Innovation can Deliver Quality and Affordability to Postsecondary Education. Washington, DC: Center for American Progress & Mountainview, CA: Innosight Institute; 2011, February. Available from: https://www.americanprogress.org/ wp-content/uploads/issues/2011/02/ pdf/disrupting\_college.pdf [Accessed: 07 June 2018]

[5] Hart Research Associates. Falling Short? College Learning and Career Success. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities; 2015, January. Available from: https:// www.aacu.org/sites/default/files/files/ LEAP/2015employerstudentsurvey.pdf [Accessed: 07 June 2018]

[6] Bourdieu P. The forms of capital. In: Richardson JG, editor. Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education. New York: Greenwood; 1986. pp. 241-258

[7] Blessinger P, Anchan AP. Democratizing Higher Education. International Comparative Perspectives. New York: Routledge; 2015

[8] Europe 2020 Target: Tertiary Education Attainment. Available from: http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/ themes/28\_tertiary\_education.pdf [Accessed: 07 June 2018]

[9] European Commission. Europe's 2020 Targets; 2015. Available from: http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/ europe-2020-in-a-nutshell/targets/ index\_en.htm [Accessed: 07 June 2018]

[10] Lumina Foundation for Education. A Stronger Nation through Higher Education; 2016. Available from: http:// strongernation.luminafoundation.org/ report/2016/ [Accessed: 07 June 2018]

[11] Higher Education Academy. Flexible Learning in Higher Education; 2015. Available from: https://www. heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/ downloads/higher\_education\_ academy\_-\_flexible\_learning\_ framework\_-\_210416.pdf [Accessed: 07 June 2018]

[12] Gordon N. Flexible Pedagogies: Technology-Enhanced Learning. Higher Education Academy; 2014. Available from: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ sites/default/files/resources/tel\_ report\_0.pdf [Accessed: 07 June 2018]

[13] Welch EH. The road to excellence passes through assessment. University Business. 2008;**11**(6):55

[14] Weick K. Educational organizations as loosely coupled systems. Administrative Science Quarterly. 1976;**21**(1):1-9

[15] Morshed J. The US and UK: Comparing Higher Education in the Two Top Ranking Nations; 2016. Available from: https://www.unit4. com/blog/2016/06/the-us-and-ukcomparing-higher-education-in-thetwo-top-ranking-nations [Accessed: 07 June 2018]

[16] Robbins SP, Judge TA. Organizational Behavior. 17th ed. New York: Pearson; 2017

[17] Kotter J, Cohen DS. The Heart of Change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press; 2002

[18] Eckel P, Green M, Hill B, Mallon W. On Change V: Riding the Waves of Change: Insights from Transforming. Washington, DC: American Council on Education; 2001. Available from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ ED470841.pdf [Accessed: 07 June 2018]

[19] Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Carnegie Selects Colleges and Universities for 2015 Community Engagement Classification; 2015. Available from: https://www.carnegiefoundation.org/ newsroom/news-releases/carnegieselects-colleges-universities-2015 community-engagement-classification/ [Accessed: 07 June 2018]

[20] Butler SM. New Arizona State edX MOOC: Another Blow to Traditional College. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institute. Disruptive Innovations in Higher Education Series; 2015. Available from: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/ techtank/2015/05/04/new-arizonastate-edx-mooc-another-blow-totraditional-college/ [Accessed: 07 June 2018]

**75**

**Chapter 5**

**Abstract**

**1. Introduction**

**1.1 About Curtin University**

for University

*and Dirk Ifenthaler*

Learning Innovations for

*Mel Henry, David C. Gibson, Charles Flodin* 

Identifying and Developing Talent

As a response to global and local imperatives for organizational, operational, and social change facing education today, learning innovations developed by Curtin University's Learning Futures team offer examples of new technology-enhanced learning experiences used to identify and develop talent for university. The innovations presented are helping to reset school-university relationships to a focus on direct, scalable, and personalized digital learning services, delivered via interactive technologies that utilize game-based and team-based learning approaches. Two frameworks are proposed: one for collecting and evaluating evidence of a future ready learner and one for situating technology innovations across five domains of higher education learning and teaching. The case study indicates that new educational technology innovations can support an expansion of the university's mission, as well as its academic, research, and service-based strategic actions, by enabling a continuum of potential entry points for learners of all ages, accessible anywhere at any time.

**Keywords:** enabling programs, advanced studies, raising aspirations,

Remaining relevant and meaningful within a continuously evolving and increasingly connected world requires universities to transform how we teach, employing innovations and technology-enabled approaches to engage, motivate, and support students to succeed. The learning innovations profiled in this chapter apply technologyenhanced learning approaches to identify and develop talent for university. The chapter begins by introducing a modern Australian university, globally recognized for its strong connections with industry, high-impact research and wide range of innovative courses: Curtin University, and the context in which it operates. Three areas of transformation, driven by global shifts in education are then discussed, and exemplars presented of applicable social, organizational and operational innovations applied at Curtin.

Curtin University's mission is to *"*transform lives and communities through education and research*"* (https://about.curtin.edu.au/who/vision-mission-values/),

challenge-based learning, university-school relations

#### **Chapter 5**

## Learning Innovations for Identifying and Developing Talent for University

*Mel Henry, David C. Gibson, Charles Flodin and Dirk Ifenthaler*

#### **Abstract**

As a response to global and local imperatives for organizational, operational, and social change facing education today, learning innovations developed by Curtin University's Learning Futures team offer examples of new technology-enhanced learning experiences used to identify and develop talent for university. The innovations presented are helping to reset school-university relationships to a focus on direct, scalable, and personalized digital learning services, delivered via interactive technologies that utilize game-based and team-based learning approaches. Two frameworks are proposed: one for collecting and evaluating evidence of a future ready learner and one for situating technology innovations across five domains of higher education learning and teaching. The case study indicates that new educational technology innovations can support an expansion of the university's mission, as well as its academic, research, and service-based strategic actions, by enabling a continuum of potential entry points for learners of all ages, accessible anywhere at any time.

**Keywords:** enabling programs, advanced studies, raising aspirations, challenge-based learning, university-school relations

#### **1. Introduction**

Remaining relevant and meaningful within a continuously evolving and increasingly connected world requires universities to transform how we teach, employing innovations and technology-enabled approaches to engage, motivate, and support students to succeed. The learning innovations profiled in this chapter apply technologyenhanced learning approaches to identify and develop talent for university. The chapter begins by introducing a modern Australian university, globally recognized for its strong connections with industry, high-impact research and wide range of innovative courses: Curtin University, and the context in which it operates. Three areas of transformation, driven by global shifts in education are then discussed, and exemplars presented of applicable social, organizational and operational innovations applied at Curtin.

#### **1.1 About Curtin University**

Curtin University's mission is to *"*transform lives and communities through education and research*"* (https://about.curtin.edu.au/who/vision-mission-values/),

**74**

2018]

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

[15] Morshed J. The US and UK: Comparing Higher Education in the Two Top Ranking Nations; 2016. Available from: https://www.unit4. com/blog/2016/06/the-us-and-ukcomparing-higher-education-in-thetwo-top-ranking-nations [Accessed:

07 June 2018]

[16] Robbins SP, Judge TA.

New York: Pearson; 2017

Review Press; 2002

Organizational Behavior. 17th ed.

[17] Kotter J, Cohen DS. The Heart of Change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business

[18] Eckel P, Green M, Hill B, Mallon W. On Change V: Riding the Waves of Change: Insights from Transforming. Washington, DC: American Council on Education; 2001. Available from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ ED470841.pdf [Accessed: 07 June 2018]

[19] Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Carnegie Selects Colleges and Universities for 2015 Community Engagement Classification; 2015. Available from: https://www.carnegiefoundation.org/ newsroom/news-releases/carnegieselects-colleges-universities-2015 community-engagement-classification/

[Accessed: 07 June 2018]

[20] Butler SM. New Arizona State edX MOOC: Another Blow to

Traditional College. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institute. Disruptive Innovations in Higher Education Series; 2015. Available from: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/ techtank/2015/05/04/new-arizonastate-edx-mooc-another-blow-totraditional-college/ [Accessed: 07 June with a vision to *"*be a beacon for positive change, embracing the challenges and opportunities of our times" and "provide richly interactive and personalized learning experiences*"* (https://about.curtin.edu.au/who/vision-mission-values/2030-2/). This agenda of education as transformational, and of placing students at the center of the educational experience, embodies the university's culture of innovation. Through its innovative approaches to learning and teaching, Curtin has embraced scalable, personalized technological innovations to reset the traditional school-university relationship, while also expanding the university's capability for academic, research, and service-based strategic actions. These innovations have arisen in response to global and local imperatives to address organizational, operational, and social challenges facing education today.

With campuses in Western Australia, Dubai, Mauritius, Singapore, and Malaysia, as well as a significant online presence, Curtin University enrolls approximately 60,000 students annually, making it the largest university in Western Australia. Curtin University's home campus in Western Australia is situated in one of the most isolated state capitals in the world, Perth, while simultaneously perched on the doorstep of the Asia-Pacific region. The university's size, campus locations, and culture of innovation have positioned Curtin well to adapt to the evolving needs of today's students, including those residing within the most populated time zone in the world.

Transforming learning at Curtin University occupies the center of the "Learning for Tomorrow" program of innovations, initiated in 2012, to dramatically shift policies, people, and practices to empower a university with global aspirations [1]. More recently, a newly articulated research focus emphasizes demand-driven research, with clear impacts on partners and the community [2]. These policy choices and commitments have given rise to new ideas about what kind of knowledge and skills are needed for students to succeed, and what role technology can play in the transformational vision.

Curtin's Learning Futures team [3] is tasked with building human and technological capacity, and leading and managing early stage innovation projects that support the university's transformational agenda. The team's innovations span formal and informal learning, create new pathways and partnerships, deliver aspirational and enabling programs, utilize and share expertise in learning analytics, promote faculty-based research and support continuous improvement. The team works across social, organizational, and operational dimensions of the university to implement the central learning and teaching area's mission *to inspire and support innovation, excellence and impact in learning and teaching.* Key innovations led by this Learning Futures team are presented in this chapter.

#### **1.2 The transformation of higher education**

Beyond the university, several challenges have arisen in the intersection of national policy and funding, state opportunities, and the needs and global drivers of economy and societal well-being [4]. Today's social and economic climates present important impetuses for change within higher education. First, the perceived *social* role and value of higher education have evolved from a traditional conduit to enlightenment, to an essential means to obtain gainful employment. There is evidence also of an emerging axiom in which students see themselves as consumers of education, who enter a transactional relationship with universities that demand a demonstrative return on investment [5]. Second, other drivers of transformation are found in the emerging digital *organization* of learning and the advancement of knowledge, sparked by the rise of the Internet, social networks, collaborative research, and big data. Finally, higher education *operations* are also undergoing transformation as a result of challenges and opportunities posed by

**77**

*Learning Innovations for Identifying and Developing Talent for University*

the technological revolution. Responding to these social, organizational, and operational transformations impacting higher education presents an innovation challenge for universities [6]. No longer can universities operate as they have for centuries, under a traditional model of standardized, objective, and predefined learning pathways. Instead, universities must explore new approaches to learning and teaching that offer increased flexibility and personalization, while simultaneously ensuring their own sustainability as organizations. New conceptualizations of who our students are, what they seek, and what makes them succeed must be considered, reframing the concept of talent, and driving essential innovations in how such talent is identified and developed. With technology offering significant opportunities to enhance access and success in higher education, furthermore, technology-enabled learning and teaching approaches present an important avenue for such innovations, facilitating unique opportunities to identify and develop talent for today's university. These significant transformations impacting modern higher education are discussed further in the following sections, before introducing

a case narrative for how one university has approached this challenge.

The role of universities and of higher education in a global society is changing. Students are increasingly seeking higher education, and selecting associated courses, as pathways to employment [7]. More and more students from a wide social economic spectrum are choosing to attend postsecondary education to prepare themselves for the global workforce. The growth in access and uptake of university education specifically has conferred many benefits to growing numbers of students from a wide social spectrum, with data indicating that in Australia completion of a university degree does increase the prospects of employability regardless of gender and level of achievement at entry to university [8]. Students in greater diversity and numbers than ever before are seeking to enhance their global mobility, and to find and experience hands-on, authentic work placements integrated with their undergraduate study [9]. They want to join an institution with a strong reputation and attendant opportunities to meet and work with creative business leaders, especially those who are the founders and executives of innovative companies and organizations that deliver positive social impacts via knowledge and innovation [10]. Employers are simultaneously crying out for graduates with relevant skills and experiences to work collaboratively and creatively with diverse stakeholders and colleagues to solve complex global problems [11]. There is increasing economic and political pressure to raise the knowledge and skills of a globally proficient workforce, to respond to the requirements of the post-information age of technology-enhanced human performance [12]. In the coming age, the most sought-after people will be creative problem solvers who can work with others to design complex solutions to big challenges [13]. These *social* challenges imply the need for higher education to transform its social agenda, necessitating learning experiences that expose students to global contexts, diverse perspectives, technol-

Alongside student and employer imperatives, the mission of universities has evolved in line with global imperatives of the post-information age, for example, leading to the establishment of the edX Consortium by Anant Agarwal of MIT [14]. The traditional mission of universities has been to educate a select few for societal leadership, and to conduct world-class research to create and preserve knowledge. The modern university's social mission, however, includes actively working toward equity and excellence for social and economic well-being of the community and world—a

**2. Social transformations in higher education**

ogy, and authentic learning situations.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81380*

#### *Learning Innovations for Identifying and Developing Talent for University DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81380*

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

social challenges facing education today.

transformational vision.

Learning Futures team are presented in this chapter.

**1.2 The transformation of higher education**

with a vision to *"*be a beacon for positive change, embracing the challenges and opportunities of our times" and "provide richly interactive and personalized learning experiences*"* (https://about.curtin.edu.au/who/vision-mission-values/2030-2/). This agenda of education as transformational, and of placing students at the center of the educational experience, embodies the university's culture of innovation. Through its innovative approaches to learning and teaching, Curtin has embraced scalable, personalized technological innovations to reset the traditional school-university relationship, while also expanding the university's capability for academic, research, and service-based strategic actions. These innovations have arisen in response to global and local imperatives to address organizational, operational, and

With campuses in Western Australia, Dubai, Mauritius, Singapore, and Malaysia,

as well as a significant online presence, Curtin University enrolls approximately 60,000 students annually, making it the largest university in Western Australia. Curtin University's home campus in Western Australia is situated in one of the most isolated state capitals in the world, Perth, while simultaneously perched on the doorstep of the Asia-Pacific region. The university's size, campus locations, and culture of innovation have positioned Curtin well to adapt to the evolving needs of today's students, including those residing within the most populated time zone in the world. Transforming learning at Curtin University occupies the center of the "Learning for Tomorrow" program of innovations, initiated in 2012, to dramatically shift policies, people, and practices to empower a university with global aspirations [1]. More recently, a newly articulated research focus emphasizes demand-driven research, with clear impacts on partners and the community [2]. These policy choices and commitments have given rise to new ideas about what kind of knowledge and skills are needed for students to succeed, and what role technology can play in the

Curtin's Learning Futures team [3] is tasked with building human and technological capacity, and leading and managing early stage innovation projects that support the university's transformational agenda. The team's innovations span formal and informal learning, create new pathways and partnerships, deliver aspirational and enabling programs, utilize and share expertise in learning analytics, promote faculty-based research and support continuous improvement. The team works across social, organizational, and operational dimensions of the university to implement the central learning and teaching area's mission *to inspire and support innovation, excellence and impact in learning and teaching.* Key innovations led by this

Beyond the university, several challenges have arisen in the intersection of national policy and funding, state opportunities, and the needs and global drivers of economy and societal well-being [4]. Today's social and economic climates present important impetuses for change within higher education. First, the perceived *social* role and value of higher education have evolved from a traditional conduit to enlightenment, to an essential means to obtain gainful employment. There is evidence also of an emerging axiom in which students see themselves as consumers of education, who enter a transactional relationship with universities that demand a demonstrative return on investment [5]. Second, other drivers of transformation are found in the emerging digital *organization* of learning and the advancement of knowledge, sparked by the rise of the Internet, social networks, collaborative research, and big data. Finally, higher education *operations* are also undergoing transformation as a result of challenges and opportunities posed by

**76**

the technological revolution. Responding to these social, organizational, and operational transformations impacting higher education presents an innovation challenge for universities [6]. No longer can universities operate as they have for centuries, under a traditional model of standardized, objective, and predefined learning pathways. Instead, universities must explore new approaches to learning and teaching that offer increased flexibility and personalization, while simultaneously ensuring their own sustainability as organizations. New conceptualizations of who our students are, what they seek, and what makes them succeed must be considered, reframing the concept of talent, and driving essential innovations in how such talent is identified and developed. With technology offering significant opportunities to enhance access and success in higher education, furthermore, technology-enabled learning and teaching approaches present an important avenue for such innovations, facilitating unique opportunities to identify and develop talent for today's university. These significant transformations impacting modern higher education are discussed further in the following sections, before introducing a case narrative for how one university has approached this challenge.

#### **2. Social transformations in higher education**

The role of universities and of higher education in a global society is changing. Students are increasingly seeking higher education, and selecting associated courses, as pathways to employment [7]. More and more students from a wide social economic spectrum are choosing to attend postsecondary education to prepare themselves for the global workforce. The growth in access and uptake of university education specifically has conferred many benefits to growing numbers of students from a wide social spectrum, with data indicating that in Australia completion of a university degree does increase the prospects of employability regardless of gender and level of achievement at entry to university [8]. Students in greater diversity and numbers than ever before are seeking to enhance their global mobility, and to find and experience hands-on, authentic work placements integrated with their undergraduate study [9]. They want to join an institution with a strong reputation and attendant opportunities to meet and work with creative business leaders, especially those who are the founders and executives of innovative companies and organizations that deliver positive social impacts via knowledge and innovation [10].

Employers are simultaneously crying out for graduates with relevant skills and experiences to work collaboratively and creatively with diverse stakeholders and colleagues to solve complex global problems [11]. There is increasing economic and political pressure to raise the knowledge and skills of a globally proficient workforce, to respond to the requirements of the post-information age of technology-enhanced human performance [12]. In the coming age, the most sought-after people will be creative problem solvers who can work with others to design complex solutions to big challenges [13]. These *social* challenges imply the need for higher education to transform its social agenda, necessitating learning experiences that expose students to global contexts, diverse perspectives, technology, and authentic learning situations.

Alongside student and employer imperatives, the mission of universities has evolved in line with global imperatives of the post-information age, for example, leading to the establishment of the edX Consortium by Anant Agarwal of MIT [14]. The traditional mission of universities has been to educate a select few for societal leadership, and to conduct world-class research to create and preserve knowledge. The modern university's social mission, however, includes actively working toward equity and excellence for social and economic well-being of the community and world—a

mission of social transformation [15]. This evolution recognizes and builds forward from domain knowledge and excellence in teaching and research, expanding to create positive impacts on global problems, while preparing graduates for the future workforce. The new social mission has led to a focus on innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship in order to address complex global problems, build on the university's strengths in top-ranked fields of study, and to promote and facilitate authentic workintegrated learning [16]. The transformation required to support the application of knowledge to complex problems, experiences with work-integrated learning, and to develop graduates who possess capabilities to work anywhere in the world implies that the university's relationship to the outside world also needs to change.

Students entering university today have inherited a vast array of complex global problems set in motion by the legacy of previous generations, marked by unsustainable, destructive, and isolated economic and social practices that have adversely affected global ecosystems, inflicted harm, and set in motion ongoing challenges that impact livelihoods and well-being [10]. The global workforce of the future needs the university to alert and empower young people to address these challenges. To effectively address these complex global problems, collaborative technologies such as the Curtin Challenge described further below are arising to help students learn to work with globally diverse peers, to establish a thorough understanding of associated issues, and to develop creative and workable solutions [17].

To give structure to these complex global problems, in 2015, the UN General Assembly formally accepted a new set of 17 measurable Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ranging from ending world poverty to achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls, by 2030 [18]. The SDGs and their targets are considered by the United Nations signatories to be essential for the ongoing viability and well-being of all people and living things. The SDGs thus form a curricular foundation of authentic complex problems that need solutions, and a key focus for higher education into the future.

#### **3. Organizational transformations in higher education**

Alongside the social evolution of higher education, the way in which learning is organized is also undergoing transformation. Learning is no longer conceptualized as a standard, predetermined pathway through which all students acquire knowledge. Today's learners seek a more personalized, accessible, and adaptive learning experience. As such, the traditional organization of higher education, primarily in multiple-week blocks of closed classes hard-coded into 3- or 4-year courses of study, is slowly giving way to shorter self-study modules, delivered at scale via technology-enhanced and automated learning systems, which are open to students at all stages of life and development [19]. Smaller modules of study may be combined into stackable combinations, forming new micro-credentials that support self-directed exploration, as well as flexible recombination of modules to suit new individual and organizational purposes [20]. Such modularization of higher education presents a more personalized learning experience, enabling a diverse body of students to access and package their education to suit their unique needs.

At the same time, the conduct of research is moving from individual "star" researcher-driven interests with short-term soft funding, to long-term, demand-driven and outcomes-focused, high-performance research team collaborations. Today's research is compelled by global problems, supported by deep integration of public and private sources for shared development of IP and mutually beneficial goals for knowledge building, development, and implementation for positive social impact [21]. These personalization and problem-focused drivers for education and research imply a need to transform higher education's organization of learning, teaching, and research.

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*Learning Innovations for Identifying and Developing Talent for University*

In addition to the social and organizational transformations in higher education,

the way in which universities have traditionally operated is being challenged. A wave of closures and consolidation of small colleges in the US illustrates that where institutions do not adapt to the changing times, they face mounting challenges to their survival [22]. Artificial intelligence, to point to one of the horsemen of a potential apocalypse, presents a unique challenge, but also opportunity for higher education, offering means to automate historically complex and resource-intensive processes. Social media and the Internet, for instance, present opportunities for learners to connect with experts across the globe, offering just-in-time personalized learning experiences outside the traditional education pathway. With such opportunities at learners' fingertips, universities must clearly articulate their value proposition, and adapt to a more customer-focused approach to the management of education. Alongside the evolving social and organizational context, higher education must transform its processes to accommodate new conceptualizations of student capability and success. In particular, we believe, universities must reconsider five important dimensions of higher education learning and teaching operations: finding and selecting students; knowing learners and their expectations; just-intime services, content, mentoring, and support; anytime, anywhere accessibility;

The case narrative presented in the following sections briefly describes the innovations adopted at Curtin University, with respect to the social, organizational, and operational transformations impacting the university. The narrative shows how some innovations have become embedded in inventive products and services that prepare students for university, create greater diversity, and change the practices for identifying and developing talent. The emerging solutions at Curtin University are unified by the themes of personalization at scale; innovative challenge-based team learning; massive open online learning options; and flexible, stackable credentials delivered in new ways, supported by learning analytics, new digital learning tools and programs, and restructured learning services, while leveraging the role of the university in the broader community. Two frameworks are presented to aid the identification and development of talent for university: a reconceptualization of how future-ready learners are identified; and an exploration of the role of technol-

Curtin University is developing and improving a continuum of entry points and learning systems that expand the ways people can engage, learn, and achieve, from pre-entry into lifelong learning, as shown in **Figure 1**. Innovations are employed across the student life cycle, from partnerships and development programs with primary schools, preparatory programs with secondary schools, articulation agreements with other providers, and pre-tertiary admission and scholarship programs, to credit for advanced learning, stackable credentials, and personalized learning pathways across undergraduate and postgraduate study. Central to these approaches is a view that students and families begin identifying with and thinking about their future several years in advance of traditional admissions processes. As the university engages with the broader community, it is able to influence as well as shape the quality of preparation for success within families and school communities, enhancing the capacity for a future-ready workforce. These pathway and partnership innovations are empowered by new technology and seek to increase the number, diversity,

ogy across the five domains of teaching and learning.

**5. A framework for identifying future-ready learners**

**4. Operational transformations in higher education**

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81380*

and global connectivity.

#### **4. Operational transformations in higher education**

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

the university's relationship to the outside world also needs to change.

associated issues, and to develop creative and workable solutions [17].

**3. Organizational transformations in higher education**

education into the future.

To give structure to these complex global problems, in 2015, the UN General Assembly formally accepted a new set of 17 measurable Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ranging from ending world poverty to achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls, by 2030 [18]. The SDGs and their targets are considered by the United Nations signatories to be essential for the ongoing viability and well-being of all people and living things. The SDGs thus form a curricular foundation of authentic complex problems that need solutions, and a key focus for higher

Alongside the social evolution of higher education, the way in which learning is organized is also undergoing transformation. Learning is no longer conceptualized as a standard, predetermined pathway through which all students acquire knowledge. Today's learners seek a more personalized, accessible, and adaptive learning experience. As such, the traditional organization of higher education, primarily in multiple-week blocks of closed classes hard-coded into 3- or 4-year courses of study, is slowly giving way to shorter self-study modules, delivered at scale via technology-enhanced and automated learning systems, which are open to students at all stages of life and development [19]. Smaller modules of study may be combined into stackable combinations, forming new micro-credentials that support self-directed exploration, as well as flexible recombination of modules to suit new individual and organizational purposes [20]. Such modularization of higher education presents a more personalized learning experience, enabling a diverse body of

students to access and package their education to suit their unique needs. At the same time, the conduct of research is moving from individual "star" researcher-driven interests with short-term soft funding, to long-term, demand-driven and outcomes-focused, high-performance research team collaborations. Today's research is compelled by global problems, supported by deep integration of public and private sources for shared development of IP and mutually beneficial goals for knowledge building, development, and implementation for positive social impact [21]. These personalization and problem-focused drivers for education and research imply a need to transform higher education's organization of learning, teaching, and research.

mission of social transformation [15]. This evolution recognizes and builds forward from domain knowledge and excellence in teaching and research, expanding to create positive impacts on global problems, while preparing graduates for the future workforce. The new social mission has led to a focus on innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship in order to address complex global problems, build on the university's strengths in top-ranked fields of study, and to promote and facilitate authentic workintegrated learning [16]. The transformation required to support the application of knowledge to complex problems, experiences with work-integrated learning, and to develop graduates who possess capabilities to work anywhere in the world implies that

Students entering university today have inherited a vast array of complex global problems set in motion by the legacy of previous generations, marked by unsustainable, destructive, and isolated economic and social practices that have adversely affected global ecosystems, inflicted harm, and set in motion ongoing challenges that impact livelihoods and well-being [10]. The global workforce of the future needs the university to alert and empower young people to address these challenges. To effectively address these complex global problems, collaborative technologies such as the Curtin Challenge described further below are arising to help students learn to work with globally diverse peers, to establish a thorough understanding of

**78**

In addition to the social and organizational transformations in higher education, the way in which universities have traditionally operated is being challenged. A wave of closures and consolidation of small colleges in the US illustrates that where institutions do not adapt to the changing times, they face mounting challenges to their survival [22]. Artificial intelligence, to point to one of the horsemen of a potential apocalypse, presents a unique challenge, but also opportunity for higher education, offering means to automate historically complex and resource-intensive processes. Social media and the Internet, for instance, present opportunities for learners to connect with experts across the globe, offering just-in-time personalized learning experiences outside the traditional education pathway. With such opportunities at learners' fingertips, universities must clearly articulate their value proposition, and adapt to a more customer-focused approach to the management of education. Alongside the evolving social and organizational context, higher education must transform its processes to accommodate new conceptualizations of student capability and success. In particular, we believe, universities must reconsider five important dimensions of higher education learning and teaching operations: finding and selecting students; knowing learners and their expectations; just-intime services, content, mentoring, and support; anytime, anywhere accessibility; and global connectivity.

The case narrative presented in the following sections briefly describes the innovations adopted at Curtin University, with respect to the social, organizational, and operational transformations impacting the university. The narrative shows how some innovations have become embedded in inventive products and services that prepare students for university, create greater diversity, and change the practices for identifying and developing talent. The emerging solutions at Curtin University are unified by the themes of personalization at scale; innovative challenge-based team learning; massive open online learning options; and flexible, stackable credentials delivered in new ways, supported by learning analytics, new digital learning tools and programs, and restructured learning services, while leveraging the role of the university in the broader community. Two frameworks are presented to aid the identification and development of talent for university: a reconceptualization of how future-ready learners are identified; and an exploration of the role of technology across the five domains of teaching and learning.

#### **5. A framework for identifying future-ready learners**

Curtin University is developing and improving a continuum of entry points and learning systems that expand the ways people can engage, learn, and achieve, from pre-entry into lifelong learning, as shown in **Figure 1**. Innovations are employed across the student life cycle, from partnerships and development programs with primary schools, preparatory programs with secondary schools, articulation agreements with other providers, and pre-tertiary admission and scholarship programs, to credit for advanced learning, stackable credentials, and personalized learning pathways across undergraduate and postgraduate study. Central to these approaches is a view that students and families begin identifying with and thinking about their future several years in advance of traditional admissions processes. As the university engages with the broader community, it is able to influence as well as shape the quality of preparation for success within families and school communities, enhancing the capacity for a future-ready workforce. These pathway and partnership innovations are empowered by new technology and seek to increase the number, diversity,

#### **Figure 1.**

*Pathways and partnerships innovations for advancement at Curtin University.*

and quality of talented young people who aspire to higher levels of learning, as well as to create expanded opportunities for people who have been out of school for a time, with convenient new options for retraining and lifelong learning. Our narrative begins, therefore, by exploring the realities of globally mobile learners, who can go anywhere in the world for their education, and who are the future talent of the global workforce, through a focus on primary and secondary school systems.

**Figure 1** exemplifies a number of the innovative measures that Curtin University is implementing to meet the needs of a growing and diverse cohort of future students. Curtin recognizes the importance of innovating learning platforms across the breadth of an expanding student experience continuum. As a reflection of the evolution of the role of universities in society toward organizations that create capacity and mobilize communities and as key partners in offering wide access to unbundled on-demand learning opportunities within a lifelong learning and skills development paradigm, that is crucial to individual success in the twenty-first century. Some key pathway and partnership innovations focused on the identification and development of talent for entry, which support the social transformation of higher education, are presented below.

#### **5.1 The AHEAD program**

Addressing Higher Educational Access Disadvantage program (AHEAD) is a multifaceted program that works to create and implement practical solutions to the university access challenges faced by those community and school groups that are traditionally underrepresented in higher education. AHEAD has a proven track record in effecting change for its targeted demographics in improving access to university and positively impacting attitudes associated with aspiration for higher education [23, 24]*.* The AHEAD school partnerships target students from primary to year 12 in regional, remote, and access-disadvantaged situations. Long-term relationships are built with students, parents, and school staff to support the aspirations of promising young people. The program offers a range of services to help students envision and achieve their goals for postsecondary learning. A key function of AHEAD is to provide a safe context that includes time and language-appropriate information about careers, pathways, and access options to

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**Table 1.**

*Attributes of future-ready learners.*

*Learning Innovations for Identifying and Developing Talent for University*

**Attribute Indicators**

Creativity [31] Idea generation

Personal learning [32] Sharing experience

Problem-solving [33] Exploring and understanding

Global sustainability [34] Recognizing and valuing the needs and cultures of

others

support students working through the complex problem of university selection [25]. Students become known to the university through multiple engagements and innovative technologies, which help create a digital portfolio of evidence for their strengths, interests, and aspirations. This evidence portfolio is linked to attributes of successful university students and "future-ready" learners, reflecting collaboration, creativity, personal knowledge, problem-solving, and global sustainability

A set of indicators grounded in research and practice are embedded in AHEAD program offerings and online learning experiences, used to assess and evaluate student learning, as well as program focus (see **Table 1**). Five "attributes of futureready learners" with 19 indicators form the backbone of an assessment framework embedded in the Curtin Challenge technology platform (described further below) and help to organize evidence of learning from a wide variety of school, community, and university offerings that engage students and develop talent. The research underpinning the attributes is founded in well-documented projects with global reach; for example, the attributes of "collaboration" and "problem-solving" come from the assessment framework of the Program for International Student Assessment [26]. Evidence of learning anytime, anywhere goes into a portfolio that is later used to award recognition, scholarships, and support services to the student. The AHEAD program also supports professional development in schools and communities to improve counseling, pastoral care, and youth development as well as the knowledge and skills needed for success in higher education and lifelong

Collaboration [30] Establishing and maintaining shared understanding

Taking appropriate action to solve the problem Establishing and maintaining team organization

Articulating, applying and building understanding Communicating new powers and creations

Active involvement in addressing global needs Supporting the development of the social, economic,

Design and refinement Openness and exploration Working creatively Creative production

Examining diverse concepts

Representing and formulating Planning and executing Monitoring and reflecting

and environmental pillars

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81380*

knowledge and skills.

#### *Learning Innovations for Identifying and Developing Talent for University DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81380*

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

and quality of talented young people who aspire to higher levels of learning, as well as to create expanded opportunities for people who have been out of school for a time, with convenient new options for retraining and lifelong learning. Our narrative begins, therefore, by exploring the realities of globally mobile learners, who can go anywhere in the world for their education, and who are the future talent of the global workforce, through a focus on primary and secondary school systems.

*Pathways and partnerships innovations for advancement at Curtin University.*

**Figure 1** exemplifies a number of the innovative measures that Curtin University

is implementing to meet the needs of a growing and diverse cohort of future students. Curtin recognizes the importance of innovating learning platforms across the breadth of an expanding student experience continuum. As a reflection of the evolution of the role of universities in society toward organizations that create capacity and mobilize communities and as key partners in offering wide access to unbundled on-demand learning opportunities within a lifelong learning and skills development paradigm, that is crucial to individual success in the twenty-first century. Some key pathway and partnership innovations focused on the identification and development of talent for entry, which support the social transformation

Addressing Higher Educational Access Disadvantage program (AHEAD) is a multifaceted program that works to create and implement practical solutions to the university access challenges faced by those community and school groups that are traditionally underrepresented in higher education. AHEAD has a proven track record in effecting change for its targeted demographics in improving access to university and positively impacting attitudes associated with aspiration for higher education [23, 24]*.* The AHEAD school partnerships target students from primary to year 12 in regional, remote, and access-disadvantaged situations. Long-term relationships are built with students, parents, and school staff to support the aspirations of promising young people. The program offers a range of services to help students envision and achieve their goals for postsecondary learning. A key function of AHEAD is to provide a safe context that includes time and language-appropriate information about careers, pathways, and access options to

of higher education, are presented below.

**5.1 The AHEAD program**

**Figure 1.**

**80**

support students working through the complex problem of university selection [25]. Students become known to the university through multiple engagements and innovative technologies, which help create a digital portfolio of evidence for their strengths, interests, and aspirations. This evidence portfolio is linked to attributes of successful university students and "future-ready" learners, reflecting collaboration, creativity, personal knowledge, problem-solving, and global sustainability knowledge and skills.

A set of indicators grounded in research and practice are embedded in AHEAD program offerings and online learning experiences, used to assess and evaluate student learning, as well as program focus (see **Table 1**). Five "attributes of futureready learners" with 19 indicators form the backbone of an assessment framework embedded in the Curtin Challenge technology platform (described further below) and help to organize evidence of learning from a wide variety of school, community, and university offerings that engage students and develop talent. The research underpinning the attributes is founded in well-documented projects with global reach; for example, the attributes of "collaboration" and "problem-solving" come from the assessment framework of the Program for International Student Assessment [26]. Evidence of learning anytime, anywhere goes into a portfolio that is later used to award recognition, scholarships, and support services to the student.

The AHEAD program also supports professional development in schools and communities to improve counseling, pastoral care, and youth development as well as the knowledge and skills needed for success in higher education and lifelong


#### **Table 1.** *Attributes of future-ready learners.*

learning. In planning is the "AHEAD Academy" which will offer direct learning services to both adults and students and will enhance the existing catalog of workshops, campus visits, mentoring, and case management support to the disadvantaged communities and the practitioners and professionals who work with them.

The AHEAD program is an expression of the university's corporate social reasonability portfolio, which contributes to positive outcomes on three important dimensions: community development through the promotion of tertiary affinity [27], undergraduate work-integrated learning [28], and more broadly the university corporate culture [29].

#### **5.2 ACES programs**

Achievement Centered Engagements for Students (ACES) is the university's accreditation program for university, school, and community offerings that enable students to evidence their learning from participation using the portfolio process and assessment framework outlined above. ACES accreditation serves as a tool to verify both quality and alignment with Learning Futures' goals in the provision and recognition of pre-tertiary activities that promote knowledge and capabilities beneficial to successful transition and completion of a university degree. Students benefit from informal and formal learning opportunities offered by a wide range of community partners and recognition of their commitment and completion of such programs through eligibility for SHAPE Awards (see below). Community partners and schools benefit by additional recognition, support, and promotion of their offerings. AHEAD activities, in addition to other supportive learning activities offered by the school community, local museums, and interested educational organizations, are accredited by the university as "ACES programs."

ACES programs can be offered by Curtin University, a school, or any community organization working with the university. The process of accrediting offerings involves a detailed self-examination of the learning opportunity by the candidate organization, which examines and seeks to improve how students are supported to reflect on and draw lessons from their experiences. University staff provide feedback on the self-assessment by an organization seeking ACES accreditation, using a scoring rubric with specific learning objectives, linked to broad conceptualizations of intelligence, performance, interest-driven learning, and personal initiative. The aims of the ACES programs are advanced and supported by:


**83**

*Learning Innovations for Identifying and Developing Talent for University*

Examples of ACES-accredited programs include the AHEAD programs suite of aspiration, awareness, and capability-raising activities offered at the university, as well as external program offerings such as UNAAWA Global Citizenship and Sustainability program, a state-recognized school curriculum, and the UNEP-DHI Eco Challenge, a global serious game competition that develops awareness of water

Scholarships for High Achievement and Performance Engagement (SHAPE) rewards and recognizes the commitment of students to self-development in pursuit of advancing awareness and capabilities directly related to the pursuit of higher education readiness and success. SHAPE provides participants the opportunity to showcase extracurricular achievement that may not be captured within their university application. In so doing, it provides appropriate recognition for that activity and affirms a wide array of knowledge and capability acquisition that is highly beneficial to the success of a broad spectrum of student's access, transition, and completion of university. Such awards provide a framework of endorsement that promotes the undertaking of ACES-aligned activities and underscores the benefit to the individual of their completion. Students place evidence from ACES activities into portfolios that can be submitted for SHAPE awards. The SHAPE program offers awards of up to \$3000 for innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship demonstrated through ACES programs. The SHAPE awards include one-off awards as well as a series of smaller awards that build slowly over time to accumulate to a

*UniReady in Schools* provides high school students with a structured higher education course and unit experience that allows them to prepare for a successful university learning experience. The four-unit course of study, which is typically undertaken over one or more semesters, helps to establish accurate expectations and supports students to test their readiness for higher education. Academic writing, for example, and all other courses in the program are taught and practiced with the same rigor as students will encounter at university and help students to develop associated skills and expectations so that they are ready to study and succeed at the university. The program is designed with a core of two required units—academic writing and communication—and a selection of two other units from six options that can be flexibly combined to give the best introduction to the major fields of study at the university. The university licenses schools to deliver the UniReady curriculum primarily online, within a monitored classroom led by a master teacher in the school trained and supported by the university. Marking practices and grades across all sites are monitored and moderated by the university. Schools are allocated a limited number of places in the program and make a commitment that the program will be used to enhance and not detract from the existing pathways to university. Schools that wish to utilize the program are carefully selected, trained, and monitored through a close working relationship, underpinned by mutual strategic commitments to lift the performance of targeted students and increase the number of capable students enabled to enter university. The program builds upon a success-

The *UniReady* program is open to anyone post-high school, except for students who have completed *UniReady in School*. Students are aged 18 and older who are

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81380*

resource management issues.

maximum of \$3000 per student.

ful broader program called *UniReady.*

**5.4 UniReady in schools**

**5.3 SHAPE awards**

Examples of ACES-accredited programs include the AHEAD programs suite of aspiration, awareness, and capability-raising activities offered at the university, as well as external program offerings such as UNAAWA Global Citizenship and Sustainability program, a state-recognized school curriculum, and the UNEP-DHI Eco Challenge, a global serious game competition that develops awareness of water resource management issues.

#### **5.3 SHAPE awards**

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

corporate culture [29].

**5.2 ACES programs**

"ACES programs."

supported by:

the learner.

experiences.

learning. In planning is the "AHEAD Academy" which will offer direct learning services to both adults and students and will enhance the existing catalog of workshops, campus visits, mentoring, and case management support to the disadvantaged communities and the practitioners and professionals who work with them. The AHEAD program is an expression of the university's corporate social reasonability portfolio, which contributes to positive outcomes on three important dimensions: community development through the promotion of tertiary affinity [27], undergraduate work-integrated learning [28], and more broadly the university

Achievement Centered Engagements for Students (ACES) is the university's accreditation program for university, school, and community offerings that enable students to evidence their learning from participation using the portfolio process and assessment framework outlined above. ACES accreditation serves as a tool to verify both quality and alignment with Learning Futures' goals in the provision and recognition of pre-tertiary activities that promote knowledge and capabilities beneficial to successful transition and completion of a university degree. Students benefit from informal and formal learning opportunities offered by a wide range of community partners and recognition of their commitment and completion of such programs through eligibility for SHAPE Awards (see below). Community partners and schools benefit by additional recognition, support, and promotion of their offerings. AHEAD activities, in addition to other supportive learning activities offered by the school community, local museums, and interested educational organizations, are accredited by the university as

ACES programs can be offered by Curtin University, a school, or any community organization working with the university. The process of accrediting offerings involves a detailed self-examination of the learning opportunity by the candidate organization, which examines and seeks to improve how students are supported to reflect on and draw lessons from their experiences. University staff provide feedback on the self-assessment by an organization seeking ACES accreditation, using a scoring rubric with specific learning objectives, linked to broad conceptualizations of intelligence, performance, interest-driven learning, and personal initiative. The aims of the ACES programs are advanced and

• Repurposing outreach activities toward recognition of learner development.

• Adding value to third-party programs by recognizing their role in developing

• Building engagement in learning through partnership and collaborative models.

• Creating linkages between student engagement and relevance to the student as a global citizen through challenge-based, games-based, and real-world learning

• Recognizing a broader scope of learning beyond the classroom.

• Incorporating new focus on developing learner capabilities.

**82**

Scholarships for High Achievement and Performance Engagement (SHAPE) rewards and recognizes the commitment of students to self-development in pursuit of advancing awareness and capabilities directly related to the pursuit of higher education readiness and success. SHAPE provides participants the opportunity to showcase extracurricular achievement that may not be captured within their university application. In so doing, it provides appropriate recognition for that activity and affirms a wide array of knowledge and capability acquisition that is highly beneficial to the success of a broad spectrum of student's access, transition, and completion of university. Such awards provide a framework of endorsement that promotes the undertaking of ACES-aligned activities and underscores the benefit to the individual of their completion. Students place evidence from ACES activities into portfolios that can be submitted for SHAPE awards. The SHAPE program offers awards of up to \$3000 for innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship demonstrated through ACES programs. The SHAPE awards include one-off awards as well as a series of smaller awards that build slowly over time to accumulate to a maximum of \$3000 per student.

#### **5.4 UniReady in schools**

*UniReady in Schools* provides high school students with a structured higher education course and unit experience that allows them to prepare for a successful university learning experience. The four-unit course of study, which is typically undertaken over one or more semesters, helps to establish accurate expectations and supports students to test their readiness for higher education. Academic writing, for example, and all other courses in the program are taught and practiced with the same rigor as students will encounter at university and help students to develop associated skills and expectations so that they are ready to study and succeed at the university. The program is designed with a core of two required units—academic writing and communication—and a selection of two other units from six options that can be flexibly combined to give the best introduction to the major fields of study at the university. The university licenses schools to deliver the UniReady curriculum primarily online, within a monitored classroom led by a master teacher in the school trained and supported by the university. Marking practices and grades across all sites are monitored and moderated by the university. Schools are allocated a limited number of places in the program and make a commitment that the program will be used to enhance and not detract from the existing pathways to university. Schools that wish to utilize the program are carefully selected, trained, and monitored through a close working relationship, underpinned by mutual strategic commitments to lift the performance of targeted students and increase the number of capable students enabled to enter university. The program builds upon a successful broader program called *UniReady.*

The *UniReady* program is open to anyone post-high school, except for students who have completed *UniReady in School*. Students are aged 18 and older who are

seeking to demonstrate readiness to succeed at university. Successful program completion enables students to meet the minimum entry requirements for most undergraduate programs at the university. The program is comprised of two core courses (referred to as "units"): academic writing and communication; and a choice of two other units that introduce students to the first-year expectations of particular discipline areas: health sciences, business and law, indigenous studies, humanities, and science & engineering. Units are designed to meet specific requirements of their desired faculty and subject area and enter programs with confidence, skills, and experience. For example, a degree program such as engineering that requires a high level of mathematics includes a high-level mathematics UniReady unit.

#### **5.5 Innovative schools consortium**

Schools that demonstrate high levels of innovation and wish to strategically partner with Curtin University are invited to join the Innovative Schools Consortium (ISC). The 15-member ISC enables schools to identify, develop, and support high-potential students by working toward mutually agreeable strategic objectives and offering pre-university learning credits, scholarships, learning challenges, and alternative entry pathways. Together, the university and school develop and implement project-based learning experiences and curricula that incorporate digital technologies, as well as STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and maths) approaches focusing on scientific knowledge and skills, and arts and humanities interdisciplinary integration with scientific fluency, in collaboration with university academics and industry partners.

As an example, a STEM curriculum development workshop was held at Curtin University at the request of Scotch College, one of the founding ISC partner schools. Subject matter experts from the university met with teachers and senior leaders from the school for three intensive days, to develop and design a curriculum for a new cross-disciplinary STEM subject empowered by technology. The innovative new curriculum integrates action research and learning practices through the incorporation of learning challenges that encourage students to reflect on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, while demonstrating creativity and innovation. The program has been scaled to several grade levels and has led to additional strategic actions by both the university and the school, including plans to offer high-level maths offerings to regional and remote schools and expand the professional development role of the school in promoting the adoption of international baccalaureate programs by schools in WA and elsewhere.

The ISC forges connections between schools, universities, businesses, government departments, and community partners. It has established a community of like-minded organizations committed to teaching, learning, and work readiness, to ensure student employment and support a sustainable future. The ISC allows students to remain responsive to changes in technology, while building strengths in innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship through practical action learning challenges and experiences. Ultimately, the consortium advances the idea that imaginative teaching approaches—supported by advanced technologies and collaborative learning—best equip students to become the leaders of tomorrow.

#### **5.6 Learning futures network**

Established in 2017 to meet a growing interest by K-12 schools to have a meaningful and engaged relationship with Curtin University and other educational partners, the *Learning Futures Network* (LFN) now has over 130 member organizations. The

**85**

*Learning Innovations for Identifying and Developing Talent for University*

and encouraging student aspirations for further education.

**learning and teaching**

transformation:

global workplace needs.

lum delivery.

**6. A framework for technology innovations across five domains of** 

technology enhancements are poised to make significant contributions to

engagement and retention, and personalizing communications.

mendations, and transforming community engagement.

research areas are empowered by technology.

1.Developing talent: understanding the market, creating personalized recom-

2.Personalizing at scale: personalizing support services, proactively managing

3.Emergent curriculum: adapting content to learners in near real-time, delivering engaging content at scale and integrating content with rapidly changing

4.Dynamic delivery: analytics-led understanding of student learning needs, adaptive assessments, and a managed outcomes framework anchors curricu-

5.Global networks: strategic employment of graduates, alumni networks that support entrepreneurship and innovation and targeted recruitment into

Supporting the wide range of initiatives focused on talent development and new pathways into Curtin, the university's vision for learning and teaching is undergoing several technological transformations. These technical innovations focus on five domains of higher education learning and teaching, as well as new and rebalanced roles of corporations as partners in demand-driven research. The technology platforms are evolving to facilitate unbundling of content and personalization of learning at scale and the operational innovations are evolving from a mindset of curriculum as primarily a sequence of units, courses, and degrees to one of lifelong, anytime, anywhere learning. Global and local business partnerships are increasingly becoming significant long-term research collaborations that are co-inquiring and co-developing transferable solutions for smart campuses, smart businesses, and communities of the future [1, 35]. The five domains of higher education learning and teaching illustrate where

process of membership is less intensive than in the ISC and is open to all schools and educational organizations. The organizations and schools share mutual interests in improving learning, education, arts and culture, the future of work, global sustainable development, and science and technology foundations. Through the LFN, the university supports a new social infrastructure with resources to develop more authentic and future-aware processes to enable transformation and collaboration across student learning, and school and staff development. The LFN is a common ground for making connections between and across higher education, industry, culture, and community. Schools in the LFN learn about the expectations of higher education, alternative entry pathways, portfolio entry processes, teacher professional learning, and postgraduate opportunities. The digitally facilitated network makes it easy for innovators in schools to be more proactive in developing collaborative engagements with higher education. The network coordinates the recognition of ACES activities, and to date 18 activities have been granted recognition for supporting a broadened conception of intelligence, developing promising students for further education, increasing school engagement

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81380*

#### *Learning Innovations for Identifying and Developing Talent for University DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81380*

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

**5.5 Innovative schools consortium**

academics and industry partners.

programs by schools in WA and elsewhere.

**5.6 Learning futures network**

seeking to demonstrate readiness to succeed at university. Successful program completion enables students to meet the minimum entry requirements for most undergraduate programs at the university. The program is comprised of two core courses (referred to as "units"): academic writing and communication; and a choice of two other units that introduce students to the first-year expectations of particular discipline areas: health sciences, business and law, indigenous studies, humanities, and science & engineering. Units are designed to meet specific requirements of their desired faculty and subject area and enter programs with confidence, skills, and experience. For example, a degree program such as engineering that requires a high level of mathematics includes a high-level mathematics UniReady unit.

Schools that demonstrate high levels of innovation and wish to strategically partner with Curtin University are invited to join the Innovative Schools Consortium (ISC). The 15-member ISC enables schools to identify, develop, and support high-potential students by working toward mutually agreeable strategic objectives and offering pre-university learning credits, scholarships, learning challenges, and alternative entry pathways. Together, the university and school develop and implement project-based learning experiences and curricula that incorporate digital technologies, as well as STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and maths) approaches focusing on scientific knowledge and skills, and arts and humanities interdisciplinary integration with scientific fluency, in collaboration with university

As an example, a STEM curriculum development workshop was held at Curtin University at the request of Scotch College, one of the founding ISC partner schools. Subject matter experts from the university met with teachers and senior leaders from the school for three intensive days, to develop and design a curriculum for a new cross-disciplinary STEM subject empowered by technology. The innovative new curriculum integrates action research and learning practices through the incorporation of learning challenges that encourage students to reflect on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, while demonstrating creativity and innovation. The program has been scaled to several grade levels and has led to additional strategic actions by both the university and the school, including plans to offer high-level maths offerings to regional and remote schools and expand the professional development role of the school in promoting the adoption of international baccalaureate

The ISC forges connections between schools, universities, businesses, government departments, and community partners. It has established a community of like-minded organizations committed to teaching, learning, and work readiness, to ensure student employment and support a sustainable future. The ISC allows students to remain responsive to changes in technology, while building strengths in innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship through practical action learning challenges and experiences. Ultimately, the consortium advances the idea that imaginative teaching approaches—supported by advanced technologies and collaborative

Established in 2017 to meet a growing interest by K-12 schools to have a meaningful and engaged relationship with Curtin University and other educational partners, the *Learning Futures Network* (LFN) now has over 130 member organizations. The

learning—best equip students to become the leaders of tomorrow.

**84**

process of membership is less intensive than in the ISC and is open to all schools and educational organizations. The organizations and schools share mutual interests in improving learning, education, arts and culture, the future of work, global sustainable development, and science and technology foundations. Through the LFN, the university supports a new social infrastructure with resources to develop more authentic and future-aware processes to enable transformation and collaboration across student learning, and school and staff development. The LFN is a common ground for making connections between and across higher education, industry, culture, and community. Schools in the LFN learn about the expectations of higher education, alternative entry pathways, portfolio entry processes, teacher professional learning, and postgraduate opportunities. The digitally facilitated network makes it easy for innovators in schools to be more proactive in developing collaborative engagements with higher education. The network coordinates the recognition of ACES activities, and to date 18 activities have been granted recognition for supporting a broadened conception of intelligence, developing promising students for further education, increasing school engagement and encouraging student aspirations for further education.

#### **6. A framework for technology innovations across five domains of learning and teaching**

Supporting the wide range of initiatives focused on talent development and new pathways into Curtin, the university's vision for learning and teaching is undergoing several technological transformations. These technical innovations focus on five domains of higher education learning and teaching, as well as new and rebalanced roles of corporations as partners in demand-driven research. The technology platforms are evolving to facilitate unbundling of content and personalization of learning at scale and the operational innovations are evolving from a mindset of curriculum as primarily a sequence of units, courses, and degrees to one of lifelong, anytime, anywhere learning. Global and local business partnerships are increasingly becoming significant long-term research collaborations that are co-inquiring and co-developing transferable solutions for smart campuses, smart businesses, and communities of the future [1, 35].

The five domains of higher education learning and teaching illustrate where technology enhancements are poised to make significant contributions to transformation:


#### *Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

These five domains were developed in 2013 and 2014 as part of the "Transforming Learning at Curtin" initiative [1], based on a university-wide strategic project that conducted international comparisons, literature research, focus group interactions, and workshops. Pilots have been continuously spun out of the model since 2014 and in part have led to innovations such as the Curtin Challenge described below. Looking ahead, with automated processes and artificial intelligence likely to eventually form part of these domains of operations of learning and teaching, a strategic vision of technology-enhanced operations (see **Table 2**) guides thinking, shapes conversations, and engenders new ideas for the future. In the vision for technology-enhanced operations are statements of "end state" visions for specific goals within each of the five domains. A discussion of all the goals is beyond


**87**

*Learning Innovations for Identifying and Developing Talent for University*

the scope of the article, which is focused on the first goal—talent development—but the full framework is offered here to form a broader context to understand how the

Common to the organizational transformation of education across all five of the domains is a conception of using technology to digitally enhance learning at scale. Enhancement at Curtin is based on two primary strategies: (1) unbundling and recognizing learning at "micro" levels (micro-credentials and micro-masters) and (2) offering personalized and team-based learning digitally at scale [20, 36]. New gamified self-paced individual and team-based learning experiences are constructed on the university's *Challenge* platform—an authoring and learning experience deployment system for highly interactive online learning. The use and promotion of technology to innovate learning for undergraduates has been criticized for over emphasizing its real-world impact, as the lived experience of the students' use of technology can be characterized as only creating digitally augmented process efficiencies, for example watching/re-watching video, digital library access, online curriculums guides, etc. [37]. However, Curtin's approach emphasizes the focus and commitment to innovating learning and teaching through team-based activities and hyper-connected learning offerings, creating the potential for significant digitally driven students' learning transformations. Challenge-based learning [38] is applicable to all levels of education, is flexible for any level of team project or individual learning experience, and is thus making its way into capstone projects and other project-based learning experiences in formal and informal offerings of the university and its partners. In addition, the university's massive open online course system and membership in the edX Consortium [14] support large-scale deployment of learning experiences. The following section will describe Curtin Challenge in more detail and link it to the global aspirations of scalable delivery of digital learning experiences.

Curtin Challenge is an interactive online learning platform that uses game-based

Originally built for the university's own students but now offered worldwide, the Challenge platform offers teachers new ways to create, administer, and evaluate learning experiences, which extend beyond the traditional classroom, with capacity for students to work collaboratively with others across the globe. Challenge is designed to support the development of graduate attributes, such as leadership, employability, and global sustainability, in both informal and formal learning contexts. The innovation projects outlined earlier are actively reworking their face-

Learners are offered rewards and/or recognition, based on evidence of achieving objectives, creating work products, and participating in self-scoring throughout their challenge. Educators are enabled to monitor and collect valuable data to verify achievement, as well as to evaluate and enhance learning design. Four learning pathways grounded in real-world problem-solving are currently available through the platform, focusing on leadership skill development, career planning, English

to-face and traditional e-learning offerings into the Challenge platform.

elements to motivate individual and team learning [39]. The platform supports self-directed learning at scale with automated feedback and assessment in real time, at the point of learning. It promotes active engagement to enable deeper learning, evidence of which is captured via fine-grained data collection by a learning analytics engine. Challenge has the capability, for example, to identify and track who does what during team work to promote individual responsibility among participants. It can also engage students in peer feedback, supporting development of critical thinking and reflection skills, as team members work toward solving a wide variety

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81380*

university is thinking about its future.

**6.1 Curtin Challenge**

of challenges.

#### **Table 2.**

*Vision for technology enhanced operations.*

#### *Learning Innovations for Identifying and Developing Talent for University DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81380*

the scope of the article, which is focused on the first goal—talent development—but the full framework is offered here to form a broader context to understand how the university is thinking about its future.

Common to the organizational transformation of education across all five of the domains is a conception of using technology to digitally enhance learning at scale. Enhancement at Curtin is based on two primary strategies: (1) unbundling and recognizing learning at "micro" levels (micro-credentials and micro-masters) and (2) offering personalized and team-based learning digitally at scale [20, 36]. New gamified self-paced individual and team-based learning experiences are constructed on the university's *Challenge* platform—an authoring and learning experience deployment system for highly interactive online learning. The use and promotion of technology to innovate learning for undergraduates has been criticized for over emphasizing its real-world impact, as the lived experience of the students' use of technology can be characterized as only creating digitally augmented process efficiencies, for example watching/re-watching video, digital library access, online curriculums guides, etc. [37]. However, Curtin's approach emphasizes the focus and commitment to innovating learning and teaching through team-based activities and hyper-connected learning offerings, creating the potential for significant digitally driven students' learning transformations. Challenge-based learning [38] is applicable to all levels of education, is flexible for any level of team project or individual learning experience, and is thus making its way into capstone projects and other project-based learning experiences in formal and informal offerings of the university and its partners. In addition, the university's massive open online course system and membership in the edX Consortium [14] support large-scale deployment of learning experiences. The following section will describe Curtin Challenge in more detail and link it to the global aspirations of scalable delivery of digital learning experiences.

#### **6.1 Curtin Challenge**

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

These five domains were developed in 2013 and 2014 as part of the

"Transforming Learning at Curtin" initiative [1], based on a university-wide strategic project that conducted international comparisons, literature research, focus group interactions, and workshops. Pilots have been continuously spun out of the model since 2014 and in part have led to innovations such as the Curtin Challenge described below. Looking ahead, with automated processes and artificial intelligence likely to eventually form part of these domains of operations of learning and teaching, a strategic vision of technology-enhanced operations (see **Table 2**) guides thinking, shapes conversations, and engenders new ideas for the future. In the vision for technology-enhanced operations are statements of "end state" visions for specific goals within each of the five domains. A discussion of all the goals is beyond

Market understanding The university generates profiles of in demand skills in the

Personalized recommendations Student and market information are used to aid course selection

Community engagement The university's market knowledge is reflected in its outward

Proactive retention management Students with high attrition risk are identified early and receive

Personalized communication Learning materials are targeted at students based on learning

Adaptive curriculum Curricula are dynamic, adapting in real time to student needs

Scalable delivery The latest technologies deliver content to all students & staff

Integration with industry Curricula are designed to deliver the competencies in demand

World leading pedagogy Analytical research into student cognition and teaching method

self-awareness Adaptive assessment Student evidence of learning is measured continuously,

Managed outcomes framework Students are assessed against a granular framework, allowing

Strategic employment Market analysis and a unique assessment framework allow

Alumni communication Alumni are engaged with information on market and industry

Targeted recruitment into research Engagement in research is developed from specific analysis of

Personalized support Support services use interaction history to learn from

and align student expectations

market, tracks education trends, and reacts accordingly

facing marketing and community engagement

interaction and become tailored to individuals

and allow near-real time feedback and decisions

are used to define the university's practices, and drive student

students to secure positions with high prestige employers

and allow relevant work place learning

allowing targeted, dynamic assessment

trends and opportunities for further study

history and student competency

for an iterative approach to learning

targeted preventative interventions

style and level of attainment

and the external environment

**86**

**Table 2.**

**Developing talent**

**Personalization at scale**

**Emergent curriculum**

**Dynamic delivery**

**Global networks**

*Vision for technology enhanced operations.*

Curtin Challenge is an interactive online learning platform that uses game-based elements to motivate individual and team learning [39]. The platform supports self-directed learning at scale with automated feedback and assessment in real time, at the point of learning. It promotes active engagement to enable deeper learning, evidence of which is captured via fine-grained data collection by a learning analytics engine. Challenge has the capability, for example, to identify and track who does what during team work to promote individual responsibility among participants. It can also engage students in peer feedback, supporting development of critical thinking and reflection skills, as team members work toward solving a wide variety of challenges.

Originally built for the university's own students but now offered worldwide, the Challenge platform offers teachers new ways to create, administer, and evaluate learning experiences, which extend beyond the traditional classroom, with capacity for students to work collaboratively with others across the globe. Challenge is designed to support the development of graduate attributes, such as leadership, employability, and global sustainability, in both informal and formal learning contexts. The innovation projects outlined earlier are actively reworking their faceto-face and traditional e-learning offerings into the Challenge platform.

Learners are offered rewards and/or recognition, based on evidence of achieving objectives, creating work products, and participating in self-scoring throughout their challenge. Educators are enabled to monitor and collect valuable data to verify achievement, as well as to evaluate and enhance learning design. Four learning pathways grounded in real-world problem-solving are currently available through the platform, focusing on leadership skill development, career planning, English

language proficiency, and preparation to study abroad. These challenges are made up of 12–14 modules that each takes about an hour to complete, and can be stopped and started at any time. Each module includes around five interactive activities. Students engaged in these challenges to date have completed over 186,000 activities, with over 10,000 modules completed in the Careers Challenge and around 22,000 modules of the Leadership Challenge completed, since their launch in 2014 [40]. With such massive uptake, the cost of delivering these learning experiences amounts to "pennies per student."

Challenge allows educators to author their own customized modules and activities and link these to their Blackboard units. Challenge is also successfully being used by international students, with new programs currently piloted with Hong Kong universities and a Perth high school. Challenge is part of Curtin's digital learning and teaching ecosystem that includes edX (massive open online courses) and Blackboard (learning management system) delivery systems. These delivery systems are supported by the university's Analytics Insight team who work with the UNESCO Chair of Data Science in Higher Education Learning and Teaching [41] to provide global context for data, establish and manage international research projects, promote local pilots, and propel momentum for innovation in learning and teaching.

#### **7. Conclusion**

As a response to global and local imperatives for organizational, operational, and social challenges facing education today, learning innovations developed by Curtin University's Learning Futures team are examples of new technology-enhanced learning experiences used to identify and develop talent for university. The innovations, set in the context of a vision for using technology in all areas of the university, are helping to reset school-university relationships to a focus on direct, scalable digital learning services delivered via interactive technologies utilizing game-based and team-based learning approaches created with a new authoring, delivery, and analytics platform. The educational technology innovations support the university's vision of academic, research, and service-based strategic actions by offering new options along a continuum of entry points for learners of all ages to access from anywhere at any time.

#### **Author details**

Mel Henry, David C. Gibson\*, Charles Flodin and Dirk Ifenthaler Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia

\*Address all correspondence to: david.c.gibson@curtin.edu.au

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

**89**

*Learning Innovations for Identifying and Developing Talent for University*

[9] New Media Consortium, NMC Horizon Report: 2014 Higher Education

Rumbley LE. Trends in Global Higher Education: Tracking an Academic Revolution Trends in Global Higher Education. Higher Education; 2009. Retrieved from: http://unesdoc.unesco. org/images/0018/001832/183219e.pdf

[10] Altbach PG, Reisberg L,

[11] Ifenthaler D, editor. Digital Workplace Learning. Bridging Formal and Informal Learning with Digital Technologies. New York: Springer; 2018

[13] Mishra P, Cain W, Sawaya S, Henriksen D. Rethinking technology & creativity in the 21st century: A room of their own. TechTrends. 2013;**57**:5-9

[14] Severance C. Anant agarwal: Inside edX. Computer. 2015;**48**(10):8-9. https://doi.org/10.1109/MC.2015.308

[15] Gibson D. Game changers for transforming learning environments. In: Miller F, editor. Transforming Learning Environments: Strategies to Shape the Next Generation, Advances in Educational Administration. Vol. 16. Bengley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing

[16] Curtin University. Strategic Plan 2020: Delivering Excellence. Strategic Plan 2017-2020 [Online]. Curtin University; 2018. Available from: http://

Ltd; 2012. pp. 215-235

strategicplan.curtin.edu.au/

[17] Gibson D, Irving L, Scott K. Technology-enabled challenge-based learning in a global context. In: Shonfeld M, Gibson DC, editors. Collaborative

[12] Regenstein C, Dewey BI. Leadership, Higher Education, and the Information Age: A New Era for Information Technology and Libraries. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers; 2003

Preview, 2014

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81380*

[1] Downie J. Curtin Converged: A new model of teaching and learning. Curtin University News [Online]. 2012. Available from: http://www2. curtin.edu.au/learningfortomorrow/ our\_approach/curtin-converged.cfm [Accessed: 18 September 2015]

[2] Moran C. Research Strategy 2017 at Curtin University: A Discussion Paper.

[3] Gibson D. Learning Futures Network [Online]. 2018. Available from: http:// www.learningfuturesnetwork.org/

[4] Bradley D, Noonan P, Nugent H, Scales B. Review of Australian Higher Education: Final Report. Canberra, Australia: Australia Department of

[5] Tomlinson M. Student perceptions of themselves as 'consumers' of higher education student perceptions of themselves as 'consumers' of higher education. British Journal of Sociology of Education. 2017;**38**(4):450-467

[6] Sarrico C, Teixeira P, Magalhães A, Veiga A, João Rosa M, Carvalho T, editors. Global Challenges, National Initiatives, and Institutional Responses. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers; 2016

[7] Bhardwa S. Why do students go to university and how do they choose which one? Times Higher Education: The World University Rankings [Online]. 2018. Available from: https://www. timeshighereducation.com/student/ news/why-do-students-go-universityand-how-do-they-choose-which-one

[8] Marks GN. Do the labour market returns to university degrees differ between high and low achieving youth? Evidence from Australia. Journal for Labour Market Research. 2018;**52**(1):5

Perth: Curtin University; 2017

[Accessed: 12 August 2018]

Education; 2008

**References**

*Learning Innovations for Identifying and Developing Talent for University DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81380*

#### **References**

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

pilots, and propel momentum for innovation in learning and teaching.

amounts to "pennies per student."

language proficiency, and preparation to study abroad. These challenges are made up of 12–14 modules that each takes about an hour to complete, and can be stopped and started at any time. Each module includes around five interactive activities. Students engaged in these challenges to date have completed over 186,000 activities, with over 10,000 modules completed in the Careers Challenge and around 22,000 modules of the Leadership Challenge completed, since their launch in 2014 [40]. With such massive uptake, the cost of delivering these learning experiences

Challenge allows educators to author their own customized modules and activities and link these to their Blackboard units. Challenge is also successfully being used by international students, with new programs currently piloted with Hong Kong universities and a Perth high school. Challenge is part of Curtin's digital learning and teaching ecosystem that includes edX (massive open online courses) and Blackboard (learning management system) delivery systems. These delivery systems are supported by the university's Analytics Insight team who work with the UNESCO Chair of Data Science in Higher Education Learning and Teaching [41] to provide global context for data, establish and manage international research projects, promote local

As a response to global and local imperatives for organizational, operational, and social challenges facing education today, learning innovations developed by Curtin University's Learning Futures team are examples of new technology-enhanced learning experiences used to identify and develop talent for university. The innovations, set in the context of a vision for using technology in all areas of the university, are helping to reset school-university relationships to a focus on direct, scalable digital learning services delivered via interactive technologies utilizing game-based and team-based learning approaches created with a new authoring, delivery, and analytics platform. The educational technology innovations support the university's vision of academic, research, and service-based strategic actions by offering new options along a continuum of entry points for learners of all ages to access from anywhere at any time.

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

Mel Henry, David C. Gibson\*, Charles Flodin and Dirk Ifenthaler

\*Address all correspondence to: david.c.gibson@curtin.edu.au

Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia

**88**

**Author details**

**7. Conclusion**

provided the original work is properly cited.

[1] Downie J. Curtin Converged: A new model of teaching and learning. Curtin University News [Online]. 2012. Available from: http://www2. curtin.edu.au/learningfortomorrow/ our\_approach/curtin-converged.cfm [Accessed: 18 September 2015]

[2] Moran C. Research Strategy 2017 at Curtin University: A Discussion Paper. Perth: Curtin University; 2017

[3] Gibson D. Learning Futures Network [Online]. 2018. Available from: http:// www.learningfuturesnetwork.org/ [Accessed: 12 August 2018]

[4] Bradley D, Noonan P, Nugent H, Scales B. Review of Australian Higher Education: Final Report. Canberra, Australia: Australia Department of Education; 2008

[5] Tomlinson M. Student perceptions of themselves as 'consumers' of higher education student perceptions of themselves as 'consumers' of higher education. British Journal of Sociology of Education. 2017;**38**(4):450-467

[6] Sarrico C, Teixeira P, Magalhães A, Veiga A, João Rosa M, Carvalho T, editors. Global Challenges, National Initiatives, and Institutional Responses. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers; 2016

[7] Bhardwa S. Why do students go to university and how do they choose which one? Times Higher Education: The World University Rankings [Online]. 2018. Available from: https://www. timeshighereducation.com/student/ news/why-do-students-go-universityand-how-do-they-choose-which-one

[8] Marks GN. Do the labour market returns to university degrees differ between high and low achieving youth? Evidence from Australia. Journal for Labour Market Research. 2018;**52**(1):5

[9] New Media Consortium, NMC Horizon Report: 2014 Higher Education Preview, 2014

[10] Altbach PG, Reisberg L, Rumbley LE. Trends in Global Higher Education: Tracking an Academic Revolution Trends in Global Higher Education. Higher Education; 2009. Retrieved from: http://unesdoc.unesco. org/images/0018/001832/183219e.pdf

[11] Ifenthaler D, editor. Digital Workplace Learning. Bridging Formal and Informal Learning with Digital Technologies. New York: Springer; 2018

[12] Regenstein C, Dewey BI. Leadership, Higher Education, and the Information Age: A New Era for Information Technology and Libraries. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers; 2003

[13] Mishra P, Cain W, Sawaya S, Henriksen D. Rethinking technology & creativity in the 21st century: A room of their own. TechTrends. 2013;**57**:5-9

[14] Severance C. Anant agarwal: Inside edX. Computer. 2015;**48**(10):8-9. https://doi.org/10.1109/MC.2015.308

[15] Gibson D. Game changers for transforming learning environments. In: Miller F, editor. Transforming Learning Environments: Strategies to Shape the Next Generation, Advances in Educational Administration. Vol. 16. Bengley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Ltd; 2012. pp. 215-235

[16] Curtin University. Strategic Plan 2020: Delivering Excellence. Strategic Plan 2017-2020 [Online]. Curtin University; 2018. Available from: http:// strategicplan.curtin.edu.au/

[17] Gibson D, Irving L, Scott K. Technology-enabled challenge-based learning in a global context. In: Shonfeld M, Gibson DC, editors. Collaborative

Learning in a Global World. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishers. p. 450

[18] UN SDG Report. The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2016 (The Sustainable Development Goals Report). United Nations (Vol. 2016). United Nations. 2016. http:// undocs.org/A/68/970 https://doi. org/10.18356/3405d09f-en

[19] Anderson T, McGreal R. Disruptive pedagogies and technologies in universities: Unbundling of educational services. Educational Technology & Society, 2012;**15**(4):380-389

[20] Gibson D, Coleman K, Irving L. Learning Journeys in Higher Education: Designing Digital Pathways Badges for Learning, Motivation and Assessment. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2016

[21] Priem RL, Li S, Carr JC. Insights and new directions from demandside approaches to technology innovation, entrepreneurship, and strategic management research. Journal of Management. 2012;**38**(1):346-374. https://doi. org/10.1177/0149206311429614

[22] Seltzer R. Days of reckoning. Inside Higher Education [Online]. 2017. Available from: https://www. insidehighered.com/news/2017/11/13/ spate-recent-college-closures-has-someseeing-long-predicted-consolidationtaking

[23] National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education. Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program: Seven Years On. Perth, WA: Curtin University; 2017

[24] Flodin C, Vidovich N. Innovations and insights in higher education outreach programs. In: Hoffman J, Blessinger P, Makhanya M, editors. Strategies for Facilitating Inclusive Campuses in Higher Education: International Perspectives on Equity

and Inclusion. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Ltd; 2018

[25] Flodin C. Raising Aspirations. Bulletin, No. 192, London. 2017. pp. 8-9

[26] PISA. Draft Collaborative Problem Solving Framework. Paris, France: Organization for Economic and Community Development; 2013

[27] Thorn C, Flodin C. Clontarf to Curtin: Row AHEAD and tertiary affinity. International Journal of Learning in Social Contexts [Special Issue: Indigenous Pathways and Transitions into Higher Education]. 2015;**17**:1-112

[28] Karnovsky S, Flodin C, Beltman S. The Curtin coaches: Benefits of an outreach tutoring program for first year pre-service teachers. A practice report. International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education. 2015;**6**(1):163-169

[29] Asrar-ul-Haq M, Kuchinke KP, Iqbal A. The relationship between corporate social responsibility, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment: Case of Pakistani higher education. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2017;**142**:2352-2363

[30] Roschelle J, Teasley S. The construction of shared knowledge in collaborative problem-solving. In: O'Malley C, editor. Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning. Berlin: Springer-Verlag; 1995. pp. 69-97

[31] Mishra P, Henriksen D, D. P. R. Group. A NEW approach to defining and measuring creativity: Rethinking technology & creativity in the 21st century. TechTrends. 2013;**57**(5):10-13

[32] Friedrichs A, Gibson D. Personalization and secondary school renewal. In: DiMartino J, Clarke J, Wolf D, editors. Personalized Learning: Preparing High School Students to Create their Futures. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Education; 2003. pp. 41-68

**91**

pp. 1-5

*Learning Innovations for Identifying and Developing Talent for University*

[41] Gibson D. UNESCO Chair [Online]. 2018. Available from: https://research. curtin.edu.au/projects-expertise/ institutes-centres/unesco/

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81380*

[33] Mayer R, Wittrock M. Problemsolving transfer. In: Berliner D, Calfee R, editors. Handbook of Educational Psychology. New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillan; 1996.

[34] Keeble BR. The Brundtland report: Our common future. Medicine and War. 1988;**4**(1):17-25. https://doi. org/10.1080/07488008808408783

[35] Gibson D, Broadley T, Downie J. Blended learning in a converged model of university transformation. In: Lim CP, Wang L, editors. Blended Learning for Quality Higher Education: Selected Case Studies on Implementation from Asia-Pacific. Paris, France: UNESCO;

[36] Cassily C, Flintoff K, Gibson D, Coleman K. Campus policy framework for open badges. Perth, WA. 2014. Retrieved from: https://www.academia.

edu/8830797/A\_collaboratively\_ drafted\_campus\_policy\_framework\_

What works and why? Student perceptions of 'useful' digital

1080/03075079.2015.1007946

[38] Johnson L, Adams S, Apple. Challenge Based Learning: The Report from the Implementation Project. 2010

[39] Gibson D, Irving L, Scott K. Challenge-based learning in a serious global game. In: Lee N, editor. Encyclopedia of Computer Graphics and Games. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2017. pp. 1-4

[40] Ifenthaler D, Gibson D, Dobozy E.

relationship between learning design and learning analytics. In: ASCILITE 2017. Tooumba: ASCILITE; 2017.

The synergistic and dynamic

[37] Henderson M, Selwyn N, Aston R.

technology in university teaching and learning. Studies in Higher Education. 2017;**42**(8):1567-1579. https://doi.org/10.

pp. 47-62

2016. pp. 235-264

for\_open\_badges

*Learning Innovations for Identifying and Developing Talent for University DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81380*

[33] Mayer R, Wittrock M. Problemsolving transfer. In: Berliner D, Calfee R, editors. Handbook of Educational Psychology. New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillan; 1996. pp. 47-62

*Innovations in Higher Education - Cases on Transforming and Advancing Practice*

and Inclusion. Bingley, UK: Emerald

[25] Flodin C. Raising Aspirations. Bulletin, No. 192, London. 2017. pp. 8-9

[27] Thorn C, Flodin C. Clontarf to Curtin: Row AHEAD and tertiary

in Social Contexts [Special Issue:

Higher Education]. 2015;**17**:1-112

affinity. International Journal of Learning

Indigenous Pathways and Transitions into

[28] Karnovsky S, Flodin C, Beltman S. The Curtin coaches: Benefits of an outreach tutoring program for first year pre-service teachers. A practice report. International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education. 2015;**6**(1):163-169

[29] Asrar-ul-Haq M, Kuchinke KP, Iqbal A. The relationship between corporate social responsibility, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment: Case of Pakistani higher education. Journal of Cleaner Production.

2017;**142**:2352-2363

[30] Roschelle J, Teasley S. The construction of shared knowledge in collaborative problem-solving. In: O'Malley C, editor. Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning. Berlin: Springer-Verlag; 1995. pp. 69-97

[31] Mishra P, Henriksen D, D. P. R. Group. A NEW approach to defining and measuring creativity: Rethinking technology & creativity in the 21st century. TechTrends. 2013;**57**(5):10-13

[32] Friedrichs A, Gibson D. Personalization and secondary school renewal. In: DiMartino J, Clarke J, Wolf D, editors. Personalized Learning: Preparing High School Students to Create their Futures. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Education; 2003.

pp. 41-68

[26] PISA. Draft Collaborative Problem Solving Framework. Paris, France: Organization for Economic and Community Development; 2013

Group Publishing Ltd; 2018

Learning in a Global World. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishers. p. 450

[18] UN SDG Report. The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2016 (The Sustainable Development Goals Report). United Nations (Vol. 2016). United Nations. 2016. http:// undocs.org/A/68/970 https://doi. org/10.18356/3405d09f-en

[19] Anderson T, McGreal R. Disruptive

universities: Unbundling of educational services. Educational Technology &

[20] Gibson D, Coleman K, Irving L. Learning Journeys in Higher Education: Designing Digital Pathways Badges for Learning, Motivation and Assessment.

[21] Priem RL, Li S, Carr JC. Insights and new directions from demandside approaches to technology innovation, entrepreneurship, and strategic management

research. Journal of Management. 2012;**38**(1):346-374. https://doi. org/10.1177/0149206311429614

[22] Seltzer R. Days of reckoning. Inside Higher Education [Online]. 2017. Available from: https://www. insidehighered.com/news/2017/11/13/ spate-recent-college-closures-has-someseeing-long-predicted-consolidation-

[23] National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education. Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program: Seven Years On. Perth, WA: Curtin

[24] Flodin C, Vidovich N. Innovations and insights in higher education outreach programs. In: Hoffman J, Blessinger P, Makhanya M, editors. Strategies for Facilitating Inclusive Campuses in Higher Education: International Perspectives on Equity

pedagogies and technologies in

Society, 2012;**15**(4):380-389

Cham: Springer International

Publishing; 2016

**90**

taking

University; 2017

[34] Keeble BR. The Brundtland report: Our common future. Medicine and War. 1988;**4**(1):17-25. https://doi. org/10.1080/07488008808408783

[35] Gibson D, Broadley T, Downie J. Blended learning in a converged model of university transformation. In: Lim CP, Wang L, editors. Blended Learning for Quality Higher Education: Selected Case Studies on Implementation from Asia-Pacific. Paris, France: UNESCO; 2016. pp. 235-264

[36] Cassily C, Flintoff K, Gibson D, Coleman K. Campus policy framework for open badges. Perth, WA. 2014. Retrieved from: https://www.academia. edu/8830797/A\_collaboratively\_ drafted\_campus\_policy\_framework\_ for\_open\_badges

[37] Henderson M, Selwyn N, Aston R. What works and why? Student perceptions of 'useful' digital technology in university teaching and learning. Studies in Higher Education. 2017;**42**(8):1567-1579. https://doi.org/10. 1080/03075079.2015.1007946

[38] Johnson L, Adams S, Apple. Challenge Based Learning: The Report from the Implementation Project. 2010

[39] Gibson D, Irving L, Scott K. Challenge-based learning in a serious global game. In: Lee N, editor. Encyclopedia of Computer Graphics and Games. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2017. pp. 1-4

[40] Ifenthaler D, Gibson D, Dobozy E. The synergistic and dynamic relationship between learning design and learning analytics. In: ASCILITE 2017. Tooumba: ASCILITE; 2017. pp. 1-5

[41] Gibson D. UNESCO Chair [Online]. 2018. Available from: https://research. curtin.edu.au/projects-expertise/ institutes-centres/unesco/

**93**

Section 2

Operational Innovations

That Transform or

Advance Practice

### Section 2
