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INTRODUCTION
The universities involved in the BEGIN project, in particular the Luiss Guido Carli - Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali in Rome (LUISS) and the Higher School of Agribusiness in Lomza (WSA), actively incorporate elements of soft skills enhancement for their students into their educational processes.
We know well that in an educational context like the University one, time is never enough, but the solution is simple: to promote soft skills within the hours. To do this easily, it is also essential to adopt digital learning environments, thanks to which students will no longer risk arriving at the host structure unprepared but trained in a correct insertion at work.
As universities, they also accept the educational process as part of the idea of lifelong learning. Therefore, they recognise both the need for academic training as formal education and, in parallel, the enhancement of students' competences through specialised courses and training, as well as the development of personal and social competences in workshops during work placements.
EXAMPLES OF HOW SOFT SKILLS WERE ACTIVATED WITH THE SUPPORT OF TEACHERS
The continuous transformation processes of the company require us to focus on the development of transversal skills (from soft to digital skills) that can allow us to face new challenges, to operate in various working contexts and with flexible methods. Therefore, the role of the University is crucial. Higher School of Agribusiness in Lomza as well as Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali in Rome, while implementing the didactic process, create conditions for comprehensive development of students and facilitate their transition from the stage of education to the stage of employment by developing their skills and soft competencies. The most important activities include:
creating and supporting the work of scientific circles,
working and cooperating in networks like the student government,
functioning of the career office,
the functioning of the rector's representative for disabled students,
the teaching process.
The first efficient tool to get soft skills is being led by a professional expert who can provide you with his knowledge. For achieving better outcomes, it is useful to implement tools such as seminars, coaching and tutoring that are very methodical in gaining knowledge. In particular, tutors play a very important role in this process of providing soft skills, because they are fundamentally in leading the students towards their personal growth and in giving them the awareness of themselves.
SCIENTIFIC CIRCLES
Research clubs bring together students interested in self-development in a selected area of knowledge in the context of their field of study. The elements of work in a student club include conducting research, preparing scientific papers, participating in scientific conferences with a thematic presentation of your paper presenting research results, expanding community contacts, and exchange of experiences. The work in the Research Circle is carried out under the substantive and mentoring care of a university researcher. The work in the research circle is naturally connected with the development of the above-mentioned soft skills. In this development, the tutor of the scientific circle supports students as a mentor, not only working with them in a content-related way but also caring for their development of soft skills necessary to achieve self-development and the effects of work. The tutor, by his/her own example and by sharing his/her experience and skills, develops these skills in students.
The specificity of the work of scientific circles is that the mentor directs the work in different directions creating tasks to be performed individually and in groups. Participation in the various forms of club work results in the development of soft skills and their consolidation and improvement over time. The supervisor by actively participating in the work with students and observing them during their work in the club has the opportunity to correct the direction of their skills development. Experience from this form of work with students shows that it is effective as a process of acquiring and improving soft skills as an important element of the student's functioning in the university environment and outside it, facilitating the transition from the learning environment to the working environment. An important element of the work of the clubs is that the range of activities goes beyond the curriculum and allows students to develop their passions and personal interests. The possibility to work in a scientific circle is a chance to overcome barriers resulting from a lack of experience in cooperation with other environments.
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Student government allows the following soft skills to be developed:
problem-solving
acceptance of changes,
negotiations,
decision-making,
adaptability.
In a university, the student self-government is a representation of the entire student community, modelling with the university authorities, coming from the election. The most important areas of the student government's work are:
participation in the work of scholarship committees,
participation of representatives in the work of the university senate,
representing students before university authorities,
participation in ceremonies held inside and outside the university,
cooperation with self-governments of other universities,
participation in the work of the committees and content teams of the university,
organisation of student life and adaptation support for first-year students.
Merely being a member of the student government requires students to have goal-oriented, self-presentation, and communication skills. Students practically improve their soft skills by involving them in the organisation of events (first dances, student balls, open days, etc.). Working in student government under the supervision of a mentor shapes and develops soft skills. The supervisor is at the same time a mentor for the members of the student government, supporting and providing substantive direction to the work of the student government. His/her role is also to pass on his/her experience and knowledge and to influence through his/her attitude the development of the soft skills of students. By observing the students' behaviour and attitudes, the tutor has the opportunity to assess their soft skills and direct their development towards the elimination of deficit areas. The tutors' experiences of working with student government indicate a positive and effective role in students' participation in student government. The soft skills of these students are clearly higher than those of students who do not participate in this form of activity at the university.
CAREER OFFICE
A career office is a place in which to help students develop the following soft skills:
self-presentation,
communication skills,
adaptability
organisation of own work
negotiations.
The main task of the Career Office is to facilitate students' transition from the field of education to the field of employment. The Career Office collects temporary and permanent job offers, thus supporting students in gaining professional experience from the first year of their studies. The Career Office is also responsible for finding employers for student internships and work placements. The Career Office undertakes initiatives aimed at supporting students in their effective obtaining of employment. Based on the current student assessment, takes action to support the development of soft skills needed in the labour market. To this end, it conducts courses, individual training, and counselling as elements supporting the stage of establishing contact with employers. The office is involved in the implementation of projects carried out by the WSA for the development of the soft skills of students. The Career Office actively promotes its offer among students showing the attractiveness of using this form of support through positive examples. The experience of WSA as a vocational school of higher education indicates that the Career Office supports the didactic process both in the scope of students' professional development as well as in the development of their soft skills as an important element of competencies obtained at the university.
THE RECTOR'S PLENIPOTENTIARY FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
The role of the proxy is to support all students including those with disabilities. In doing so, it develops the following soft skills:
self-presentation,
communication skills,
adaptability
conflict resolution.
As a university, the WSA is open to providing disabled persons with access to study. An element of the university's development strategy is to ensure accessibility to potential students with disabilities by eliminating architectural barriers and creating appropriate and friendly study conditions for them. For this purpose, the university has an attorney for disabled persons. The task of the plenipotentiary is to support students with disabilities not only to the extent appropriate to their needs resulting from their situation but also to develop their social competencies and soft skills. The plenipotentiary moderates the inclusion of this group of students into academic life in cooperation with the local government and academic circles and professional careers in cooperation with the career office. Involving students with disabilities in various areas of student life as described above results in their inclusion and development of soft skills. In addition to eliminating barriers to the development of soft skills, these students have the opportunity to receive support in the form of individual sessions with a psychologist, educational consultant, and assistive technology specialist.
Consultations and sessions with the above-mentioned specialists allow for the effective development of soft skills through a broad approach to the needs of students with disabilities and building their openness and willingness to use the educational and non-educational offers of the university. The Trustee's experience shows that such an approach to people with disabilities increases their ability to develop soft skills for the transition from the home environment to the student environment and ultimately to the working environment.
THE TEACHING PROCESS
Unfortunately, soft-skills (life skills), unlike hard-skills, are not immediately observable and measurable, as they determine the intrinsic characteristics of the person: talent, ability to interact, personality, problem solving, the aptitude for teamwork, the spirit of initiative and so on. Transversal skills therefore include not only interpersonal skills, but also and above all the ability to manage various situations in an adequate, professional, and responsible manner. Paradoxically, they represent a critical knot of the lack of meeting between demand and supply of work. Fortunately, according to many scholars, these non-cognitive skills are not locked in our ego, but are the result of life experiences and, above all.
Considering that the development of soft skills can also make use of educational contexts, what can the University’s task be? To equip each student with these skills to face life “outside” first, and then, but not in the alternative, to understand and use them in the best possible way according to future opportunities coming from the world of work. Many recommendations at European Union level have underlined how these soft skills are fundamental in the labour market and have suggested training institutions to aim for the “integral” training of the person. This aspect had already been highlighted by various European indications and specifically the skills developed within the individual disciplines contribute in turn to the promotion of broader and transversal skills, which represent an essential condition for full personal fulfilment and for active participation in social life, oriented towards the values of civil coexistence and the common good.
The basic didactic process is carried out in the form of lectures, exercises, laboratories, and professional practice. The realization of the substantive scope is carried out in accordance with the university documents for the given field of study, i.e. the curriculum, study plan, and syllabuses for individual subjects. Each of the syllabuses contains the learning outcomes within the subjects, which include the knowledge to be acquired by the student, and skills and social competencies to be developed. In each syllabus, the lecturer defines the methods of teaching, and among them, some shape soft skills, e.g. teamwork, discussion, and case method. In the course of each course and each didactic process, soft skills are formed as an element of educational results in the scope of skills and social competencies.
Student's participation in the didactic process prepared in such a way serves to increase their competencies in the field of:
working and cooperating as a team,
leadership and division of roles within the team,
communication and leading the discussion and negotiation process,
time management,
striving for results,
problem-solving,
organisation of own work,
prioritisation,
acceptance of changes,
decision-making,
customer orientation,
presentation and self-presentation,
judgement skills,
operational capabilities,
systematic observations.
Lecturers' forms of teaching are also an element of transferring not only substantive knowledge but also shaping professional and social attitudes through the lecturer's example as a mentor.
CONCLUSIONS
The activities of the Luiss Guido Carli - Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali in Rome and the Higher School of Agribusiness are aimed at developing students' soft skills in such a way that they are best prepared for the needs and expectations of employers. The diverse catalogue of activities presented shows that the right approach to formal activities at the University can be used to develop students not only in a purely vocational direction but also in general skills. It should be borne in mind that any involvement of students in the formal and informal activities of the University allows them to gain new experience and at the same time increase their soft competencies, a clear manifestation of which is the need to communicate in every activity. When a student is involved in new areas of activity, he or she must, first of all, communicate with colleagues, which increases this skill. The catalogue of activities presented provides a basis for the development of students and their soft skills.