Developing a future-ready global workforce: A case study from a leading UK university

The International Journal of Management Education 16 (2018) 245–255

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Re: Developing future-ready global workforce: A case study from a leading UK university

T

Sonal Minocha∗, Dean Hristov, Samantha Leahy-Harland Bournemouth University, Bournemouth & Poole, Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5BB, United Kingdom

A R T IC LE I N F O

ABS TRA CT:

Keywords: Internationalisation Graduate employability Skills development Global talent

Amid macro-level developments including globalisation and recent technological advancements and demographic shifts, the need to prepare future-ready and globally-aware graduates has gained fresh momentum within the Higher Education (HE) sector. This need is further emphasised by high graduate unemployment levels suggesting that more needs to be done to ensure graduates have the right kind of skills and attributes to succeed in a globally-competitive employment market. HE institutions have responded by firmly embedding internationalisation in their core institutional mission and vision. However, there remains scope for integrating internationalisation with employability initiatives. Against this backdrop, the paper provides insights into the development and first year of implementation of the Global Talent Programme (GTP) at Bournemouth University from the perspective of students. A case study approach is adopted to explore the impact of the GTP on the student experience and learning outcomes. Findings suggest that the GTP enables students to develop a range of skills, competencies and attributes of relevance to the future global workforce and workplace, whilst also providing opportunities to apply these skills. The paper discusses potential implications for other institutions wishing to develop their graduates as a future-ready global workforce.

1. Introduction The purpose of this paper is to present Bournemouth University's Global Talent Programme as a potentially innovative response to the challenges UK higher education is facing in developing employable graduates who can work successfully beyond geographic boundaries (Higher Education Academy, 2016; Times Higher Education, 2016a). Preparing university leavers to be successful in the graduate market has long been a key priority for higher education institutions (HEIs) (Sheppard, Minocha, & Hristov, 2015; Tomlinson, 2017; Wilton, 2011) and especially for Management Education (ME) and business schools (Azevedo, Apfelthaler, & Hurst, 2012). However, amid macro-level trends including globalisation, recent technological innovations (McKinsey, 2017) and demographic developments (Deloitte, 2017), the need to prepare future-ready and globally-aware graduates has gained fresh momentum within HEIs (Hristov & Minocha, 2017) against the backdrop of a highly competitive labour market. An increased focus on globalisation requires students to effectively navigate across cultures and borders and highlights the importance of developing a global mindset (Sorrell, 2016). Equally, technological innovations, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics are reshaping the nature of work (McKinsey, 2017). The latter, together with demographic trends whereby over 30% of the global workforce by 2050 will come from China and India alone (Deloitte, 2017), call for the development of a new breed of global graduate talent to join the highly-competitive labour market.

∗

Corresponding author. Bournemouth University, P508, Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, Poole, BH12 5BB, United Kingdom. E-mail address: [email protected] (S. Minocha).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2018.03.002 Received 6 December 2017; Received in revised form 27 February 2018; Accepted 22 March 2018 1472-8117/ © 2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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This renewed focus is particularly evident in the trend around developing global attributes, and associated concepts of developing a global mindset (see Sorrell, 2016), global heartset (see Ross & Hallowell, 2016) and global skillset (see Brimm, 2015). This shift to developing global skills and attributes has been evident in the context of both HE generally and ME in particular (Bennett & Kane, 2011; Randolph, 2011). Whilst considerable work has been done to ensure that graduates entering the workforce are equipped with the right skills and attributes, research shows that 58% of graduates in the UK are in non-graduate or lower skilled jobs (Chartered Institute for Personnel Development, 2015) and 5.2% of university leavers are unemployed (HESA, 2017). Beyond the UK, graduate unemployment is a challenge for both developing and other developed economies. Graduate unemployment in developing economies such as India stands at 47% (British Council, 2016) and 31.4% in Malaysia (Edu Advisor, 2016). Despite developed economies demonstrating lower graduate unemployment levels in comparison, nevertheless 6.8% of graduates in France and 4.7% of graduates in Canada are still unemployed (OECD, 2015). This global picture of graduate employment suggests more needs to be done to ensure graduates have the right kind and level of skills and attributes to succeed in a globally-competitive employment market. This is an opportunity for graduates to secure a graduate-level employment for those keen to pursue this labour market entry route amid other labour market routes including apprenticeships (see Coole, Ioras, Bandara, Arraiza, & López, 2017), traineeships (see Fitzpatrick, Coleman, Shanahan, Coleman, & Cordes, 2017) and the self-employment or the entrepreneurial route (see Ren, Zhu, & Warner, 2017). HE institutions and business schools in particular have responded by firmly embedding internationalisation (Hudzik, 2011) in their core institutional mission and vision. However, there remains scope for integrating internationalisation with employability initiatives (Times Higher Education, 2016a). Many HEIs have introduced innovative approaches and initiatives to provide experiential learning in a global context and to give students the opportunity to develop a range of global skills and attributes (see AGCAS, 2015a; Sheppard et al., 2015). However, more can be done, as Hawawini (2017, p.1) argues: “HE institutions should redouble their efforts to offer a truly global learning experience and global knowledge to those who seek it” - something that should be firmly embedded in HE institution's internationalisation mission statements' (Cheng, Kitigawa, & Osborne, 2017). Set against this backdrop, the central purpose of this paper is to describe and evaluate Bournemouth University's Global Talent Programme (GTP), which has been designed to address calls for future-ready and globally aware graduates (Blessinger, 2015; Smith & Meaney, 2016; Sorrell, 2016). The review of the literature discusses key academic contributions focused on the development of global graduate attributes, such as mindsets, heartsets and skillsets amidst a globalised context; the importance of providing opportunities for students to apply these attributes in real-life contexts and practice; and the challenge of articulation and demonstration of these graduate skills and attributes. The paper concludes by providing potential implications for other HEIs who may wish to reshape their global skills development and graduate employability offers. 2. Literature review 2.1. Internationalisation and the importance of developing global attributes Graduate employability is high on the agenda for the UK Government (Leitch, 2006; Minocha, Hristov, & Reynolds, 2017b), employers (Harvey & Knight, 2003), and for the UK HE sector. This emphasis on employability is of course reflected across global HE; employability rankings being one such indicator of this (i.e. Times Higher Education's Global University Employability Rankings, Times Higher Education, 2016b; and QS Graduate Employability Rankings, QS, 2017). Universities and their business schools however face considerable challenges in this area. The latest World Economic Forum (WEF) report predicts that by 2020 over one third of the skills that are considered important in today's workforce will have changed considerably and around five million jobs will become extinct due to technological developments impacting the workforce and workplace (Mirza, 2017; World Economic Forum, 2016). Arguably, macro-level developments such as the penetration of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (see McKinsey, 2017) which are reshaping the nature of work call for the development of a wider set of global employability skills and attributes in graduates, such as adaptability, emotional intelligence and cross-cultural communication (Brimm, 2015). There are also calls for greater innovation in the provision of institutional employability practice (Alegre, 2016;; Rae, 2007). Whilst many universities and their business schools have embedded employability and employability-related skills in courses and student support services (Levitas, 2005; Tymon, 2011, pp. 1–16; Wilton, 2011; Yorke, 2004), UK HE has been criticised for its slow pace in responding to the global challenges facing graduates (Barber, Donnelly, Rizvi, & Summers, 2013, p. 78; Minocha, Reynolds, & Hristov, 2017a). Employers too have criticised universities for not sufficiently integrating ‘global attributes’ into their provision. The 2016 CBI and Pearson Education and Skills Survey demonstrated that employers are unsatisfied with the availability of graduate attributes and skills considered to be of key importance to the future workforce, such as resilience, global awareness and problem solving (CBI and Pearson, 2016). Another survey of 400 employers echoed this, identifying that graduates are not adequately prepared for the workforce, lacking exposure to real world learning and essential skills such as creative thinking and teamwork (CareerBuilder UK, 2015). Amidst the growing influence of internationalisation on the world of work, the importance of developing global attributes in students and graduates is an important element of HEIs response to the impact of internationalisation on the World of Work (WoW) (Blessinger, 2015; Smith & Meaney, 2016; Sorrell, 2016). Bennett (2008) argues in favour of the importance of developing three sets of attributes, namely mindsets, heartsets and skillsets. A mindset, according to Bennett (2008, p.18), is informed by a set of cognitive competencies, which “include cultural-general 246

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knowledge, culture-specific knowledge, identity development patterns, cultural adaptation processes, and the first priority: cultural self-awareness” (2008, p.18). Sorrell (2016) argued that the possession of a global mindset is linked to the understanding of cultural differences, demonstrating an open and flexible approach, and having the ability to deal with an international context. Not only then should graduates with a global mindset exercise active global citizenship but they should also develop and demonstrate a broad understanding of key global economic, environmental, political and societal themes and impacts. Bennett (2008, p.19) goes onto describe a heartset as informed by a set of affective competencies, which include “curiosity, initiative, risk taking, suspension of judgment, cognitive flexibility, tolerance of ambiguity, cultural humility, and resourcefulness” (p.20). Ross and Hallowell (2016) argued that successful global leaders use more than their minds, but are aware of their own and others’ emotions, enabling them to make meaningful connections across differences. Graduates with a global heartset should therefore be able to demonstrate a wide range of inter- and intra-personal qualities such as tolerance and humility. Finally, a skillset is defined by Bennett (2008, p.20), as a set of behavioural competencies, which include “such characteristics and skills as the ability to empathise, gather appropriate information, listen, perceive accurately, and manage social interactions and anxiety” (p.19). Brimm (2015) highlights that the key components for the development of a global skillset include attributes such as adaptive capacity, relational awareness, different ways of knowing, and navigating through multiple lenses and perspectives that help individuals understand, recognise and integrate across complex global dynamics. By adding a global dimension to the concepts of mindsets, heartsets and skillsets, there is the potential for providing the basis of a comprehensive framework capable of responding to the graduate employment challenges faced by HEIs across the globe. Not only does the rapidly-changing world of work call for the development of global graduate attributes (Bennett, 2008; Blessinger, 2015; Smith & Meaney, 2016; Sorrell, 2016) but it requires students to practice these attributes through experiential learning and application (Jenson, 2004; Stayt & Merriman, 2013). The latter is discussed in the next section of the literature review. 2.2. The importance of experiential learning and application opportunities Building on the limited evidence of providing employability opportunities for students in a global context, there have also been criticisms on the lack of opportunities for students to apply skills in practical settings (Cuthbertson, 1996; Jenson, 2004), which are considered important in developing employable graduates (Stayt & Merriman, 2013). As McGuinness (2006) argues, teaching is ineffective unless it is supplemented by opportunities to apply the skills learned in the classroom. Several studies identify that HE can help to meet the graduate needs of employers through utilising experiential learning approaches (Kolb, 2014; Minocha et al., 2017b; Rattenbury, Rennison, McEwen, & Holmes, 2018; Teichler, 1999). Current practice in the UK HE sector of experiential learning includes short to long term placements and internships, project based learning in and outside the classroom, and, a range of co-curricular and extra-curricular provision by institutions. Examples recognised by the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS) include but are not limited to some notable co-curricular and extracurricular initiatives that we discuss in this section. The Birmingham Personal Skills Award is an extra-curricular, dual pathway employability award designed to enable students to develop, recognise, and articulate their employability. In addition, the PSA offers a PSA (Advanced) pathway for students that have demonstrated a significant commitment to developing their employability (AGCAS, 2015a). Another institutional employability initiative includes Frontrunners, which is an innovative co-curricular student and graduate work scheme by the University of Essex aimed at improving student employability through graduate-level placements focused on equipping students with industry-relevant skills required by employers (AGCAS, 2015a). The World of Work (WoW) by Liverpool John Moores is an extra-curricular initiative that enables students to learn about themselves and their readiness for the graduate recruitment process whilst also helping students develop their ability to evidence skills, knowledge and experience effectively (AGCAS, 2013). The University of Edinburgh have also shaped their response to changing employer requirements by introducing the Edinburgh Award giving students the opportunity to get recognition for their involvement in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. The Award also features a developmental process that supports students from the institution in learning to excel, increasing their positive impact and their personal and professional growth (AGCAS, 2013). Similar to Edinburgh, the University of Worcester have developed the Worcester Award, which also recognises a range of extracurricular student activities and experiences across work experience, personal and skills development, and employability activities (AGCAS, 2015b). Building on these institutional employability practices is the University of Reading's Reading Experience and Development (RED) Award, which in addition to extra-curricular opportunities, also provides innovative accredited modules where students undertake work experience (AGCAS, 2015b). Whilst providing innovation in the delivery of student and graduate employability these predominantly extra-curricular approaches may not be fully responding to calls to prepare future-ready and globally-aware graduates (Cox, 2016; Smith & Meaney, 2016). This is due to the limited evidence across these and other AGCAS submissions of institutions that provide sufficient opportunities for students to be immersed in or apply their learning in a global practice context. Opportunities for students to practice and further develop global graduate attributes, according to McGuinness (2006) contribute to preparing university-leavers, who are workforce-ready and can succeed in a global context. Hence, not only are universities encouraged by the government to embed employability into their provision, but also to include opportunities for application of skills in real-life contexts (Galloway, Marks, & Chillas, 2014). Not only does the literature call for the introduction of opportunities for students to practice newly-acquired global attributes through experiential learning and application (Kolb, 2014; Teichler, 1999) but what has also been deemed of key importance is the ability of students to articulate developed global attributes (Holmes, 2001). Articulation and demonstration of developed attributes 247

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has been seen as a challenge and discussed as such in the graduate employability literature (Brooks, 2012; Dacre Pool & Sewell, 2007; Holmes, 2001; Markes, 2006). This is a subject of discussion in the next and last section of the literature review. 2.3. Challenges related to articulation and demonstration of graduate attributes Challenges faced by students, which relate to the articulation and demonstration of graduate attributes have been well recognised in the graduate employability and skills development literature (Brooks, 2012; Dacre Pool & Sewell, 2007; Holmes, 2001; Markes, 2006). By employing a ‘graduate identity’ approach, Holmes (2001, p.117) concluded that students and graduates “should seek to articulate what they claim they can do in terms that relate to the practices relevant to the occupational settings they wish to enter.” Hence the ability of individuals to reflect on and communicate their skills and competences is as important as their ability to engage with employability opportunities (Markes, 2006). Elias (2014) investigated the employer voice on fresh university graduates entering the world of work and concluded that employers expect students to enter the job market with skills that they are able to articulate in the hiring process. Building on this, Dacre Pool and Sewell (2007) found too that employers value graduates, who go on to articulate what they have learnt. A study by Brooks (2012) also supports these employer-informed findings where the author highlighted the importance of demonstrating the ability to articulate one's skills and experience. Amid such calls in the academic literature, there have been various approaches to help students articulate and demonstrate that they have developed sought-after skills and attributes. These include employability portfolios, which demonstrate skills to prospective employers (Love & Cooper, 2004; Stemmer, Brown, & Smith, 1992); progress files as a way of representing complex learning and achievements in HE (Jackson and Ward, 2004); gamification and the achievement of badges (Becker & Nicholson, 2016) alongside other approaches. The literature nevertheless suggests that many students are unable to articulate and communicate the skills and attributes that they develop (Elias, 2014; Holdsworth & Brewis, 2014). Elias (2014) for example found out that while employers look for industryinformed skills and attributes, students and graduates often lack the ability to adequately articulate and demonstrate those skills in their curriculum vitae and during an interview. Findings from other studies also highlight that many students are often unable to or experience difficulties with communicating to employers the skills and attributes developed during their time at university (Holdsworth & Brewis, 2014). The review of the literature critically examined key academic contributions across three domains of relevance to this study, namely (1) the importance of developing global graduate attributes, such as mindsets, heartsets and skillsets amidst growing globalisation; (2) the importance of providing opportunities for students to apply these attributes in real-life contexts and practice; and (3) the challenge of articulation and demonstration of developed graduate skills and attributes. Collectively these provide insight and critique into the graduate employability and employment landscape. The review of the literature together with industry voices suggest that more needs to be done in this area (Minocha et al., 2017a; Rae, 2007; Smith & Meaney, 2016). 3. Methodology The purpose of this research is to position and explore the relevance of Bournemouth University's (BU) Global Talent Programme (GTP) as a potential tool for responding to the need to develop future-ready graduates. A case study approach (see Yin, 2013) was identified as the most appropriate methodology to explore in-depth the strategic development and operational implementation of the pilot GTP at BU during the academic year 2015/16. The study sample predominantly consisted of students from the Faculty of Management at BU who have both engaged with and completed the GTP. The aim was to explore and understand the student perspective on the immediate impact of the Programme on their skills development and learning gain. The case study was complemented with a questionnaire survey to participants on the GTP examining their student learning experience and outcomes on each stage of the programme as well as their overall experience. Fixed questions provided students with the opportunity to rate their experience of each stage by adopting a five-point Likert scale ranging from Excellent to Poor (5 = Excellent, 4 = Very good, 3 = Good, 2 = Fair, 1 = Poor). Open-ended questions provided students with the opportunity to expand on what they liked about each stage and what they learnt on each stage. The questionnaire was distributed to 61 students who successfully completed the pilot GTP. In total, 30 students responded (a response rate of 49%). Building on survey questionnaires, a total of 10 in-depth semi-structured interviews with students who have participated in the GTP aimed to capture diverse student perspectives on the student experience and learning outcomes through the five stages of the Programme (Table 1). The collected unstructured qualitative data was used as input into NVivo, a qualitative data interpretation and analysis tool. NViVo10 (QSR International, 2018), was adopted with the purpose to provide structure to the qualitative data and assist with the Table 1 Study methodology. Method

Survey questionnaires

Semi-structured interviews

Target Group Sample

Students who have completed the GTP 30

Students who have been engaged with the GTP 10

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identification of emerging themes and perspectives in relation to different student outcome aspects of learning. on the Programme. These included learner-centred aspects such as global knowledge gained and new skills developed on the programme. Quantitative data collected through the student survey questionnaire were analysed using the in-built data analysis and visualisation tool hosted on the survey questionnaire platform to support the analysis and interpretation of quantitative data. 4. Findings and discussion 4.1. The global talent programme case study Developing the GTP The GTP fused two core institutional and sectoral agendas, internationalisation and employability, and was designed to be an educational expression of BU's vision for a Global BU. Current evidence suggests that most universities look at these agendas separately (Times Higher Education, 2016a); in contrast, the GTP fuses these and places the student, as future global talent, at the heart of its proposition. We believe the GTP has the potential for addressing government's and employer's critique of graduate skills (see Blessinger, 2015; Smith & Meaney, 2016; Sorrell, 2016) by providing a solution that is informed by policy, (e.g. UK's Industrial Strategy) and engages meaningfully with employers in the co-creation of the Programme. The development of the GTP included prior extensive research into current and future skills and attributes in the WoW supplemented by an investigation into the UK HE sector's employability provision across institutions (presented in the literature review). Developing the GTP also included extensive campus engagement with staff and students through focus groups and workshops. The cross-institutional involvement of both academics and professional services through a newly established Global Talent and Employability Group (GTEG) has also been core to its development. The GTP framework: developing global mindsets, global heartsets and global skillsets Drawing on the work of Bennett (2008) described in the literature review above, the GTP attempts to respond to the requirements for shaping talent in such a way that its global dimension becomes firmly embedded in the very notion of talent. This integration of the global dimension to Bennett's notion of mindsets, heartsets and skillsets, forms the foundation of the GTP. An equally important principle underpinning the GTP is ensuring students have the space to practice and apply the learning and knowledge gained through real-life, hands-on experiences. The GTP was consequently structured alongside five distinctive stages and aims to provide students with the opportunity to both develop and importantly apply a set of global talent attributes, as follows:

• Stage 1 - Shaping Global Mindsets - gives students the opportunity to develop global awareness and a broad understanding of key global economic, environmental and societal themes. This stage also introduces the concept of Global Talent (see Sorrell, 2016). • Stage 2 - Engaging Global Communities - gives students the opportunity to be exposed to and learn from a multitude of inter• • •

national contexts through global communities and events on campus. This stage helps students develop a global heartset, a concept that has been gaining prominence in recent years (see Ross & Hallowell, 2016). Stage 3 - Developing Global Skills - gives students the opportunity to gain a broad understanding of and develop the skills required by employers through immersion in global practice (see Brimm, 2015). This involves practice-based learning often facilitated by employers and industry representatives (Hynes, Costin, & Birdthistle, 2010). Stage 4 - Delivering a Global Challenge Response - gives students the opportunity to deliver a solution to a global challenge, such as global hunger, air pollution and displacement of people, by applying the global mindset, heartset and skillset attributes that they have developed throughout stages 1–3. This approach involves global project-based learning (see Larmer, Mergendoller, & Boss, 2015), which has been shown to be key to developing the global employability of graduates. Stage 5 - Demonstrating Global Impact - gives students the opportunity to demonstrate global impact and receive recognition of their achievement. This builds on recent calls highlighting that students often face challenges when it comes to articulating the employability skills and attributes they develop (see Smith et al., 2009).

Award progression and completion takes place in a staged fashion whereby students collect badges towards their GT Award and are immersed in the extra-curricular portfolio of activities spread across four clusters, namely: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Global Awareness activity cluster (Stage 1) focused on the development of global mindset attributes; Sports, Arts, Communities and Culture activity cluster (Stage 2) aimed at the development of global heartset attributes; PPD and Work Experience activity cluster (Stage 3) enabling the development of global skillset attributes; Advanced Skills activity cluster (Stage 4) with a focus on the application of global mindset, heartset and skillset attributes; and Research, Innovation and Impact activity cluster (Stage 5) enabling the demonstration of impact.

The GTP portfolio of activities A portfolio of over 100 extra-curricular activities underpins these five stages of the GTP. These activities include stage-tailored core sessions delivered by BU staff, employers and entrepreneurs. These core sessions are mandatory and must be completed to gain the final Global Talent Award. Alongside these core sessions and activities, students on the Programme have access to a range of additional global talent games and immersion events, sessions and workshops on campus. Students can select from this wide menu of optional extra-curricular activities to fulfil the requirements of the GTP. 249

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To be eligible for an award, all undergraduate students are required to complete at least one core and two optional activities (or two core and one optional) for each of the three stages. Postgraduate students are expected to also complete Stage 4 on the Programme to be eligible for an award, by completing at least one core and two optional activities (or two core and one optional) for this stage. Once students have signed up for their chosen core and optional GTP activities, students upload evidence to demonstrate that they have completed these activities. Student evidence can be a certificate of participation or an email confirming their involvement. The evidence is then reviewed and assessed by a member of staff. Making the GTP accessible An important principle underpinning the GTP is that it needed to be accessible and could fit within a student's busy schedule. The GTP has therefore been designed to provide a range of engagement opportunities, both physical and digital, to encourage and support the completion of the GTP. The GTP has also been designed such that the core activities take around 2 h a week, and that the optional activities include opportunities across the four activity clusters available to students and accessible via the innovative GTP Portal. The latter provides students with a single platform through which they can access and engage in these activities, at a time and place to suit them. Digitally, the students’ experience is positively influenced through an online platform, the Global Talent Portal, that allows students to access and engage with the full extra-curricular employability offer in a single location, at any time and in any place. Core sessions are also filmed and made available on the portal for those who were unable to make the timetabled sessions. The GTP portal enables an innovative gamification-driven student experience delivered in both a self-directed and facilitated format enabling immersive cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural learning through global talent games across each stage on the Programme. Over 200 students have engaged with gamification experiences through the facilitated and self-directed global talent games. Employer engagement Critical in the design, development and delivery of the GTP has been employer engagement, which provides a response to employer calls for HEIs to assist with developing graduate's global employability (Hristov & Minocha, 2017). A total of 71% of the Global Talent Programme's core sessions to date have been delivered by global employers, consultants, social entrepreneurs and other industry practitioners. Organisations which have been involved in the GTP range from large global employers such as PepsiCo and Hays Recruitment, to local organisations, employers and entrepreneurs with a global reach and headquarters abroad. The value of this was brought out by one student who commented: “… good to learn what employers are looking for and generally learn about the work environment …” Student engagement and completions In the pilot year in 2015/16, the GTP was open to a targeted group of just over 200 predominantly postgraduate students from the Faculty of Management starting their course in January 2016. By the end of the pilot in May 2016, a total of 188 students had engaged with the programme, with 165 having attended one or more sessions. In total, 61 students received a certificate of participation for attending the minimum required number of sessions. This suggests that 88% of the targeted student cohort engaged with the GTP with 32% fully completing the Programme in the 2015-16 academic year. The Programme involved a mix of home and international students from over 20 countries, whereby students from other EU and overseas countries represented over 70% of the overall student cohort. International and home students were thus given the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with each other during all stages of the GTP. The GTP pilot has successfully enabled the refinement of the underpinning framework prior to the launch of the GTP to all BU students in 2016–17, which has seen 600 students register. 4.2. Student feedback on the Global Talent Programme “… the Global Talent Programme has really inspired me to think in a global context.” (GTP Student, 2015/16) A total of 30 student surveys were included for analysis. Students were asked to reflect on their journey through each of the five stages of the GTP as well as their overall experience. The findings on each stage showed similar levels of satisfaction with 65% of students rating their experience as either excellent or very good in Stage 1, rising to 87% of students on Stages 4 and 5. The remaining part of this section examines the qualitative survey responses of students’ experiences and learning outcomes on each stage. Stage 1 Developing a set of global mindset attributes, including cross-cultural awareness, open-mindedness, growth mindset, and creativity was at the core of Stage 1 of the GTP. Such attributes, as argued by Danielewicz-Betz and Kawaguchi (2014) are becoming an important differentiator for students entering the workforce. Analysis of the open-ended survey questions on Stage 1 showed that students valued the atmosphere, interactiveness, co-creation, and engagement with other students whilst learning. An important aspect of this learning environment was the profile of the student cohort, including both home and international students. The 250

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collaborative Global Talent Activity as part of this stage enabled students to develop their cross-cultural communication skills and global knowledge: “I liked the fact that we were given the opportunity to point out global issues, forming different groups and bringing in different ideas from various field of study and background (continent and country wise).” Students also commented that it was “useful to learn what attributes and skills are required for global talent” whilst other students highlighted the opportunity to gain an outsider perspective through “great presentations with great guests.” Students also highlighted the opportunity to develop global awareness as a significant learning gain from this stage, seeing it as ‘an eye opener’ for many global issues and which they felt they should be aware of when entering the workforce. Building on these insights, a total of 65% of the students who took part in the survey questionnaire reflected that their learning experience on this stage had been either excellent or very good. Stage 2 Students had the opportunity to develop a set of global heartset attributes, including inclusivity, respect, empathy, and conscientiousness in relation to oneself and in relation to others through the second stage of the GTP. Global heartset attributes are gaining prominence (see Ross & Hallowell, 2016) and students should be able to develop and demonstrate such attributes. In this stage, students reflected on the opportunity that they were given to develop empathy, cross-cultural understanding and other heartset attributes through group activities, as well as through session talks and opportunities for students to build their professional networks: “The stage gave me the opportunity to learn or re-confirm certain attributes that not only employers are looking for, but that I want to develop for my personal gain. Making sure you have an open mind and being conscious for example.” Five students reported that this stage had enabled an improved understanding of cultural differences. Others found sessions on this stage to be “interesting and inspiring” particularly with a focus on developing empathy and understanding, as one student commented: “Session 1 … was really interesting, and helpful to make people aware about the type of personal factors to take into consideration in a globalised world.” A total of 74% of the students stated that their learning experience on this stage of the Programme had been either excellent or very good. Stage 3 Through the third stage on the GTP students were exposed to employer engagement, which enabled them to understand current global workforce and workplace trends and gain insights into entrepreneurship strategy and practice. As global employer engagement is key for developing employable graduates (Diamond, Walkley, Forbes, Hughes, & Sheen, 2011), the learning approach as part of this stage on the GTP enables students to develop global skillset attributes that are relevant for the workforce and workplace. The extensive employer input into this stage exposed students to current developments and trends in the global world of work, such as AI and robotics (see McKinsey, 2017) and how they impact the recruitment and career journey. For example, Hays, being among the largest global recruiting firms with headquarters in 33 countries, was involved in the co-delivery of this stage. Students commented on the value and insights gained from employers during this stage, including the: “hands on tips and knowledge” gained through this employer interaction. Another student on the GTP said they gained “insights for entrepreneurship skills from employers” which they felt were “excellent” and provided “useful real world tips and advice”. A common theme among students was the opportunities for hands-on, practical learning led by global industry representatives and employers in the classroom: “It is a great opportunity to learn about global skillsets from people directly engaged with these. Having the opportunity to reflect on the topic while in a workshop in small groups was interesting and helpful to understand how so many skills are interconnected for different industries.” A total of 82% of the students who took part in the survey reflected that their learning experience on this third stage of the GTP had been either excellent or very good; a finding influenced by the extensive industry engagement during this stage. Stage 4 Students applied the knowledge gained during Stages 1–3 on the fourth stage of the GTP through collaborative project work on global challenges. In terms of students’ open-ended responses, they emphasised the importance of this fourth stage in serving as a platform to apply and practice the concepts around global mindset, heartset and skillset. One student described: “I liked that we could apply our knowledge” whilst another student highlighted: “teamworking and independence” as key defining features of this stage. Others enjoyed the opportunity to address a global challenge through a hands-on, practice driven exercise through their applied project. Coffey (2008) concluded that the provision of viable solutions via project-based learning is an increasingly common and effective mode of learning in UK HE and the value of this was reiterated by a student who commented that what made this stage exciting and engaging was the opportunity to “have a challenge and practice.” The majority of students who took part in the GTP echoed this opinion and reflected on this stage's opportunity to address a real global challenge and come up with an impact solution: 251

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“What I really liked about this stage was the practical learning experience, especially the second session when we were told to come up with a problem that has a global impact and a solution to it.” Through the inclusion of global problem-based learning opportunities, the fourth stage of the GTP aims to respond to criticisms over the limited provision of skills application and hands on opportunities for students (e.g. Cuthbertson, 1996; Jenson, 2004), and which we know is crucial for developing employable graduates (Stayt & Merriman, 2013). As McGuinness (2006) argued, teaching is ineffective unless it is supplemented by opportunities to apply the skills learned in the classroom. A total of 87% of respondents rated their learning experience on Stage 4 has been either excellent or very good. Stage 5 Through the fifth and final stage on the Programme, students had the opportunity to participate in the #IAmGlobalTalent digital campaign on social media, where they were challenged to pitch their skills, competencies and attributes in a creative way. This activity was seen as an opportunity for them to shape a personal approach to articulating their knowledge and abilities and practice it. One student reflected how the opportunity to demonstrate impact and reflect on learning gain was an opportunity to work on their interpersonal and presentation skills. For others, this fifth stage unlocked curiosity to explore the world: “Being a Global Talent means not only being able to communicate and operate in a global environment. For me it is something more. By being a Global Talent, I also understand having the courage to explore the world.” Literature on HE learning and teaching suggests that students are often unable to articulate the skills, competencies and attributes they develop through the course of their learning (see Brooks, 2012; Elias, 2014) and that students should be supported by universities in learning how to articulate their employability skills (Smith et al., 2009). The fifth stage on the GTP aims to do just this, but providing students with a platform to practice and articulate the attributes that they have developed and applied throughout the first four stages. Consequently, the majority of respondents (87%) judged this stage as either excellent or very good. The clear majority of students (91%) surveyed rated their experience on the Programme as either excellent or very good with no students rating their experience as fair or poor (Fig. 1). The overall experience on the GTP was evidenced by examples given by students in the open-ended questions of the adopted survey instrument and semi-structured interviews. Some students highlighted the opportunity to take part in the GTP as a very rewarding experience, whilst others highlighted the impact of the Programme on developing their mindset and inspiring them to think and act in a global context. Another student on the GTP highlighted the learning they have acquired through co-delivery of sessions with global employers and academics: “Thank you for your hard work to bring us great guest speakers on the programme. We learnt a lot during this journey. I look forward to applying all the knowledge I gained in practice!” (Student on the GTP) Some student reflections demonstrated the strong personal and developmental impact of the Programme. One student highlighted “the opportunity to learn from some of the best in the field and to become a Global Talent” whilst other students provided an insight into how the GTP builds upon their degree knowledge and skills: “The Global Talent Programme is completed! This has been one amazing journey for me and I learnt so much during these five months! I built my confidence, improved and gained new skills and have awareness of many different topics and problems around the world” (Student on the GTP) Students in their overall comments emphasised the opportunity to interact, with a range of global stakeholders, broaden their understanding and ideas and gain practical global knowledge, which will be helpful in their future professional journeys. There were several characteristic features of the GTP, which students particularly welcomed, and which from the literature review (see Stayt & Merriman, 2013; Quinn, Heynoski, Thomas, & Spreitzer, 2014), appear to be distinctive features of the Global Talent Programme. First, students valued the co-creation of their learning experience with employers and fellow students. Social learning and cocreated content with students is high on the sectoral agenda (Quinn et al., 2014) and for some challenges the central tenet of

Fig. 1. UG and PG students rating their overall experince on the Global Talent Programme (in %). 252

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education and teacher-student roles. The participation of both home and international students on the GTP enabled cross-cultural learning by inculcating a sense of global citizenship in students and developing soft skills such as cross-cultural communication, emotional intelligence and global awareness, all key attributes required by the workforce (Sorrell, 2016). In so doing, the GTP specifically seeks to elevate the students' role in this process as 'co-producers' and not just 'consumers'. This is a key feature for conceptual models of teaching and learning (Streeting & Wise, 2009, p. 616) so that students, ‘ … are viewed as essential partners in the production of the knowledge and skills that form the intended learning outcomes’. Secondly, the extensive employer input (with 71% of the sessions co-created in partnership with global employers) was a key feature of the GTP. Developing a broader set of attributes, such as mindset, heartset and skillset attributes, is key to the future of graduates (Smith & Meaney, 2016) and helps to address employer critiques related to the preparedness of graduates for the world of work (CBI and Pearson, 2016). Thirdly, the practical application of skills and learning was another distinctive feature of the GTP and specifically sought to respond to criticisms on the lack of skills application and hands on opportunities for students (Cuthbertson, 1996; Jenson, 2004; Stayt & Merriman, 2013). Teaching, whilst important, should be supplemented by opportunities for students to apply the skills and attributes acquired in the classroom (McGuinness, 2006). Finally, there are several studies which suggest that students are often unable to articulate the skills, competencies and attributes they develop through the course of their learning (Brooks, 2012; Elias, 2014) and state that students should be supported by universities in learning how to articulate their employability skills (Smith et al., 2009). The GTP again attempts to provide students with a platform to understand and practice how they articulate the attributes that they have developed and applied throughout the Programme and Stage 5 in particular. 5. Avenues for future research; implications and conclusions The purpose of this paper was to examine to what extent the Global Talent Programme has the potential to provide a credible means of tackling the challenges to prepare work-ready and globally-aware graduates in today's (and tomorrow's) rapidly changing world of work (Blessinger, 2015; Smith & Meaney, 2016). A case study approach was adopted whereby the GTP was used as an illustrative example of developing students as global talent. From the review of existing employability offers, it appears that the GTP is innovative in its fusing of two strategic institutional agendas – internationalisation and employability. In contrast to existing provision across the sector, what the GTP also does, which others appear to not do, is to provide a clear attribute/skill framework that: a) is inclusive of a diversity of skills, competencies and attributes; b) adds a global dimension to these; and, c) seeks to reflect the complexity of today's world of work through the perspective of employers and policy makers. The GTP and its framework also aim to respond to key criticisms in the literature related to the importance of developing global graduate attributes, such as mindsets, heartsets and skillsets amidst deepening globalisation (Bennett, 2008; Blessinger, 2015; Smith & Meaney, 2016; Sorrell, 2016), the importance of providing opportunities for students to apply these attributes in real-life contexts and practice (Cuthbertson, 1996; Jenson, 2004), and the challenge of articulation and demonstration of developed graduate skills and attributes (Brooks, 2012; Dacre Pool & Sewell, 2007; Holmes, 2001; Markes, 2006), which were discussed at the outset of this paper. Overall, the literature points to a need to develop global and work-ready graduates amidst macro-level technological and demographic developments reshaping the workforce and workplace in times of globalisation (Sheppard et al., 2015; Tomlinson, 2017; Wilton, 2011). Solutions driven by institutions and their business schools, which shape a response to this challenge appear to be limited, or at least in the literature (Minocha et al., 2017a; Rattenbury et al., 2018) and this has been echoed in the world of practice (Blessinger, 2015; Sorrell, 2016). This paper and the underlying research attempts to redress this balance by offering an insight to the Global Talent Programme as an opportunity to address the need to develop global and workforce-ready graduates who pursue the graduate-level employment labour market entry route. In discussing the limitations of our study and its findings, we acknowledge that assessing the longer-term impact of the GTP on students, which goes beyond the immediate experiential and learning outcomes, is required. Consequently, a longitudinal study into the employment outcomes of students post-graduation is recommended and would provide important insights into the effectiveness of the GTP. Additionally, as the study was based on a single case study, it is not possible to enable cross-comparison with other similar programmes bringing together employability and internationalisation. Further research looking at the outcomes of other institutional employability models and frameworks would therefore be beneficial. Through the adopted methodology, our study aimed to provide an insight into the student voice in the immediate impact of innovative employability interventions, including learning outcomes and skills gained. We nevertheless acknowledge that studentdriven longitudinal impact data has the potential to provide more meaningful insights six, 12 and 18 months after graduation and completion of the GTP particularly if this data is correlated with employer insights. This paper provides a particular labour market entry perspective – that of graduate-level employment. We thus acknowledge that not all university-leavers may aspire to taking up graduate-level employment opportunities nor all graduates would have access to this labour market entry route. Some graduates would opt in for alternative labour market entry routes such as apprenticeships, traineeships and self-employment. Nevertheless, despite these limitations, our study has provided insights into the perceptions of students of the immediate impact of an innovative global employability intervention and in so doing, the findings should be of interest to both practitioners and researchers alike. In particular, findings from this study may prove to be of practical importance to other universities, both in the UK 253

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and further afield with an interest in fusing internationalisation and employability. Embedding internationalisation into employability is also particularly relevant to ME and business school leadership due to the increasingly global and inter-connected nature of the subject matter (Bennett & Kane, 2011; Chartered ABS, 2015). In addressing Hawawini's (2017) call for HE institutions to offer truly global knowledge, learning experience and skills development opportunities, there is a need for further evidence from HE practice, both in the UK and internationally, of how institutions are developing workforce-ready, global graduates. This paper makes a contribution in this very space by sharing in depth the backstory and the context of shaping such an institutional level intervention. 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