Keynote address by

In the United Kingdom major changes have been made in the higher education system in the hope of improving the nation's economic condition. New links have been made between education, employment and training at a governmental level. There has been increased emphasis on the ideas of 'quality', 'skills', 'enterprise', 'active', and 'life long learning', and 'a better educated workforce'.

The Enterprise in Higher Education (EHE) was a national initiative from the Employment Department to explore some of these ideas. It aimed to have sector wide impact and cause institution wide change and was to affect all students on all courses taught. There was to be a fundamental change in the curriculum in the areas of content, assessment, delivery and outcomes. The initiative was about developing 'enterprising students' who were:

• responsible, self managing learners;
• capable of working with others;
• committed to critical action and critical thinking; and
• had well founded generic skills.

A senior academic was appointed to lead the initiative within an institution and that person became a member of key committees. After widespread briefings and debate a clear programme, with achievable targets and local ownership, was defined. The programme was aligned with existing procedures for quality assurance, course validation and review and staff, curriculum and educational development. Some of the programmes which developed as the vision became a reality were:

• more active approaches to student learning
• alternative modes of curriculum delivery
• a wide range of personal transferable skills
• more community based 'live' projects
• massive programme of academic staff development
• increased and stronger employer links to support the curriculum

• focus on process
• emphasis on knowing how
• students work in groups and teams, collectively and cooperatively
• students work independently
• objectives are negotiated
• assessment is varied
• students actively generate and synthesise knowledge
• teaching sessions are flexible and not always classroom-based
• teacher is a facilitator and a resource for students in a learning partnership

• group work, leadership and team building skills;
• verbal and written communication skills;
• critical thinking, problem solving and decision making skills;
• data handling and presentation skills;
• self-development , self-presentation and interpersonal skills;
• organisation and project management skills;
• computer literacy and skills in the application of information technology;
• influencing, negotiation and advocacy skills; and
• foreign language skills.

As part of the EHE initiative, students were involved in 'live' projects. These projects provided an opportunity for the students to apply their knowledge in a real setting, develop personal and transferable skills and deliver a product or service to a specified brief. Some examples of 'live' projects were:

• Personnel students worked with a team of young employees from a large company that wished to develop a new induction programme for recruits
• Design students were commissioned to design the reception area of the Municipal Centre
• Computing students designed a new payroll system for use by a medium sized employer

• operation across organisational boundaries;
• complex negotiation processes;
• joint tutoring and assessment;
• over stimulating the environment - success breeds an avalanche of requests; and
• interdisciplinary.

• greater emphasis on the teaching-learning process;
• less didactic styles of teaching;
• greater range of assessment methods;
• development and assessment of generic skills;
• assessment and credit for off campus learning;
• more independent learning (low tech and high tech);
• increased volume and range of employer support;
• more community involvement;
• integrated study skills;
• integrated careers education; and greater use of portfolios, profiles and RoAs.

• greater awareness of how students learn;
• increased commitment to quality in teaching;
• public endorsement of effective teachers;
• sponsorship of innovatory practice;
• more multi-disciplinary approaches;
• better dissemination of good practice;
• increased competence in professional role;
• credit and certification of professional development; and
• more action research into teaching-learning.