Higher Education Global Evidence Summit: Lightning Talk Sessions - Employability
Advancing Faculty Development Through a Train-the-Trainer Program in Liberia
- Marie Martin, Associate Director, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Odell Kumeh, Deputy Director, Faculty Development, University of Liberia College of Health Sciences
Over the past few decades, the evolution of medical and health sciences education has highlighted the need for faculty well trained in pedagogy and instructional methodologies. The University of Liberia College of Health Sciences (ULCHS) Faculty Development Program (FDP) provides a blended approach to enhance teaching and pedagogy, leadership, and change management competencies. Developed in Liberia by Jhpiego, USAID, and Mother Patern College of Health Sciences (MPCHS), the program was adapted and expanded to ULCHS through a Train-the-Trainer (TOT) model between 2019-2021. Pre- and post-surveys administered to 65 participants showed an average increase of 70 percent in all 11 competency domains after the program, with little difference between outcomes of each training. The results suggest that the FDP and TOT approach can effectively increase competency in educational practice.
Liberia’s Medical Faculty Apprentice Program: A Pipeline for Permanent, Full-Time Faculty
- Bernice Dahn, Vice President, Health Sciences, University of Liberia
- Kristina Talbert-Slagle, Assistant Professor, General Internal Medicine, Yale University
A critical capacity-building component in Liberia’s physician workforce involves equipping the country’s only medical school, A.M. Dogliotti School of Medicine (AMD), with permanent, well-trained medical school faculty. The University of Liberia College of Health Sciences (ULCHS), which houses AMD, developed a four-year Faculty Apprentice (FA) program to establish a pipeline for permanent, full-time medical faculty in preclinical basic sciences. Launched in 2019 with funding from USAID, the program involves three phases: 1) Supervised Teaching Experience, 2) Graduate Training Abroad (for a master’s degree in basic sciences), and 3) Mentorship in Transition to Faculty. The FA program includes the selection of high-potential candidates for primary science teaching and culminates in the consideration of program graduates for junior preclinical faculty positions at AMD. In exchange for receiving scholarship funding from ULCHS to support their graduate training, FA program participants commit to serving as junior faculty at AMD for four years, minimum.
Innovative Work-Readiness Curriculum in Lebanon’s Higher Education Institutions
- Wael Zaraket, Project Manager/Higher Education Capacity Development (HECD) Program Beirut, Lebanon, Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC)
The five-year (2019-2024) USAID Higher Education Capacity Development Program (HECD) delivers institutional capacity building and professional development for staff and instructors at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Lebanon. HECD’s approach is grounded in international best-practice for promoting employability skills. The program has facilitated Training of Trainer workshops for HEI instructors on how to deliver an interactive employability course called Work Ready Now, which focuses on 21st-century job readiness skills in-demand by local and international employment sectors. Work Ready Now (WRN) comprises five modules covering personal development, communication skills, job-seeking skills, appropriate workforce behaviors, and leadership. The program emphasizes new, experiential learning for university students focused on employability, entrepreneurship, and work-based learning skills needed in today’s labor market.
Global DEI, An Employability Opportunity for Higher Education
- Anjam Chaudhary, DEI Coordinator, Michigan State University
- Ashley Green, Assistant Dean and DEI Director, Michigan State University
How can global Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Justice (DEIBJ) support students’ employability while developing staff and faculty’s professional skills? Global DEIBJ initiatives support the development and sustainability of students, faculty, and staff intercultural communication competencies (ICC) and other transferable skills. Increased globalization and (in-person and virtual) interconnectedness of multinational work environments amplified the demand for graduates capable of effectively navigating different cultural frameworks. Michigan State University is collaboratively developing global DEIBJ co-curricular programs while supporting the integration of global DEIBJ in the classroom to create cohesion between higher education curricula and future employment. Michigan State University promotes the understanding of respect and inclusion of different cultures and identities. Their goal is to produce globally competent students and culturally aware faculty and staff who are highly valued and career-ready with skill sets and sensitivities across borders.