Evolving Graduate Outcomes: Strategies for Skill Development in Higher Education

Universities play a pivotal role in equipping students with fundamental skills necessary for their future career and life experiences. As our society and the job market continue to evolve, so must the graduate outcomes that institutions aim to cultivate to contribute to long-term employability and professional success of their students.

To meet these changing demands, higher education institutions and educators must adapt and evolve their strategies for skill development. However, despite the growing emphasis on graduate readiness, there remains a lack in reports and frameworks that define which skills should be prioritized and how to best teach them. This gap presents a challenge for educators who are tasked with integrating skill development into already demanding academic programs while ensuring that students graduate with competencies needed to thrive.

In this Research Topic we aim to showcase a diverse range of approaches, strategies and perspectives currently employed by educators within the Natural and Life Sciences sector to support skill development in higher education.

This will form a collection of innovative pedagogy, curriculum design and support systems currently in use, to provide valuable resources for educators looking to implement new approaches to employability and lifelong learning within their own contexts.

This Topic will contribute to the ongoing discourse around which skills should be prioritized in Natural and Life Sciences education, offering evidence-based insights into how higher education can evolve to meet the changing expectations of employers, society and students themselves.

We welcome contributions that explore diverse aspects areas of skill development and the enhancement of graduate outcomes and attributes. Submissions may include, but are not limited to:

• Innovative assessment and feedback practices that foster skill acquisition.
• Curriculum-embedded activities designed to promote skill development.
• Curricular and extra-curricular initiatives to highlight career pathways.
• Asynchronous resources aimed at supporting student development.
• Digital tools and platforms to enhance data literacy and analytical thinking.
• Collaborative projects involving industry and external partners.
• Mentoring schemes that support personal and professional development.
• Work-integrated learning experiences (such as placements, internships and research projects with real-world applications).
• Interdisciplinary modules or projects that promote critical thinking and problem solving.

While submissions are encouraged from across Natural and Life Sciences disciplines they should focus on cross-disciplinary skills and approaches. These may include writing, critical thinking, data analysis, communication, general approaches to laboratory and technical skills and other transferable competencies that are broadly applicable across scientific fields. We ask that submissions avoid subject-specific techniques or content relevant only to a single discipline, in favor of strategies that support the wider field.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Registered Report
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review

Keywords: Skill Development, Graduate Attributes, Graduate Outcomes, Employability, Lifelong Learning, Natural & Life Sciences

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.