By Lauren Fleiser
Experiential learning is essentially learning by doing. It takes learning out of the classroom and into the real world. While universities, further education providers and business schools have been practicing forms of experiential learning for a number of years, the full scope, potential and stakeholder benefits of this method have not yet been realised.
Current forms of experiential learning include apprenticeships, internships, work-place based learning assignments, project-based programmes, global immersions, and sandwich courses (where part of the learning takes place in the classroom and part of the learning takes place in the workplace.)
There are three main stakeholders in any quality experiential learning endeavour: the higher education or further education institution who runs the programme, the organisation where the real-world learning takes place and the student/s who engage in the learning.
Viewed as a partnership, there are many mutual benefits. The student has the opportunity to add real-world experience to their CV, to gain exposure to possible future employers or investors, to upskill or reskill themselves and to possibly achieve partial or full qualifications in the process. The organisation gets access to low-cost short-term talent that could potentially become longer term talent, while addressing any skills gaps or solving organisational problems. The learning institution acquires more students, with learning programmes paid for by the organisation, the government, or the students themselves.
However, if we start to view experiential learning as more than just isolated partnerships, but as fully-fledged synergistic ecosystems with more than three stakeholders, the possibilities can elevate the impact of the entire higher education industry.
Here are some avant-garde examples I have been thinking about lately:
Lifelong Experiential Learning / Lifelong Careers Ecosystems
Lifelong learning is often paid lip service in the education sector. Lifelong learning is about ensuring that an individual can generate an income for themselves over the course of their lifetime. Far too many intelligent, talented individuals fall by the wayside because their skillsets become less current and relevant. An ecosystem like this needs to enable access to multiple learning programmes, have ways to predict future learning needs, be able to pre-determine the latest learning programmes, include ongoing career counselling, as well as encourage employability, or self-employability skillsets (hard, technical and soft skills). It needs to put the student front and centre. It needs to be able to support the student regardless of age or career stage and at multiple points of their journey. At its most basic, an ecosystem like this would require the breaking down of internal silos between Careers and Employability departments and Experiential Learning teams. Ultimately, it could include technology partners and several experiential opportunities across more than one type of learning organisation, which would constantly be updated.
Joint Entrepreneurship / Intrapreneurship Experiential Learning Ecosystems
Entrepreneurship ecosystems that aim to support the innovator’s journey are ubiquitous. But what about the countless entrepreneurs whose businesses do not always support them financially? These individuals may be faced with the challenge of having to go into the job market, viewed as people who will not fit into corporate cultures. An experiential learning ecosystem that brings intrapreneurship to life, is one where entrepreneurial personalities can thrive, but inside an organisation. Encouraging intrapreneurship means higher levels of innovation and growth for organisations. A joint entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship lifelong experiential learning ecosystem would enable entrepreneurs to learn, apply and gain formal recognition for their valuable skillsets in either their own business or for an organisation at different points in their career.
Recruitment / Job Hunting Experiential Learning Ecosystems
There is a huge opportunity to lessen the pain of both recruiters and job hunters through experiential learning ecosystems. Right now, a job hunter faces numerous challenges such as having to apply to multiple places, lengthy or delayed interview processes and interviewers that do not respond, even after an interview. Recruiters must deal with unqualified applicants, nervous interviewees without interview skills and sourcing rare skillsets. It can take a long time to find that dream placement or to place that perfect someone. Even then, training may still be required. This can be circumnavigated by using experiential learning interventions to simultaneously recruit and train suitable candidates. By including recruiters in these experiential interventions, you create a recruitment/ job hunting ecosystem that only needs to find individuals internal or external to the organisation who are a good culture fit and have the potential to fill the role.
The higher education and further education industries are evolving towards an increasingly experiential learning environment. Employer partnerships are certainly top of mind for many universities and colleges at the moment.
To me, all of this is still in its infancy. It’s only when experiential learning partners start to see the value of adding stakeholders and blurring boundaries that we can all maximise the benefits of learning by doing.
