1. www.tuas.fiwww.turkuamk.fi Projects as stepping stones to employability in the ICT field in South West Finland Kalliopi Skarli 25 September 2014

2. Why are projects important? graduate skills & competences university success graduate employability economic competitiveness labour market needs

3. Projects develop employability skills subject knowledge communication skills teamwork skills critical thinking problem-solving industry links labour market entry

4. Purpose of the study Project ontology What types of projects TUAS students can participate? Projects-thesis- labour market entry How many of those projects are commissioned by companies? What types of projects students take on as thesis topics? Are thesis projects related to labour market entry?

5. Sample Information Technology graduates in 2013 Finnish-language of instruction N= 42 (37 male, 5 female) Why 2013? graduate accessibility reflection of contemporary labour market

6. Method exploratory case study multiple sources – the database of curricula and course implementation plans (SoleOPS) + validation from the Degree Programme Manager – thesis database of the Finnish universities of applied sciences (Theseus) + library records + personal archives – official TUAS webpages – LinkedIn profiles + personal communication

7. RESULTS & DISCUSSION

8. Project work in the curriculum

9. Applied ICT R&D

10. The ecosystem and its mechanisms Conceive Design Implement Operate (CDIO) educational approach – Turku Game Lab – ESCfi – CloudIT – ICT Portti – regional & global tech competitions (ICT Showroom, Microsoft Imagine Cup)

11. Thesis projects classified by commissioner

12. Employment status of the 2013 IT graduates

13. Length of employment with current employer

14. Distribution of employed IT graduates across industries

15. Size of employing organisation of the 2013 IT graduates

16. Case: Finland SMEs drive economic growth

17. Case: Finland The private sector employs 2/3 of the working age population

18. Conclusion robust project-based curriculum environment conducive to projects strong links with the industry and society thesis projects closely linked to employability

19. Future agenda projects during internship/workplacement management of communication channels and touch points with the industry and…

20. Something to ponder All employed graduates are employed regionally. A mixed blessing?

21. Thank you! Questions?