Promoting competency-based education in higher education by using “collaboration” as an example: lessons learnt from a change perspective
Loading...
Author (Corporation)
Publication date
2025
Type of student thesis
Course of study
Collections
Type
04B - Conference paper
Editor (Corporation)
Supervisor
Parent work
ICERI2025 Proceedings
Special issue
DOI of the original publication
Link
Related research data
Series
ICERI Proceedings
Series number
Volume
Issue / Number
Pages / Duration
2277-2286
Patent number
Publisher / Publishing institution
IATED
Place of publication / Event location
Seville
Edition
Version
Programming language
Assignee
Practice partner / Client
Abstract
Competency-based education (CBE) is a persistent challenge in higher education, particularly regarding 21st-century competencies. This paper uses the transversal competency of collaboration as an illustra-tive case, given its importance for addressing global challenges that demand interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and team-based solutions. Drawing on a qualitative case study from the School of Business at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), the paper examines change processes required to promote CBE at the levels of strategy, structure, and culture, and across stakeholder groups including management, faculty, and students. Data was collected through different streams, projects and initiatives and combines different methods, including document analysis, surveys, interviews, and observations. Results show measures at a strategic, structural, and cultural level ad-dressing different stakeholder and the fragile interplay between them, emphasising the significance of aligning strategy, structure, and culture to ensure sustainable change. Measures include for example the development of a competency model, the curricular integration of collaboration through constructive alignment, and the deployment of a digital toolbox to support both students and lecturers. The findings underline that advancing CBE requires coordinated, multi-level measures and sustained engagement, offering lessons and implications for institutional practice.
Keywords
Subject (DDC)
Event
18th annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation
Exhibition start date
Exhibition end date
Conference start date
10.11.2025
Conference end date
12.11.2025
Date of the last check
ISBN
978-84-09-78706-7
ISSN
Language
English
Created during FHNW affiliation
Yes
Strategic action fields FHNW
Publication status
Published
Review
peer-reviewed
Open access category
Closed
License
Citation
Dornemann, S., & Mücke, A. (2025). Promoting competency-based education in higher education by using “collaboration” as an example: lessons learnt from a change perspective. In L. Gómez Chova, C. González Martínez, & J. Lees (Eds.), ICERI2025 Proceedings (pp. 2277–2286). IATED. https://doi.org/10.21125/iceri.2025.0773