Students and employers don't see eye to eye: the case of information systems, information technology and engineering

Serene Lin-Stephens, Stephen Smith, Debbie Richards, Vincent Pang, John Uesi, James Athanasou

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference proceeding contributionpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Despite mounting pressure on universities to produce quality work-ready STEM graduates, the relationship between discipline-based learning and employability is poorly understood. Applying the Career Information Literacy Learning Framework, we address this gap in a study on STEM students and employers/industry stakeholders. This paper reports findings from a subset of STEM disciplines: Information Systems, Information Technology and Engineering. Student data were collected from capstone units from the STEM faculty in an Australian university. A parallel STEM employer study was conducted concurrently. Four learning approaches and career development learning components across three levels of information literacy were examined. The study found this student cohort’s (N=160) emphases on and views of career development consistent with their peers within the same STEM faculty (N=492). However, their focuses differ significantly from STEM employers (N=62). Students focus on discipline-specific knowledge while employers value transformative capabilities most. The finding presents implications for STEM workforce preparation.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationPACIS 2017
Subtitle of host publicationProceedings of the 21st Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems
Place of PublicationLangkawi Island, Malaysia
PublisherAIS Electronic Library (AISeL)
Pages3-16
Number of pages14
Publication statusPublished - 18 Jul 2017
Event21st Pacfici-Asia Conference on Information Systems, PACIS 2017 - Langkawi Island, Malaysia
Duration: 16 Jul 201720 Jul 2017

Publication series

NamePacific Asia Conference on Information Systems (PACIS)
ISSN (Electronic)2689-6354

Conference

Conference21st Pacfici-Asia Conference on Information Systems, PACIS 2017
Country/TerritoryMalaysia
Period16/07/1720/07/17

Keywords

  • Career information literacy
  • STEM employability
  • transformative learning
  • IS education and training
  • capstone units

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