Blog #3/3 — Building Bridges through ENGAGE

Hello,

 

This is my third and final blog post, were I want to reflect on what I have learned throughout my field study while working on the ENGAGE project.

At the time when I first started working with ENGAGE, the project felt broad and almost self-exploratory. Because of this, my focus was mainly on understanding how such project could build stronger connections between different stakeholders. In my second blog post, I reflected on how we were moving toward stakeholder interviews and how important it was to ask questions that would help us to understand what the stakeholders wants. Now, after conducting and reviewing student interviews, who are one of the primary stakeholders, the purpose of ENGAGE has become much clearer to me.

One of the strongest findings from the student interviews that we found was that students do see value in the university’s academic curriculum. However, they also want more structured support in connecting with the professional world. Several students expressed although opportunities exist through university channel, they are not always frequent, visible, or easy to access. This made me realize that professional development is not only consisted of creating opportunities or connections, but also about making sure others know about such opportunites and feel confident enough to take participate.

Another important theme from the interviews is the gap between academic learning and real industry practice. Students appreciate what they learn in the classroom, especially in areas such as textiles, fasion and sustainability. However, they also want more practical exposure which they believe would help them to be ready for the real world. Company visits, guest lectures, real-life projects, internships, and events with industry representatives were mentioned by students which they think would be useful ways to make the connection between education and future working life stronger.

When it comes to the international students it came to my view that international students may face additional barriers when trying to access professional opportunities. Language requirements, limited knowledge of local companies, cultural differences, and lack of responses from companies can make it more difficult for them to build networks or find internships. This showed me that ENGAGE should not only think about creating industry connections, but also about making those connections more inclusive and accessible for different groups of students.

For me, one of the biggest learning outcome from this field study is that building connection between different stakeholders requires more than simply arranging events. Rather it involves structured framework, clear communication, and an understanding of the different expectations of all the different stakeholders within a project. Working on this project has given me a better understanding of what to do with this project throughout the summer to create a better foundation. This is something that honestly gets me excited as I am looking forward to seeing what kind of results, I can come up with that can help future students.

Overall, this field study has helped me understand the importance of listening and researching before designing solutionsand framework. The student interviews showed that ENGAGE has the potential to become a more systematic, visible, and inclusive pathway between students and professional life. This alone becomes a valuable learning experience for me as it has shown me how research, reflection, take interviews, thematic analysis and stakeholder engagement can support the development of a project that creates real value.