‘Power skills’ for 21st-century academia

How to develop the transferable skills that all academics - whether in leadership, teaching or research - need to master themselves and share with students

Two hands with power current running between them

Transferable skills form the heart of university education, linking all disciplines and aspects of academic life. Often undersold as ‘soft skills’, capabilities such as critical thinking and emotional intelligence are even more essential in the 21st century as automation changes the work landscape. This collection of resources looks at how to teach and acquire core skills such as decision-making, communication, teamwork, leadership and stress management, whether it’s in class, online or through extracurricular activities.

Training students in effective teamwork and collaboration

The ability to work effectively as part of a team is a vital life skill. Steven Bateman, Yan Jin and Jie Zhang explain how they support and train students in teamwork

Steven Bateman, Yan Jin, Jie Zhang

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Effective teamwork

Teamwork skills are crucial for students to learn as they head into the workplace

Six tips on helping your students improve their teamwork skills

We know that teamwork is more important than ever before – here’s how to help students identify their ideal role in a team, agree on responsibilities and more

Ingrid Benavides

Monterrey Institute of Technology

A group of university students arguing. We should teach students how to work together as a team

Why do we expect students to work well in groups if we don’t teach them how?

If we’re going to assign team projects, and if we really believe working well in a group is important, we must teach effective group processes, says Todd Zakrajsek

Todd Zakrajsek

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

An online meeting. University professors and lecturers need to learn to work together online in the new normal

Eight essential tips for remote interdisciplinary teamwork

Rocío Elizabeth Cortez Márquez and Elia Esther Mendoza Carabeo give advice on making interdisciplinary teams work online

Rocío Elizabeth Cortez Márquez , Elia Esther Mendoza Carabeo

Monterrey Institute of Technology

Figure running up stairs illustration

A ‘motivation and engagement wheel’ to keep students on board

The wheel model was designed to help demystify student motivation and provide targeted help where and when necessary, explains Andrew J. Martin

Andrew J. Martin

UNSW Sydney

Learning to learn and higher-order thinking: it’s not just what to learn but how to learn

Through deconstructing the thought processes that occur during learning, students understand how they learn and therefore learn more effectively

Alexandra Osika, Stephanie MacMahon, Jason M. Lodge, Annemaree Carroll

The University of Queensland

Toolkit for life

Man on ball juggling balls in front of a city

How a rich extracurricular campus life nurtures well-rounded individuals

Soft skills such as organisation, communication and networking are often developed outside the classroom. Here’s how universities can help their students learn vital life skills

M. C. Zhang, Aliana Leong

Macau University of Science and Technology

Advice on guiding students through four modes of analysis to aid informed decision making

Thinking in action: training students in decision-making

Four interrelated modes of analysis that support informed decision-making, and how to teach them, by Adrian Man-Ho Lam

Adrian Man-Ho Lam

The University of Hong Kong

Advice on guiding students in developing their sense of identity through transitions from education into work

Learner, student, graduate: a toolkit for student identity formation and critical reflection

A toolkit to guide students in developing and critically reflecting upon their own identities and journeys as they progress through higher education and into professional life

Rebecca Westrup, Sophie Reading

University of East Anglia

young black man calling out

We’ve forgotten how to communicate science to the public at a crucial time

As we try to tackle climate change, it feels like the pandemic has pushed us back decades to the bad old mode of scientists lecturing the public, says John Womersley

John Womersley

University of Oxford

Promoting communication skills is just as vital as course content

From the classroom to the workplace, students need to communicate effectively – and you can show them how

Jessica Guadalupe Toro Palacios , Eunice Costilla Cruz

Monterrey Institute of Technology

Critical thinking

Critical thinking is a crucial skill for students to be taught at university

Starting from scratch to promote critical thinking in your classes

Critical thinking is a crucial skill for all areas of life. Adriana González Nava and Paulo Mendoza Rivera explain how to promote it in course design

Adriana González Nava , Paulo Mendoza Rivera

Monterrey Institute of Technology

Image depicting critical thinking and analysis

Educating trainee teachers in critical thinking

Effective approaches to training student teachers in critical thinking so they can apply it across multiple disciplines and pass on their knowledge to their own pupils, by Joseph Sanacore

Joseph Sanacore

Long Island University

Advice on teaching the basics of critical thinking to students who are new to the concept

How to teach critical thinking to beginners

Sarah Ivory explains how she teaches critical thinking through application rather than theory, tasking students with applying three core elements of the process in their regular classes

Sarah Ivory

The University of Edinburgh

Group of people jumping on a hill

Complaining that the leadership talent pool is running dry? Here’s how to fill it

Abandoning traditional hierarchies and allowing mid- and early-career staff to experience leadership creates a thriving, diverse talent pool, say Jo Cresswell and Peter Hogg

Jo Cresswell, Peter Hogg

Dr Joanne Cresswell Coaching, University of Salford

Authentic leadership isn’t new – but we need it more than ever in HE

For leadership to be effective, we need to understand our own limitations and listen to others to learn how to overcome them, say Sarah Jones and Alasdair Blair

Sarah Jones, Alasdair Blair

De Montfort University

Stress management

Image representing the uncertainty of the future

How we used a business management theory to help students cope with uncertainty

Uncertainty is a major challenge to mental health so a team at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University used a business management tool to help students cope with worries about the future. Here, they explain how

Zheng Feei Ma, Jian Li Hao, Yu Song, Peng Liu

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Self-care tips such as setting a regular wake-up time can help mature students handle the stresses of university life

Coaching students in self-care lessons that will help them manage stress

From setting a consistent wake-up time to sound financial planning, there are many beneficial changes that you can encourage to help your students

Matthew L. Brown

Colorado State University Global

Mindfulness education at university goes beyond pedagogy

It’s past time for a serious appraisal of mindfulness education

True mindfulness education goes beyond pedagogy and improving learning outcomes – it is a holistic approach for developing students and staff, says Christine Rivers

Christine Rivers

University of Surrey