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Embrace this high level of industry engagement – it can benefit us all

The influence of industry on the curriculum has never been greater, says Frazer Mackenzie, but it is far more positive than simply creating a workforce

There has been a relentless drive from the Government, quality assurance agencies and others to place “employability” at the centre of the university curriculum.

As public funding continues to be squeezed and the reality of carrying large loans into working life hits the first wave of variable fee-paying undergraduates entering the employment market, we can be certain that qualifications demonstrably aligned to industry partners and key employment skills will become even more important to students when making university choices. Some would say this is nothing new. The challenge associated with delivering a well-rounded higher education experience, while ensuring that our students develop the necessary skills to make a living, has been at the heart of the enormous growth in higher education during the past decade.

Read full story in Times Higher Education.

By admin

Dr Bex Lewis is passionate about helping people engage with the digital world in a positive way, where she has more than 20 years’ experience. She is Senior Lecturer in Digital Marketing at Manchester Metropolitan University and Visiting Research Fellow at St John’s College, Durham University, with a particular interest in digital culture, persuasion and attitudinal change, especially how this affects the third sector, including faith organisations, and, after her breast cancer diagnosis in 2017, has started to research social media and cancer. Trained as a mass communications historian, she has written the original history of the poster Keep Calm and Carry On: The Truth Behind the Poster (Imperial War Museum, 2017), drawing upon her PhD research. She is Director of social media consultancy Digital Fingerprint, and author of Raising Children in a Digital Age: Enjoying the Best, Avoiding the Worst  (Lion Hudson, 2014; second edition in process) as well as a number of book chapters, and regularly judges digital awards. She has a strong media presence, with her expertise featured in a wide range of publications and programmes, including national, international and specialist TV, radio and press, and can be found all over social media, typically as @drbexl.

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