Europe’s green and digital transition changed how and why people are employed. To equip students with the skills they need for these advances, it is vital that universities continually monitor skills demands across various sectors – and adjust their educational approaches accordingly.

Martin Balej, Rector of the Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Usti nad Labem Czechia, understands the necessity of facing this problem head on: ‘It is important to teach students the individual procedures that will be applicable to other [situations] they may continue to encounter in their career.’

Co-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF), the University of the 21st Century project was set up to ensure students have a leg up in finding work after university. The project identifies three main directions of development for UJEP to help students plan for postgraduate life:

• building quality education programmes that produce quality graduates (specifically polytechnic, medical and pedagogical study programmes, university-wide support of the international environment, and relevant studies to labour market needs);
• expanding accessibility and provision of an ‘open’ university for students with disabilities;
• providing a ‘modern institution’ that uses set quality evaluation and strategic management systems.

Martin Balej continues, ‘we want to introduce a system of monitoring the needs of the labour market for our graduates, […] we are trying to incorporate specific methods and tools into the educational process.’

The project also supplied high quality equipment to the students, so they can become familiar with their profession’s equipment before graduating: like high quality medical equipment for the Faculty of Health Sciences or advanced labs for science and technical fields of study. 

Diana Černilová, a student of Physiotherapy in the Faculty of Health Studies spoke of her experience:

'I have chosen to study physiotherapy because I would like to work with people and for people in the field of health. I found that this was a very progressive field due to constant development of new methods and the use of innovative technologies.’ 

She continues, ‘The employment for physiotherapists is diverse, I’m interested in the newly offered subjects with a focus on geriatrics due to the ageing trend of our population'.

The psychological, pedagogical, and career counselling centre the project set up is used by both staff and students. It runs activities to improve the ‘openness’ and accessibility of the university for vulnerable people, and those with mental and physical disabilities. This includes collecting and promoting job opportunities available in the region.