The event fulfilled its two-fold objective. First, it provided a platform for the ongoing discourse on the challenges, as well as the huge potential in the changing educational landscape and the global workplace of the future. Furthermore, the findings of the LELLE project’s research activities on integration of core skill-sets into current higher education curricula were shared and dynamically discussed.

All four panel speakers provided an important perspective on the topic of bridging gaps between school and workplace. The presentations and follow-up discussion revolved around critical themes such as the need to move away from content learning (knowledge testing and reproduction) toward adaptive expertise and skill-based learning (knowledge transfer and application). Inculcating students with the spirit of innovation and the ability to adapt and to apply what they’ve learned is viewed as being eminently valuable for their unknown future and unknown jobs.

The three workshop sessions presented new lenses on educating for a sustainable future. Giving greater agency to our students to take charge of their own learning journey is instrumental in equipping and empowering them for what’s to come. Preparing them to be global citizens implies a more entrepreneurial approach in education, e.g. teaching young people how to recognize opportunities and how to make connections. Adaptive expertise becomes pertinent for knowledge transfer and application. This also inherently implies a dire need for change in the predominant education system, which is still largely prescriptive.