Global Employability Path, a new project to boost students’ professional future

Schiller International University, has launched its extracurricular program to train students in the skills most in demand in the workplace. Through the Global Employability Path, students will be able to participate in real business challenges, simulations, workshops and volunteer activities, all focused on developing the critical competencies most in demand in the real professional world, as well as access a catalog of courses that Schiller has built in collaboration with IBM. 

Through the IBM SkillsBuild training platform, students at any of Schiller's campuses in Tampa (Florida), Madrid, Paris or Heidelberg, as well as distance learners, will be able to take courses developed by IBM in key skills in the areas of Innovation and Creativity, Interpersonal, Digital and Business.

This program is part of our focus to enable students to adapt more quickly to the professional world that awaits them after their studies. Students will be able to customize their GEP training plan, choosing from active learning activities designed by the IBM platform and aligned with their educational program, to boost job skills in the world of technology, and will receive their corresponding certificate upon completion of the program.

Students can access the activities offered for the Global Employability Path through the Blackboard Collaborative platform and keep track of their training. The activities are aimed at transforming observers into active learning professionals.

According to the "Future of Work, Insights for 2021 and Beyond" report by U.S. think tank Milken Institute, learning and work are becoming less disparate and more interspersed, if not concurrent.

"One of the main learnings from the pandemic for the professional environment is that while knowledge remains very important, skills are key to successfully adapting to the new work environment. The university cannot be left behind, and Schiller, since its inception, has been working to equip its students with the necessary tools to face the job market through experiential learning, making learning and work converge in the classroom," says Jeanette Espinal, Dean of Students at Schiller International University.

“For decades, IBM has been committed to investing in the future of education and bridging the digital divide through a variety of free, disruptive technology training programs and initiatives such as our IBM SkillsBuild platform," said Belen Perales, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at IBM. “Today, digital transformation has reached a point where it affects the whole of society and the need to be trained is imperative for societies to adapt and evolve. For this, it is essential that the development of digital skills is embedded throughout the education system, as it is already in companies and the IT professional community. In this sense, I believe it is our responsibility, as a socially responsible and committed company, to promote and enhance joint projects with the academic world, such as the one we are initiating with Schiller International University, that effectively contributes to developing the next generation of talents that, in a transversal way, will define the future and progress of our society."