The focus of our study was on the development of a sustainable and future oriented competence – based curriculum shared by all the degree programmes at Laurea University of Applied Sciences. We approached the task from two different points of view; 1) competence survey for Laurea’s full time lecturers (n= 249) and 2) competence descriptions refined by experts (n= 7). On the basis of our analyses five generic competences were identified as ethical, reflective, network, innovative and globalization competence. They were refined by generic competence experts, based on research knowledge, and officially accepted to be shared in all the degree programme's curricula. The subject - specific themes were then identified and refined by degree programme experts. They dissect the generic competences and offer a specific perspective that deepens the generic competences. Later (2009) the generic competences have been updated on the basis of The European Qualification Framework.
In 2001, Laurea University of Applied Sciences redefined its basic task from the point of view of competence, replacing the previous system based on separate fields of study. Laurea’s basic task was defined as producing competence in welfare, business, ICT and sustainable development. Through this, progress could be made in researching and developing education, the region, the labour market and the economic structure. Relevant competence area networks were created for the development of the above-mentioned competences. It became evident, however, that definitions of the competences that had been identified varied greatly, making it difficult to find a shared language. In 2004, a process was initiated to define at first welfare competence and later business, ICT and sustainable competences based on the knowledge of Laurea’s researchers and experts. The starting points were staff expertise, experiential knowledge acquired through research and projects, and research data on the named competences. During 2004, Laurea made a decision to create a new curriculum shared by all degree programmes. This was in great part due to the initiative of reorganising teaching around projects (cf. Raij 2003), deriving from the challenge of integrating the three tasks of the university of applied sciences, at which time it was found that the existing field-specific curriculum system was an obstacle to genuine renewal. Curriculum-related analyses conducted by Rauhala (cf. 2007, pp 11–19) led to the choice of a competence-based core curriculum as described by Karjalainen (e.g. 2003). The competence-based core curriculum would have to be applied to the context of the university of applied sciences, to be shared by all, and offer opportunities for building the basis for practical wisdom and the sustainable future. Related to this was the decision that generic (core) competences should be defined using expertise within Laurea rather than taking pre-existing theories or classifications.
The main objective was the development of a sustainable future oriented competence – based core curriculum shared by all the degree programmes at Laurea. The process was divided into two phases:
1) Identifying the sustainable future oriented generic (core) competences shared by all the Laurea students by using expertise within Laurea rather than taking pre-existing theories or classifications. 2) Describing the contents of generic competences by principal lecturers, mostly with PhDs, who had examined aspects of one of the competences in their research. It means that the descriptions of the generic competences were made based on research data.
In 2004, we defined welfare competence as a pilot study and when the process was deemed successful, it was decided that the concepts of business, ICT and sustainable development competence would also be defined by collecting ideas from all full-time lecturers based on the knowledge of Laurea’s researchers and experts. The starting points were staff expertise, experiential knowledge acquired through research and projects, and research data on the named competences. The first stage consisted of an analysis of literary sources related to the competences and to the pressures for developing service systems arising from future challenges. At the next stage, a written questionnaire was sent out to Laurea’s full-time lecturers (n= 249). We were not looking for definitions based on existing theories but for descriptions of the respondents’ own ideas regarding what the named competences should be like to allow for shared good action in the future. The email questionnaire asked for responses to three questions: 1) What do you understand by the concept of welfare, (later business, ICT and sustainable development)?, 2) What kind of competence will future workers need to support people’s well-being? and 3) What will be the focal points of welfare, business, ICT and sustainable development competence and development in the future? Responses were analysed question by question, and a classification system was created by analysing, breaking down and specifying the contents of classes and finally by identifying broader topics. The factors included in welfare competence pilot, were processed further, leading to nine types of sub competences, were then presented as an example of how the future shared core (later generic) competences could be defined. The sub competences defined were interactive, ethical, network and teamwork competence, research-oriented and developmental work competence, subject-specific competence, management competence, technology competence, international competence, and business and entrepreneurship competence. When Business, ICT and sustainable development responses were also analysed and classifications were created for each competence area, repeated and shared classes were identified. Finally, the descriptive competence classifications were coallated into broader classes. This resulted in six classes of competence: ethical, reflective, globalisation, network, management, and innovative competence. A generic competence team was set up to further refine these competences. Generic competence experts were principal lecturers with PhDs, who had examined aspects of one of the competences in their research. The generic competences were defined as corresponding to meta-skills. It led to turn management competence into a subject-specific theme to be included in curricula according to each degree programme’s requirements. The finally confirmed five generic competences that corresponded to abilities for developing the future labour market were joined by two further types of competence related to each degree programme’s subject-specific development: knowledge-based professional competence and skill-based professional competence. Although defined separately, these generic competences are seen as complementary dimensions of one competence. In 2009 the generic competences were updated on the basis of the European Qualification Framework and they were renamed as learning skills, ethical, working community, innovative – and internationalism competence.
On the basis of research findings the five generic competences were identified as ethical, reflective, network, innovative – and globalization competence, and further described based on research knowledge. Ethical sensitivity relates particularly to recognising and respecting human diversity and learning to identify one’s own attitudes. Reflective competence is seen as a synthesis of the temporal process of change in reasoning, of broadened self-understanding and of problem-solving. Network competence is described as the process of growing into a network expert, which involves speaking and interaction skills, language skills and communication skills. The development of innovative competence is presented as a personal ability for renewal, as innovation-related competence created in teams, as innovative competence utilised by organisations, and as innovative competence generated by diverse networks. Globalisation competence is constructed out of the varying relations between financial, cultural, political, social and ecological globalisation. The development of globalisation competence offers students skills they will need in the future, related to personal competence, organisational activities and social influence. The shared generic competences with the subject specific themes form a matrix curriculum. In the matrix curriculum, the subject-specific themes that dissect the generic competences offer a specific perspective that deepens the generic competences.
By refining the basic tasks in relation to chosen competences Laurea also made a decision to integrate research and development, regional development and education in an innovative way. We assumed that the competence-based core curriculum would have to be applied to the context of the university of applied sciences, be shared by all, and offer opportunities for building the sustainable future. In assessing the competence of the future, Laurea’s experts took into account changes in Finland’s population structure, the multiculturalisation of the Finnish society, the need to act as global citizens, and the challenges of climate change and globalisation.
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