LOUIS As A Transformative Force for Societal Impact
As we celebrate the International Day of Education, it is important to reflect on how higher education can be a transformative force for societal impact.
Aurora works towards this goal through its innovative approaches to teaching, such as the Learning Outcomes in University for Impact on Society (LOUIS), which fosters transversal skills essential for addressing real-world challenges. In this interview, Maria Inmaculada de Molina-Fernandez from Universitat Rovira i Virgili and participant of the LOUIS Blended Intensive Program (BIP) in Olomouc shares her insights on how collaboration and open dialogue among educators can enhance teaching practices and improve learning outcomes.
What was your BIP experience in Olomouc?
Participating in the BIP in Olomouc was an inspiring and enriching experience. Over the course of five days, I collaborated with educational experts and lecturers from a wide range of institutions, including universities and small enterprises, to discuss critical issues in education.
The discussions were focused on fundamental questions about the purpose of teaching and how to address challenges like creating a shared language across disciplines and institutions. We explored the difficulties educators face when adopting new tools like LOUIS and the complexities of assessing high-level competencies. A particularly meaningful topic was the use of LOUIS as a tool for self-reflection, helping educators refine their teaching practices.
The open and engaging atmosphere encouraged participants to exchange ideas freely, leading to valuable insights into how LOUIS could unify educational frameworks and empower both teachers and students. This experience reinforced the importance of collaboration in addressing shared challenges in education.
Do you currently use LOUIS in any of your curricula?
While I do not currently use the LOUIS competency framework, I believe its implementation could significantly enrich our educational offer. It can clearly define learning objectives, making expectations more transparent for students, and foster essential competencies such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and effective communication. Additionally, LOUIS supports more robust and fair assessment methods. Its flexibility allows it to adapt to the specific needs of different subjects and institutions, promoting collaboration and enhancing both teaching and learning outcomes.
What are your key takeaways from this BIP?
The BIP highlighted the value of LOUIS as a structured yet adaptable framework to develop transversal skills such as communication, ethical reasoning, and lifelong learning. Based on the VALUE approach by the AACU, LOUIS offers tools that guide students’ learning progression and emphasizes qualitative feedback over rigid assessments.
One of its strengths is its ability to break down competencies into sub-competencies that align with diverse disciplines and provide progressive descriptors to help educators and students track growth. By focusing on a small set of sub-competencies, educators can tailor their use of LOUIS to their teaching objectives and integrate it effectively into classroom tasks. The framework offers clarity on learning goals, helping students achieve measurable and meaningful outcomes.
How do you foresee implementing LOUIS in the future?
To implement LOUIS, I plan to introduce it to colleagues through a careful and systematic process. This will include assessing current curricula to identify areas of alignment, engaging with stakeholders to set clear goals, and designing modules that incorporate LOUIS competencies. I also aim to organize faculty training sessions to ensure the effective use of the LOUIS Framework. Initially, I would pilot this approach in select courses to gather feedback and make necessary adjustments before expanding it further. My goal is to create a collaborative culture that uses LOUIS to prepare students with the cross-cutting competencies they need for future success.
Would you recommend this BIP?
I would highly recommend this BIP to educators. It provides practical strategies for helping students develop essential soft skills, which are increasingly valued by employers. The program equips teachers to foster critical thinking, teamwork, and other transferable competencies, enhancing classroom interactions and better preparing students for future challenges.
thisABILITY is a social enterprise dedicated to raising awareness about invisible disabilities through interactive exhibitions that allow people to experience what living with such conditions feels like. In Denmark, approximately 20% of the population lives with an invisible disorder, and the challenges they face are significant. Currently, 340,000 individuals with disabilities are unemployed, with one in three young people from this group lacking a job or education – compared to less than one in ten among those without disabilities. This disparity negatively impacts the life satisfaction of individuals with hidden disabilities and costs the Danish government up to 6 billion DKK annually (approximately 800 million euros).
The objective is to build a sustainable business that empowers local shops by providing a digital platform to connect with both local and global customers. This social enterprise addresses a pressing social challenge: small local businesses often struggle to compete with online retail giants like Amazon. These businesses typically lack the resources, technical skills, and support necessary to establish a strong online presence, leaving them vulnerable to losing local customers to larger platforms. This trend weakens local economies, reduces the diversity of retail options and erodes respect for small businesses.
To address the issue of excess electricity during periods of high production and low demand, the project proposes using this surplus to produce hydrogen gas. Currently, wind turbines are often shut off because the power grid cannot accommodate the excess electricity, hindering the continuation of large solar and wind energy projects. Building local hydrogen plants can harness the full potential of existing green power sources, free up capacity for new renewable installations, and create green hydrogen fuel for mobility and various other applications.
Welcome Address by Barbara Buchenau
Students as Critics of Academic Writers. Left to Right: Pia Schümmelfelder (MA student UDE), Jens Gurr (editor of City Scripts, 2023, UDE), Barbara Buchenau (editor of City Scripts, 2023, UDE), and Dana Sitnikov (MA student UDE)
Brainstorming for Future European Transdisciplinary Research and Education. Left to Right, Anke Hinney (University Hospital Essen), Marcus Zepf (École d’Urbanisme de Paris, UPEC), Petra Günther (International Office, UDE) and Barbara Buchenau (Faculty of the Humanities, UDE)
