Adapting Education to the Development of Post-Industrial Processes in an Economy: Extra-Curricular Project-based Learning for Developing the Innovative Abilities of High School and University Students

Author: Dr. Natalie G. Davydova Summary: Thank you for publishing our article “Adapting Education to the Development of Post-Industrial Proc...

Author: Dr. Natalie G. Davydova

Summary:

Thank you for publishing our article “Adapting Education to the Development of Post-Industrial Processes in an Economy: Extra-Curricular Project-based Learning for Developing the Innovative Abilities of High School and University Students” in the London Journal of Research in Management and Business. 

It is a great appreciation of our efforts in the extra-curricular education management and development. Every year about two thousands high school and university students from all Russian regions and eight countries carried out nearly 1500 research and applied projects in the field of water protection and restoration and sustainable municipal development. They implement these projects on the platform of extra-curricular education system combined with an international contest of students’ projects carried out in the learning process. 

We follow our role as professionals who take responsibility and create opportunities for the young generations’ educational and career trajectories. Prof. Alexander N. Kosarikov, research adviser, Dr. Natalia G. Davydova, director NGO “Environmental Projects Consulting Institute”, Moscow, Russian Federation. 

Our Vision:

Educational Potential of the Economically Active Population in a Post-Industrial Economy

The primary driver of post-industrial economic transformations is the strengthening of the educational potential of the economically active population and the statistically significant growth in the proportion of highly skilled specialists (up to 30-35% of the workforce). 

The Environmental Projects Consulting Institute (EPCI) conducts research related to the analysis of the impact of the transition to a post-industrial model of economic development on the modernization of education. The Institute develops and implements organizational and methodological solutions in the educational process that respond to the dynamics of innovative processes in the economy during the transitional period.

EPCI has designed and implemented an extra-curricular education system for high school and university students for over 20 years. This system comprises educational and competition components involving project developments carried out during the learning process. The integration of analytical and competitive elements in the educational process enables students to acquire professional interdisciplinary competencies (Hard skills) and to develop interpersonal communication skills (Soft skills). The latter is essential for organizing project activities and achieving project goals, including the formation of an educational peer-to-peer (P2P) network.

The annual audience of the system is 2,000 students who carry out 1,500 research and applied projects aimed at improving the state of local ecosystems in municipalities across all regions of Russia and eight other countries. The system is implemented in the format of a public-state partnership and intersectional cooperation.

Given the high dynamics of structural economic changes in countries at the early stage of transitioning to a post-industrial development period, the current scientific research of EPCI is focused on studying the conditions for replicating the extra-curricular project-based education system in the developing countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. 

A promising direction for the system's development is the promotion of the developed forms of extra-curricular project-based education along the educational vertical: from completing the school curriculum to transitioning into university with subsequent educational support at the start of a professional career. 

Our educational approach accompanies the stage-by-stage changes in students' psychological needs – from junior ambitions to a goal-oriented focus on self-actualization through a profession – and contributes to the realization of young people's individual potentials and the acquisition of professional skills. 

Article link: https://journalspress.com/LJRMB_Volume23/Adapting-Education-to-the-Development-of-Post-Industrial-Processes-in-an-Economy-Extra-Curricular-Project-based-Learning-for-Developing-the-Innovative-Abilities-of-High-Sc.pdf