86672 - Soft Skills to be Effective at Work - Rimini

Academic Year 2021/2022

  • Teaching Mode: Blended Learning

Learning outcomes

The course aims to develop students' awareness concerning the importance of soft skills in work contexts and the most suitable strategies for their enhancement and/or consolidation among university students. These skills, in fact, represent essential means, combined with the knowledge and specific skills of the scientific fields chosen by the participants, to tackle efficiently the challenges involved in their future career path, as well as the steps essential when entering the labour market (for instance, during the recruitment procedure).

Specific aims: The aims of this course already described correspond to the following specific purposes:

  • Becoming aware of the role played by soft skills when entering the labour market;
  • Recognizing one's soft skills and their suitability to different contexts and situations;
  • Developing the ability to assessment one's soft skills;
  • Promoting the development and/or enhancement of one's soft skills;
  • Developing the ability to define a specific plan aimed at fostering those skills that seem to be weaker on inadequate.

Course contents

Through the implementation of an active teaching method, based on team works requiring the translation of soft skills in order to face concrete situations similar to typical job search activity (for example, tackling job interviews and in-basket exercises.

Specifically, these exercises will be focused on three areas of expertise:

  • To read/understand each situation, which includes the ability to gather information/data that allow to analyse and interpret circumstances and relationships, to process this information/data in order to identify a proper solution;
  • To address/solve the situations, including the ability to plan, manage and implement a targeted action plan, the ability to make consistent decisions and to effectively manage changes. This area of expertise is further developed through the MOOC named "Change management";
  • To collaborate, which includes the ability to present oneself, to work within teams, to interact effectively with others, being aware of inter-individual dynamics and conflict management. The activities in class (integrated by MOOCs) address specific areas of expertise. Moreover, students will attend a e-learning platform (this activities will take above 6 hours) aimed at encouraging involvement, active participation, awareness of the importance of soft skills for work placement and the ability to self-evaluate one's own skills.

This e-learning activity will be defined in the following specific contents:

  • Presentation and description of the role of soft skills through the interviews with different figures pertaining to the labour market (e.g., HR Directors of large companies);
  • Self-assessment of one’s soft skills;
  • Integration of this self-assessment activity with classroom activities, participation in MOOCs and the outputs of online questionnaires;
  • Summary of one’s soft skills. This profile will allow photographing the skills already developed, those that should be enhanced, and a detailed description of a plan aimed at strengthening those skills emerged as critical for job placement activities and/or accessing advanced training courses.

The topics will be analyzed/presented in terms of inclusive industrialization, multiculturality, innovation and diversity management too, as indicated by the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Readings/Bibliography

The study materials will be available on the e-learning platform before and during the course.

Teaching methods

Blended method (18 hours of taught lessons, 6 hours of distance learning, 24 hours of online MOOCs).

Taught lessons will take place on March-April 2022. More specific info will be provided soon on this section.

Assessment methods

At the end of the course, the final mark is based on the assessment of two elements:

1) The development of knowledge concerning the skills addressed in the course (a suitable bibliography will be provided);

2) The consistence of the development plan elaborated at the end of the course with the potential weaknesses identified through the questionnaires and activities.

Teaching tools

The e-learning platform will be the main support for the teaching activity.

The platform will allow to download the PowerPoint files presented during the taught lessons and exercises.

At the beginnig of the course, all the relevant information concerning the course (exercises, questionnaires, deadlines, ...) will be available on the platform.

Office hours

See the website of Simone Donati