Last November 20th, the "MUNDUS for CIENTIFIC WORKSHOP" took place at the facilities of the Educational Sciences Faculty of the University of Granada. The workshop was organized by the Scholar Organization and Didactics Department of that University, which has an Erasmus Mundus program of the same name.
The objective of the Workshop was defined as to investigate on the work-related perspectives and real insertion into the work market of Erasmus Mundus graduates, and how the EU Erasmus Mundus program contributes to this end.
In this background, 4 alumni of the first two promotions of the Erasmus Mundus Master of Work, Organizational and Personnel Psychology (EM WOP-P), took active part in the workshop.
Luciana Marques (University of Coimbra), Silvia Colotti (University of Bologna), Lynn Kolbe, (University of Barcelona) and Lucas Monzani (University of Valencia), attended to the workshop, represented the WOP-P EM Master in the different activities of the workshop.
The Workshop consisted of two work sessions, being the first one in a series of individual structured interviews to the alumni. The second work session was a "focus group" around the main subject of the workshop.
As a result of the focus group, many interesting coincident points of views and discrepancies where found in terms of the main subject of the workshop. Surprisingly many coincidences on the work reality where found not only on the social science related master programs but those on other diverse areas as telecommunications or energetic industries management .
With respect to the participation of the EM WOP-P alumni, in the group discussion we can clearly distinguish the overall coherence in the diversity of the 4 representatives of the partner universities.
Some examples of key concepts which emerged from the group discussion in reference to the EM WOP-P were:
- The consistency of the theoretical models which support the learning experience during the master, specifically the scientific-practitioner and the competencies model, both general and enabling of the Work and Organizational Psychologist, which serve as a theoretical framework in the day to day activities of an WOP-P professional.
- In the same line of though, special emphasis was made on the quality of the academic level, either on the knowledge and academic professor members and scholars, which latter transfers into the professional activity as "value adding factor" which creates a distinguishing differential when facing the professional activity.
- Among the challenges detected, many of which were shared by alumni of other programs, one was the idea of how to "transfer down" the knowledge, abilities and skills learnt during the master into the practitioners day-to-day reality, which sometimes in terms of times and processes is not always coincident with levels of the program. As a response to this challenge, the importance of further developing the "practicum" credits of the Master and the idea of an increased participation of the "practicum" tutor during this period as possible nexus among the academic reality and the practitioners' activities.
- Another challenge identified, maybe of a more structural nature, was that the full time dedication of two years duration of the master, implies the students to exit the work market during this period, and after it at the moment of the re-entry, this generates a "lack of fit" between the academic experience and the work related experience in comparison to other professionals in work market. Again as a response to this challenge, emphasis was made on the further developing and structuring of the emerging "Career Services" of the master program, as a focal point in order to facilitate the job insertion process of the alumni.
As a conclusion and "wrap-up" of a fruitful day of work sessions, the workshop concluded with delicious traditional dinner of the Granada region, which was provided by the Departamento de Didáctica y Organización Escolar of the organizing university and its Master Erasmus Mundus MUNDUSfor program.
 last modification: 21 December 2009 |
