University World News
Microcredentials: A new category of education is rising (Global)
At the core of the traditional higher education system is a degree. However, over the past decade, enrolment in four-year degree programmes has steadily declined in the United States and, more recently, this trend has spilled over into emerging markets. Administrators, policymakers and employers began to question if there was a better way to fulfil student and labour market needs. Meanwhile, a new category of structured education was on the rise, offering smaller learning units with the potential of achieving a faster return on investment. As the pandemic took hold, interest in new learning models and digital offerings boomed. A globally accepted definition doesn’t exist yet for these smaller learning units but microcredentials – also often referred to as alternative or non-degree credentials – are emerging as a term to describe education that falls between courses and degrees. Microcredentials include certificates, digital badges, licences and apprenticeships, the latter equating to full qualifications in Europe. There are several primary drivers of non-degree credentials. First, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the gap is widening between the type of education offered in traditional higher education institutions and the skills needed to work in today’s digital world. Second, the lack of equal access to education has highlighted a need for solutions that provide the skills that lead to work, particularly for marginalised populations. Read more here.
Strait Times
Competition challenges tertiary students to tackle problems in retail industry (Global)
SINGAPORE – A subscription service for emergency firefighting supplies, a mobile app for gig workers and a reusable grocery delivery crate were the top three projects in a competition to solve issues faced by the local retail industry. The SRA Retail Reimagined Innovation Challenge 2022 was organised by the Singapore Retailers Association (SRA). The winning groups – Team Commersseurs, Team X-3 and Team Biodynamic – were picked from 42 teams comprising 163 members from 11 institutes of higher learning in the preliminary round, which took place in June. They presented their projects in the final round on Tuesday (July 12) to a judging panel comprising representatives from SRA, Enterprise Singapore and retail companies. For the competition, SRA worked with 10 partners from the retail industry to develop challenge statements, including how retailers can leverage e-commerce and digitalisation, and how they can adapt to changes brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. The partners included supermarket chain FairPrice, emergency products store EmergencyBiz and perfume store Scent by Six. Each team had to submit a solution for one of the 10 prescribed challenges. The finalists were judged according to four criteria: effectiveness, feasibility, viability and the quality of their presentation. Read more here.
The RUFORUM Blog 
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