A critical first stage of the ASSET-H project is now complete: in February we wrapped up the survey-based investigation into the skills and talents of students in the Humanities and Pedagogical Sciences. The purpose of the survey was to help us match humanities skills profile with labour market needs. The survey, which went live on February 8, was distributed simultaneously to students at KU Leuven, University of Leiden and University of Helsinki. Based in part on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the survey was piloted a few years ago at KU Leuven.
During the 11 days the survey was live, it was accessed by a total of 1883 students from the three target universities’ student populations. The table below shows a breakdown of the students who participated at each partner university.
Of the total responses, there were 1306 that are complete and eligible for examination through statistical analysis. The statistical analysis of the survey responses is currently being conducted by experts at KU Leuven. Watch this space for results of the analysis!
The survey consisted of 127 questions that assessed students in six basic areas. Questions were designed to elicit information about students’ self-evaluation in terms of research and analytical skills, communication skills, expertise in language, time and work management, creativity, and social (and diversity) empathy.
The ASSET-H team were thrilled that the number of students who responded to the survey exceeded our expectations. Answers started to come in immediately and stayed steady throughout the duration of the survey, and we did not have to send out many reminders. This positive reaction gave us the assurance that the ASSET-H project is relevant to students in the Humanities and also in Pedagogical Sciences. Thanks to the many students who took time to answer the survey, and also to the people who helped us prepare the survey (including translators, communications experts, our stakeholder boards, and more.) We will present information on the details of the survey outcome as soon as our statistical analyses are complete.