Catalyst

Objectives for Catalyst

As part of the Catalyst project, e-skills UK worked with employers and universities to promote the capabilities graduates develop from different types of IT-related degree courses and encourage curriculum development in areas of industry growth.

UK universities have an excellent track record in computer sciences, with many world class departments offering world class courses.

Through the new Catalyst programme, e-skills UK and employers worked with a group of these universities to help build on this success and identify and address new growth markets - such as the increasing need for business-oriented, customer-focused IT professionals.

Taking action

The Catalyst programme focused on:

• A collaborative approach to curriculum development; and
• Helping universities to showcase clearly to employers what graduates can do (e-skills UK Innovation in HE brochure - pdf 150kb)

There was also a special focus on widening participation in higher education and improving the gender balance in IT.

e-skills internship

Addressing the area of curriculum development, research among more than 500 employers revealed that many are still concerned about the 'employability' of new graduates (Experian report - pdf 321kb). Despite continued efforts by universities, criticisms still include a lack of business and interpersonal skills as well as a limited appreciation of how an organisation works.

In an attempt to address graduate employability, the e-skills internship aims to dramatically increase the number of business placements available to students. This new programme, backed by employers and universities, aims to encourage more young people undertaking technology-related degrees to spend time in business acquiring these valuable skills. Full details are available at www.e-skills.com/internship.  

Last modified: 05 Nov 2009