Fit for the Future - Modernisation of Master Curriculum in ict for Enhancing Student Employability in Belarus

Abstract

The Belarusian ICT industry grows fast, but the full potential has not been reached yet. To increase the ICT industry’s position as a central soil for the Belarusian economy, factors that hinder further growth, need to be identified and improved. Two of such factors are the inefficient dialogue between the ICT industry and higher education and a rather passive role of universities in framing trends on the market. This paper describes the concept and the implementation plan of the Erasmus+-project “Modernisation of Master Curriculum in ICT for Enhancing Student Employability in Belarus” (MaCICT). MaCICT is aimed to enhance the employability of ICT master students, foster entrepreneurship and establishment of SMEs in the ICT industry, and to upscale the position of higher education. For this, MaCICT updates the ICT study programmes to become more labor market and society oriented, practice-based, and student-centered. This forces universities to combine the traditional professional skills and competencies with soft and transferable skills and to focus more on multidisciplinary studies and internationalization of the study environment.