Mind the Gap: The Imperative for Density of Educational Collaboration with Industry

This paper studies the factors affecting university and industry collaboration in education in the hospitality industry in Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) from a company perspective. The authors use qualitative method and quantitative research to study the matters, specifically using scales and data collected for Cronbach alpha reliability testing, analysizing the discovery factor of EFA, CFA and verifying the regression models through AMOS software with SEM linear modeling. The study proposes four factors: (1) organization factors, (2) contextual factors, (3) process factors, and (4) cooperation perspective impacting on the benefits factors and university and industry collaboration in education. In addition, it is also found that benefits factors has a direct and positive impact on the collaboration in education. The results suggest that the process factor had the strongest positive, followed by the contextual factor. The findings revealed that the benefit factors were significantly related to collaboration in education, which affects university and industry hospitality alliances. This finding confirm that the cooperation perspective (QD) and contextual factors (HC) are critical in collaboration between university and industry. A new point of interest is also identified that the benefits of training links are quite dependent on the linking perspective from tourism businesses.

Contemporary organisations face the challenge of responding to growing requirements and expectations in a modern and dynamic business environment. Moreover, changes in the workforce and modern work culture are leading to an increasing need for complex problem-solving, progressiveness, flexibility and rapid adaptation in the management of organisations. Employees enable the organisation to rapidly sense and respond to unpredicted threats and opportunities through their actions, leveraging them for strategic advantage. Altogether it led to adopting the Agile approach in management, initially created for manufacturing and software development methods. Today the Agile approach helps to improve teamwork, adapt to changes, and achieve goals more efficiently. Moreover, it is becoming more strongly associated with the management of organisations and emerging as a standard in modern business environments. Furthermore, the Agile approach has transformed into a method to organise work in the organisation. So, Agile teams are becoming a critical and central unit in the organisation. This poses new challenges in Human Resource Management (HRM) on how to motivate Agile teams, because not only the individual motivation of the employees within the team becomes important, but also the overall motivation of the team as a whole. One of the well-known and recognised tools for motivating employees is gamification. Researchers and HRM practitioners defined gamification as the application of game elements in non-game environments. Gamification application aims to create stimuli that enrich the work environment by stimulating employee motivation and encouraging employees to achieve their goals in an engaging, novel and fun way. It is known that gamification has been applied in the context of Agile teams. With the growing popularity of Agile teams in organisations, gamification is becoming an integral part of their work environment. Despite gamification and Agile team embedding in organisations, existing research does not provide enough knowledge about Agile team motivation from the collective perspective, specifically, what set of shared needs an Agile team has and how these can be met through gamification. So, this study aims to address theoretical gaps in understanding how gamification impacts Agile team motivation by reviewing existing research and developing a conceptual theoretical model explaining the impact of gamification on Agile team motivation. The systematic literature review examines empirical research on gamification in HRM and analyses peer-reviewed articles on agile teams, their performance and effectiveness published in Web of Science, Scopus, and other databases over the last decade. The literature analysis revealed that an Agile team can be characterised by a set of shared needs that can be met through gamification to increase team motivation. This study contributes to the development of theory on how gamification affects the collective level of a team in general. Moreover, this research can provide insights that can be applied to organisational management practice and policy creation.

A number of government attempts to stimulate cooperation processes in Russian agriculture unfortunately did not result in expected results. The major reason is the outdated view on cooperation. In Russian legislation and policy measures the only one cooperative model is recognized and accepted, namely a traditional cooperative. This model is prescribed in Federal Law No. 193 “On agricultural cooperation”. However, in some aspects traditional cooperative model does not meet requirements of the modern business and social environment. This article discusses and analyses alternative cooperative models, which can be more competitive in modern business environment than a traditional cooperative model.

Purpose This article explores authentic assessment in event management education, with emphasis on emerging technologies and industry collaboration. It addresses sector-wide concerns around course credibility and employability, examining how authentic assessment can bridge the gap between academic learning and professional practice. Design/methodology/approach An interpretivist, qualitative approach was used, drawing on focus groups and interviews with UK-based event management academics. Thematic analysis identified key themes in assessment design, technology use and industry engagement. Findings Academics widely support authentic assessment for its role in developing industry-relevant, employability-focused skills. Technology was used to replicate professional contexts but was limited by institutional constraints, digital inequality and staff capability. Industry partnerships improved assessment relevance but often relied on individual networks and goodwill. A revised version of Gulikers et al.’s (2004b) Five-Dimensional Framework is proposed, incorporating student co-creation, reflexive practice and industry feedback as additional dimensions. Research limitations/implications The study reflects only academic perspectives within UK event management educators. Further research should include student and industry views and test the revised framework in practice. Practical implications To support authentic assessment, institutions must provide clearer definitions, targeted staff development and resources to embed industry collaboration in curriculum design. Originality/value The article offers new insights by highlighting academic perspectives and advancing existing frameworks to better reflect current practice. The proposed model integrates technology, reflexivity and industry feedback, offering a more adaptable tool for vocational disciplines.

<p>The purpose of this research study was to explore the role of leadership in supporting the Basic English curriculum design and delivery at two selected Vietnamese non-language major universities specialising in Finance and Accounting. Studies on academic leadership and distributed leadership in higher education are well documented in Western literature (Bolden, Gosling, O’Brien, Peters and Haslam, 2012; Bryman, 2007; Cardno, 2012); however leadership in higher education is largely under-researched in developing countries like Vietnam. Moreover, curriculum design impacts on the wellbeing and effectiveness of higher education (Barnett & Coate, 2005). Leadership is necessary to effect change (Oliver & Huyn, 2010) and therefore potentially to impact on curriculum design and delivery. The role of leadership in making the Basic English curriculum more relevant for graduate students and ensuring that they are better prepared for the workplace is of particular interest in the Vietnamese university context. This qualitatively-focused case study design, with a small quantitative component, guided by an interpretivist/ constructivist theoretical framework aimed to explore how academic leaders promote the Basic English curriculum design and delivery in the Vietnamese university context. Data were collected through in-depth individual interviews with senior academic leaders and company directors, focus group interviews with English as a foreign language (EFL) lecturers, observations of a curriculum meeting, and an online survey by graduates from the two selected universities. The study employed thematic data analysis techniques. Research shows that the curriculum framework in Vietnamese universities promulgated by the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) results in heavy workloads for academic staff (Gropello, Thomas, Yemenez, Chchibber, & Adams, 2008; Van, 2011). This negatively affects their wellbeing and may reduce their effectiveness as teachers and researchers. The findings from the study provided evidence that leadership practices in Vietnam were influenced by Confucian values. It also showed that the personal barriers academic leaders and EFL lecturers face vary according to gender. However, academic leadership in Vietnamese higher education contexts in this study reveals a mixture of distributed and collaborative leadership in curriculum design and delivery which can provide insights for other Vietnamese universities. It also revealed that senior leaders and EFL lecturers appear to work collaboratively to solve the issue of curriculum design and delivery. The findings have implications for policy development and practice. Suggestions made by employers and graduates to institutional leaders, curriculum developers and lecturers are to consider redesigning the curriculum to have a more communicative focus and more oral practice to ensure graduates are better prepared for work. The study has brought insights for senior leaders on how to create successful collaboration with their colleagues and partners in curriculum design and renewal and provided guidance on the enhancement of educational leadership practices in the two chosen universities. The results of this study have contributed to closing the current gaps in understanding how leadership at all levels in higher education impact on curriculum design and delivery. This study will be useful not only in the Vietnamese context but also in other countries where English is taught as a second or foreign language.</p>

<p>The purpose of this research study was to explore the role of leadership in supporting the Basic English curriculum design and delivery at two selected Vietnamese non-language major universities specialising in Finance and Accounting. Studies on academic leadership and distributed leadership in higher education are well documented in Western literature (Bolden, Gosling, O’Brien, Peters and Haslam, 2012; Bryman, 2007; Cardno, 2012); however leadership in higher education is largely under-researched in developing countries like Vietnam. Moreover, curriculum design impacts on the wellbeing and effectiveness of higher education (Barnett & Coate, 2005). Leadership is necessary to effect change (Oliver & Huyn, 2010) and therefore potentially to impact on curriculum design and delivery. The role of leadership in making the Basic English curriculum more relevant for graduate students and ensuring that they are better prepared for the workplace is of particular interest in the Vietnamese university context. This qualitatively-focused case study design, with a small quantitative component, guided by an interpretivist/ constructivist theoretical framework aimed to explore how academic leaders promote the Basic English curriculum design and delivery in the Vietnamese university context. Data were collected through in-depth individual interviews with senior academic leaders and company directors, focus group interviews with English as a foreign language (EFL) lecturers, observations of a curriculum meeting, and an online survey by graduates from the two selected universities. The study employed thematic data analysis techniques. Research shows that the curriculum framework in Vietnamese universities promulgated by the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) results in heavy workloads for academic staff (Gropello, Thomas, Yemenez, Chchibber, & Adams, 2008; Van, 2011). This negatively affects their wellbeing and may reduce their effectiveness as teachers and researchers. The findings from the study provided evidence that leadership practices in Vietnam were influenced by Confucian values. It also showed that the personal barriers academic leaders and EFL lecturers face vary according to gender. However, academic leadership in Vietnamese higher education contexts in this study reveals a mixture of distributed and collaborative leadership in curriculum design and delivery which can provide insights for other Vietnamese universities. It also revealed that senior leaders and EFL lecturers appear to work collaboratively to solve the issue of curriculum design and delivery. The findings have implications for policy development and practice. Suggestions made by employers and graduates to institutional leaders, curriculum developers and lecturers are to consider redesigning the curriculum to have a more communicative focus and more oral practice to ensure graduates are better prepared for work. The study has brought insights for senior leaders on how to create successful collaboration with their colleagues and partners in curriculum design and renewal and provided guidance on the enhancement of educational leadership practices in the two chosen universities. The results of this study have contributed to closing the current gaps in understanding how leadership at all levels in higher education impact on curriculum design and delivery. This study will be useful not only in the Vietnamese context but also in other countries where English is taught as a second or foreign language.</p>

This comprehensive literature review examines the dynamic evolution of business analytics education, with a focus on curriculum innovation, experiential learning, and emerging pedagogical strategies. Analyzing 103 scholarly articles from 2012 to 2024, the study identifies three core themes: Curriculum Innovation for Industry Competencies, Experiential Learning in Analytical Decision-Making, and Innovative Pedagogies for Skill Development. These themes are further examined through nine critical dimensions: Curriculum Design, Analytical Skills Development, Industry Collaboration, and Technology-Enhanced Learning. The review highlights the increasing importance of aligning curricula with industry demands, integrating data literacy and ethical considerations, and utilizing technology to enhance learning outcomes. Challenges such as the academic-industry gap and the need for ongoing faculty development are also discussed. This review synthesizes current trends in business analytics education. It offers insights for future curriculum innovation and industry collaboration, emphasizing the need to equip graduates with essential competencies for the modern workforce.

Purpose This study examines the integration of data analytics and sustainability within Malaysian accounting education grounded by experiential learning theory (ELT) and constructivist learning theory. It aims to bridge the gap between student competencies, industry expectations and institutional curricula, offering a structured framework for comparable international business education contexts. The study aligns accounting programmes with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) Competency Framework and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation standards. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a mixed-methods exploratory sequential design, this study combined a survey of 350 undergraduate accounting students across UniSZA, UMT and UMK with responses from 100 industry stakeholders. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-tests and regression analysis, while qualitative data, including interviews, focus groups and document analysis, were thematically coded and triangulated. Findings Results reveal strong student proficiency in Excel but significant weaknesses in advanced analytics (Power BI, Tableau and Python) and sustainability literacy. Employers emphasised the importance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, anomaly detection and carbon accounting, identifying substantial gaps in graduate readiness. Regression analysis confirmed that digital competency significantly predicts sustainability literacy and employability readiness. Qualitative findings highlighted institutional barriers, including curriculum overload, limited faculty training and insufficient academic−industry collaboration. Research limitations/implications This study was limited to three East Coast Malaysian universities and relied on cross-sectional, self-reported data. Longitudinal and cross-country studies are recommended to enhance generalisability and test the framework’s applicability across diverse contexts. Practical implications The framework provides curriculum designers and educators with a roadmap to embed analytics within existing accounting courses, thereby addressing curriculum overload without increasing credit hours. For policymakers, it aligns with Malaysia’s Digital Economy Blueprint and the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) agenda. For the industry, it supports the cultivation of future accountants capable of leveraging analytics to enhance ESG assurance, sustainable finance and integrated reporting. Social implications By equipping graduates with both digital and sustainability competencies, the framework contributes to achieving SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) and SDG 13 (Climate Action), while fostering partnerships for sustainability (SDG 17) through stronger university−industry collaboration. Originality/value This study provides one of the first empirical examinations of how Malaysian accounting curricula can integrate analytics and sustainability to achieve SDG-aligned outcomes. Offering a locally grounded yet globally relevant three-tier framework advances the sustainability literature in higher education while providing actionable insights for universities, regulators and industry stakeholders.

This paper proposes a process for enacting a financial services consortium-led apprenticeship education framework, underpinned by higher education and industry collaboration (HE-IC). While there is significant research in the areas of, HE-IC and apprenticeship education programmes, there is a lack of research combining these areas as a mechanism for facilitating a consortium-led financial services apprenticeship education framework. Underpinned by boundary organisation theory, the research questions ask: what is the process for developing, implementing and enacting a higher education financial services apprenticeship education framework? and, how can this framework serve as a mechanism for higher education institute and industry collaboration? Insights from apprenticeship education, higher education and industry collaboration literature informs the empirical research. A single interpretive case study explores the creation of an International Financial Services suite of apprenticeship education programmes in Ireland and captures subjective and contextual experience of apprenticeship consortium members and policy stakeholders. Findings suggest that HE-IC is key to achieving employer-led apprenticeship education programme success. A research-informed framework provides greater insight into creating a process for enacting an apprenticeship education framework as a mechanism for facilitating broader HE-IC, thereby extending boundary organisation theory.

The notion of mental health service user involvement in curriculum design and delivery has become commonplace over recent years. However, concern has been expressed that the rhetoric has not matched the reality. In particular, service user involvement has tended towards either tokenism or over‐sensitivity to the point of near inertia. By contrast, this paper describes a project that took a pragmatic approach and was designed to make involvement in curriculum planning, design and delivery meaningful and worthwhile for service users, students and educators alike. The paper has two principal objectives. In the first instance, it outlines the strategy for involvement that was used to inform curriculum design and delivery at the University of Abertay Dundee. This was grounded in the academic literature. Second, it provides an evaluation of this strategy based on practical experience and identifies some of the difficulties that must be overcome to work in a collaborative manner. In so doing, it examines some of the common concerns of educational staff, service users and students in relation to service user involvement. In conclusion, we provide recommendations for educators seeking to involve mental health service users in a meaningful manner in both the design of training programmes for mental health workers, and in their delivery.

Background: Requirement elicitation is the first step for any project. The available BI requirement elicitation approaches are focused more towards: the top pyramid of the management, less focus on the business aspect of an organization, historical in nature, emphasis on data mining and data warehousing aspects, no clear separation between requirements, and lack of proper linkage between the requirements. The demand of BI shifts towards the operational front for last couple of years. The use of Operational BI is gaining more popularity among industry and business communities because of increased demand of real time BI. It provides a powerful analysis of both operational and business information in current time for all levels of the users in the organization.Objective: In the modern business environment, the business operates on networks that demands multi-level decision-making capabilities as compared to the traditional business approaches. Operational BI is one of the business information systems that support the modern business environment and provides timely decision-making information to all the users in the organization. The requirement elicitation methodology for Operational BI system is found open for research. A new approach for requirement elicitation for an Operational BI system is presented in this paper, which highly suits to the organizations in the modern business environment.Methods: A top down technique is employed in the proposed requirements methodology that focuses on the business context of an organization. The proposed requirement elicitation approach is highly suited for the organizations that operate in the modern business environment. This approach overcomes several limitations in the existing BI requirement approaches. A case study is presented to support the proposed requirement elicitation approach for OBI system.Conclusion: This approach has several advantages like fast development, clear definition, classification of various types of requirements and proper linkage between the requirements without any loss or missing of gathering requirements. Finally, it is to conclude that the proposed approach acts as a one-pot synthesis of requirements elicitation for Operational BI system.Keywords: Business Context, Business, Intelligence, Business Networks, Protocols, Modern Business, Environment, Operational Business, Intelligence Requirement, Elicitation, Requirement, Methodology

Current study aimed at examining the applicability of Accounting Information Systems within modern business environment in Amman stock exchange between the variables of Software (Industrial application structure, Business application structure, Cloud computing structure) and Hardware (Stand-alone structure design, Multi-user structure design, Network structure design, Cloud computing structure design). In order to be able to highlight extent of applicability researcher has chosen quantitative approach through applying the study tool (questionnaire) on accounting managers within (102) companies in Amman Stock Exchange. After application process total of (65) accounting managers responded to questionnaire with a response rate of 63.72% which was statistically acceptable. Results of study indicated a high level of applicability of AIS within Amman Stock Exchange companies attributed to high awareness of accounting managers regarding AIS. In addition to that, it appeared through the analysis that the applicability degree is more influenced by software equipment more than the hardware which explains that high awareness of individuals.  In light of such results; study recommends companies in Amman stock exchange should continue embracing AISs in their business practices to increase their speed of processing tasks, use data entered into the system to compile reports, and make correction easily where necessary.

Higher education continuously perpetuates systems of domination through the (re)production of Western knowledge systems that inherently marginalize and “other” Indigenous people and knowledges. Through a postcolonial approach to competency-based curriculum (re)design, we propose a framework that centers the knowledges and voices of marginalized people as a way to dismantle oppressive systems in higher education. In this chapter, we define colonialism; discuss higher education’s role in perpetuating colonialism; define and discuss competency-based curriculum design; define and discuss higher education’s role in postcolonialism and curriculum design; and discuss our framework for competency-based curriculum (re)design. Stage One is characterized by “denaturalization” which is guided by a “thick inclusion” of traditionally marginalized knowledges (Stein in Comparative Education Review 61:S25–S50, 2017). Stage Two creates spaces of (un)learning and (un)knowing and is contextually based on traditionally marginalized knowledges. Through this framework, we seek to decolonize higher education and support traditionally marginalized individuals.

A crucial question in business today is whether the notion of competition in a modern business environment needs to be radically re-examined. Many variables play a role in determining competitive success; new ones are emerging all the time.

This research explores the enhancement of maritime education with a focus on integrating sustainability, green technologies, and stronger industry collaboration to better prepare future seafarers. The analysis was motivated by the growing need to adapt maritime training to meet the challenges of an evolving global maritime industry, which increasingly demands expertise in environmental sustainability and emerging maritime technologies. While previous research has acknowledged the importance of these areas, there has been limited focus on how effectively they are incorporated into maritime curricula. The research aimed to answer key questions regarding the integration of green technologies and sustainability into maritime education and the role of industry partnerships in bridging the gap between education and practical application. Using qualitative interviews with maritime professionals, lecturers, and graduates, this study applied a systematic literature to analyze the findings and identify trends in current practices. Results indicated that while there are efforts to integrate sustainability, further enhancement is needed in curriculum development, with a stronger emphasis on interdisciplinary learning and regulatory knowledge. The research concluded that improving collaborations between industry and academia, alongside updating curricula to focus on sustainability and green technologies, is crucial for preparing future seafarers. These findings provide a roadmap for maritime institutions to adapt to the changing needs of the industry and contribute to the development of a more sustainable maritime workforce.