Teachers' interdisciplinary cooperation triggers students' transferable competencies and intensifies the process of intenationalisation of Higher Education

Abstract

The COVID pandemic, which has affected the whole world, the current military conflict in Ukraine, and the resulting energy crisis have pointed to the great interconnectedness of the world and the fragility of globalisation at the same time. There is no sector that is not affected by the current situation including the academic sector. Questions are being opened again for discussion regarding the required job skills for various professions, which are needed in a rapidly changing “over-globalised” world of work. The teaching profession has also gone through a turbulent period in terms of skill requirements during the pandemic. This contribution brings insight into how small steps and initiatives of teachers can contribute to improving the level of the so-called soft or transferable skills of university students and at the same time foster the process of internationalisation. The specific projects both carried out and running ones at the Faculty of Materials Science and Technology of the Slovak University of Technology (STU MTF) are described from goal, outcome, and skill development perspectives. Some recommendations driven from the project data already processed are presented at the end of the paper.