Enhancing student employability

A new online tool will be available to help Swinburne University of Technology students to get jobs when they graduate.

In an Australian first, Swinburne is partnering with Portfolium, a cloud-based online platform that allows university students and recent graduates to showcase their academic work, experiences and reflections in an ePortfolio that will directly demonstrate their skills and capabilities to prospective employers, supplementing traditional resumes.

Swinburne will pilot Portfolium ePortfolios with students in 2019.

“Swinburne fosters students to be adaptive learners who are equipped for the careers of the future. In a time when the world of work is changing, with an increasing focus on the value of enterprise and professional skills such as teamwork and communications, it is essential that graduates can demonstrate their broader skills and capabilities to prospective employers,” says Swinburne Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Duncan Bentley.

In addition to course work, most Swinburne courses have industry engagement and placement opportunities that give students real life work experience.

“Swinburne aims to make sure our graduates leave Swinburne with skills, knowledge and the mindset to confidently enter the job market. Combined with their course-related learning outcomes and industry experiences, access to digital platforms like Portfolium ensures they have the best opportunity to succeed in their career goals,” says Professor Bentley.

“The speed of technology and industry change is impacting how people learn and how they get jobs. Swinburne cares about students’ learning, their ability to get a job on graduation and having the capabilities and focus to fulfil their life purpose,” says Professor Bentley.

The Portfolium system enables students to be industry-connected, to have a place to record their lifelong learning experiences, and to have the ability to connect with employers globally.

"We are thrilled to be supporting Swinburne students to connect what they've learned in and out of the class to career opportunities, while helping the institution measure and track learning outcomes," says Portfolium VP of Partnerships Troy Markowitz. "As our first Australian educational partner, we look forward to helping Swinburne students gain a competitive edge in the job market by showcasing their skills and competencies in lifelong and portable learning ePortfolios."

Other universities offering Portfolium as part of their student experience include Yale, Cal State, Purdue and Virginia Tech.

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