UCalgary prepares students with skills to thrive across all aspects of life

If you think about the skills that have served you best in your life, from work to relationships, what comes to mind? Chances are, it’s not the subject-specific knowledge you were taught in school. More likely, its intangible things such as being able to navigate challenges, or communicate clearly, or manage your time through busy stretches. These transferrable skills are a major part of life, but where do you pick them up? 

“There is a hidden curriculum that many haven’t been taught: what is ‘good’ communications, how do you solve a problem, how do you manage your time well, and we are expected to pick it up through work and school,” says Gillian Robertson, Future Skills specialist in the Office of Experiential Learning at the University of Calgary. 

“For many reasons, some students have had more exposure to these skills than others. The modules help break down barriers and enable access to this content for all students, especially when embedded into courses."

Robertson is UCalgary’s lead for the Future Skills Innovation Network (FUSION), a collaborative network of Canadian universities, that includes Carleton University, Memorial University, University of Saskatchewan, Concordia University and UCalgary, focused on fostering skill development to prepare students for the future economy. This a program offers free modules to UCalgary faculty, students and staff, helping equip students for what comes next in an ever-changing world. 

Robertson shares that survey data from two recent groups of students overwhelmingly agrees that building transferrable skills adds value to their university education. 

“Students are craving this content because it helps them articulate these skills, which then translates to examples for resumes and cover letters,” she says. As the specialist, Robertson works with instructors and students to embed modules in programming and courses. 

Future Skills currently offers nine modules, with a total of 13 available by March 2026. The modules each cover a particular skill, from AI literacy and collaboration to problem-solving and self-management, based on the Government of Canada’s Skills for Success Framework. Created by the FUSION network, a subject matter expert leads the development of the module based on a major literature review, followed by consultations with students and partners, to identify how to teach the content to others. 

“These are online, asynchronous modules that cause you to reflect on a skill, which can be half the battle,” says Robertson. “Students identify the skill, their strengths and opportunities, and then apply it through a classroom project, co-op, or life in general. At the end, they complete a self-assessment to measure if they feel they have improved in the skill.”

The modules help close gaps in skills or knowledge for students that can arise when they enter the workforce for the first time.

Self-reflection as a practise

Reflection is a major element of the modules and, as Robertson notes, is a skill on its own. 

This is an idea mirrored by Lauren Somerville, a graduate of Haskayne’s Master of Management. She came to UCalgary when a friend from her undergraduate program moved to the city and recommended that she look into the program. She took part in Future Skills through the internship leg of her program. 

“The modules followed how you would progress with a job, with metacognition, communications, then problem-solving,” says Somerville. “Think about how you think, then how to communicate, and then how to solve big problems.” 

Somerville, now an advancement officer for West Island College in Calgary, had already completed an undergraduate degree and worked for two years before beginning her master’s. Even with this experience, she discovered new things about herself that she can take forward in her career. 

“Reflection has been so helpful. I am typically good at goal setting and mapping how to get there but I am less good at taking time to reflect on how I did or didn’t accomplish something,” she says. “Getting to know yourself, where your strengths and weaknesses are; it’s worth taking time to reflect to figure out our brains.”

Changing brains in a changing world

Dr. Victoria Fast is an associate professor in geography and one of the instructors who has adopted Future Skills modules in her courses. A lover of teaching, she has noticed a shift in her classes in recent years with the influx of technology. 

“Due to pervasive digital technology and constant scrolling, I don’t think we are able, as a society, to listen and learn anymore,” she says.

“I think the constant input is changing our brains and how we learn, and we need to update our pedagogy to reflect that. Future Skills provides hands-on learning helps make a meaningful learning environment.”

Students participated in an in-class engagement activity for Fast’s GEOG 280 class, Thinking Spatially in a Digital World, focused on the Digital Literacy module. Borrowing some grade weighting from term tests to put more emphasis on in-class learning, Fast says that student learn to engage with the material, complete prep work prior to the class, and then participate in an engaging discussion and task at their roundtables. 

“They really loved it,” says Fast. “Students lit up. You can see it on their faces, and they leave feeling energized.”

Fast and Robertson met to discuss what modules would be most appropriate for the specific class, then created an assignment for the students to complete. 

“We are working together to develop important skills for students in their domain expertise, and equally important, in professional and lifelong skills,” says Fast.

“I often hear graduating students say they don’t have much experience as they prepare to enter the workforce, which isn’t true. Throughout their degrees, they have learned collaboration, communication, metacognition, and problem solving, among others.”

“We need to teach students not just these fundamental skills, but the language to talk about the skills they have. Future Skills provides that opportunity to students.”