Cultivation of the skills of design thinking via the project-based method as a component of the dual model of learning

Abstract

This paper outlines some of the key changes to cultivating relevant capabilities, skills, and competencies that are expected of university graduates today. Transformation processes in this area are calling for the creation of a relevant system of workforce education and training, with a focus on optimizing the conditions for combining work and training. This issue could be resolved via a set of activities on developing special models of mutually beneficial relationships between educational institutions, employers, and stakeholders. Such activities will be aimed at ensuring the practical preparation of education seekers for independent professional activity and their social adaptation in work teams, proper regulatory-legal and organizational support, the conduct of testing, the conduct of research, the fine-tuning of such models, and the development of recommendations on the use of such models on a wider scale. The dual model of learning, currently regarded by many as quite successful, combines effective innovative techniques and methodologies, including those founded on the project-based method. Through the example of the experience of several Ukrainian universities, specifically Sumy State University, with respect to the conduct of project-based activity, the authors describe the role of this type of activity in fostering the skills of design thinking with a focus on streamlining the experience of engaging in project-based and research activity. The authors' calculations using the Pearson correlation coefficient and the F-test helped establish that how many projects will be undertaken does not directly depend on the number of project groups.