This program is particularly significant given the increasing demand for soft skills in both national and global professional markets in recent years.

Inspired by the ENIS COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Scheme, this project stands as interdisciplinary research focused on ISM and its impact on students post mobility employability and related personal outcomes.

The project aims to explore the relationship between the skills acquired through ISM, employability, and personal outcomes, such as satisfaction and commitment. It focuses on soft skills, that are increasingly sought after by employers who often express concern over their scarcity among graduates, calling HEIs and individuals to implement activities that foster their development. Specifically, the project seeks to:

• Assess the long-term benefits of ISM in terms of soft skills acquisition and development, and examine how these skills were cultivated during the mobility experience;
• Analyze the direct and indirect effects of ISM (through soft skills development) on employability and related personal outcomes such as satisfaction and commitment, by incorporating the perspectives of various stakeholders (students, graduates, and employers);

• Compare the outcomes in two European contexts (Switzerland and Spain);

• Develop and implement concrete measures, such as guides and workshops for students, to raise awareness of the importance of soft skills and ISM for employability and personal career development.

This project will contribute to the ENIS Action by generating valuable scientific insights into soft skills, enabling ISM students to more effectively leverage these competences, leading to enhanced adaptability and job satisfaction in the long run.

It highlights the value of incorporating soft skills alongside hard skills as a strong asset for promoting sustainable employability of students. Furthermore, triangulating the different perceptions by surveying students, graduates, and employers introduces a novel approach in the literature, offering more accurate measurements of ISM’s impact on employability and related outcomes, such as satisfaction and engagement.

This comparative analysis of Swiss and Spanish contexts, complemented by in-depth interviews, will help HEIs develop common policies and mechanisms that better align with students’ needs and labour market demands. Ultimately, our scientific findings will provide practical recommendations for ISM, contributing to the overall success of this Action.

This longitudinal study is funded by the « Cost Actions » program (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) through the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and is conducted in partnership with the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) in Spain, the National University of Ireland (NUI) in Galway and the Tilburg University (TiU) in the Netherlands.

Project team:

HEG Arc
Lamia Ben Hamida (Main applicant)
Armand Brice Kouadio (Applicant)
Stefanie Hasler (Scientific collaborator)
Alain Segessemann (Scientific associate)

Partners
Maude Theurillat (HES-SO Mobility)
Adriana Perez Encinas (UAM)
John Cullinan (NUI)
Christof Van Mol (TiU)