COLLOQUIUM BY NICE
Title: Labour market indicators in Singapore : Is the current state providing sufficient policy visibility?
Synopsis: Apart from economic growth, standard measures such as employment growth, unemployment, labour force participation, job vacancies and retrenchments serve as key indicators of labour market health in Singapore. The amount of information captured in an array of such indicators is smaller than than the number of indicators observed because they are not totally independent of one another. More generally, what is the state of such indicators for Singapore's labour market and is there scope for increasing the number and type of indicators that would aid in improving the visibility of where the labour market is heading? An area of particular interest is skills acquisition and development: are existing indicators of training achievements adequate for assessing the success of major policy initiatives, most notably SkillsFuture? And in an era where AI disruption is top of policymakers', business leaders' and workers' concerns, are there measures of skills conditions which can show how the workforce is doing in terms of AI preparedness and where the gap are? In this colloquium, the SUSS team that worked with the Ministry of Manpower and Burning Glass Institute on the development of the Singapore Opportunity Index will discuss these and other questions from the perspective of the value that a new indicator such as the SOI brings to improving policy visibility.
Presenters
Dr Kang Soon-Hock
Director, University Research Office
Dr Kang Soon-Hock is a sociologist whose research interest centres on the issues of employment and employability of mature workers and its implications on Singapore society. He is an associate professor at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) and also the Director of the University Research Office at SUSS.
Dr Randolph Tan
Director, Node for Impactful Continuing Education (NICE) and Associate Professor, Business Programme, School of Business
Dr Randolph Tan is an econometrician and economist whose current research interests focus on employment issues and the challenges of workforce skills acquisition and development. He is an associate professor in the School of Business and also serves as Director of the Node for Impactful Continuing Education.
Dr Sheryl Chua
Head, Public Safety and Security Programme, School of Humanities and Behavioural Sciences
Dr Sheryl Chua is an industrial-organisational psychologist with experience in public and private sectors. She is currently a senior lecturer at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), where she is the Head of the Public Safety and Security programme. Her research interests are organisational psychology, crisis leadership, well-being, labour and employment studies.
COLLOQUIUM BY UWK, ULM AND TLC
Participating Institutions and Organisations
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Title: Intergenerational Learning: Reframing Generations, Learning, and Societal Impact
Synopsis: As societies confront increasingly complex challenges, such as demographic change, workforce transformation, technological disruption, and social fragmentation, there is growing recognition that sustainable responses require learning across generations, rather than learning designed for separate generations. Intergenerational learning (IGL) has therefore attracted increasing attention across education, community development, and workforce learning. Yet IGL is understood in varied ways and mobilised for different purposes across institutional and disciplinary contexts.
This international colloquium brings together researchers from the University for Continuing Education Krems (UWK), Austria’s Agency for Education and Internationalisation (OeAD), Ulm University, and the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) to examine different interpretations, purposes, and enactments of IGL. Moving from situated examples and designed practice to a broader synthesis of the higher education literature, the colloquium explores how different institutional contexts conceptualise and enact intergenerational learning, while considering what these diverse approaches reveal about its forms, functions, and possibilities.
Each institution offers distinct but complementary perspectives on intergenerational learning. UWK and OeAD examine two Austrian educational initiatives as potential settings for intergenerational learning, asking what “generation” means in each context, how the initiatives create conditions for learning from, with, and about other generations, and how such learning unfolds in practice. Ulm University presents its didactic concept of Intergenerational Learning by Design, offering a conceptual framework and practical insights. The approach enables generations to learn from, with, and about one another — challenging stereotypes, fostering reciprocal exchange of knowledge and competencies, and promoting critical reflection on intergenerational relations. Established practice-based projects are showcased. SUSS presents IGL as a pedagogical process that leverages generational diversity in adult learning classrooms. Drawing on a meta-synthesis of higher education research, the presentation examines how IGL is conceptualised, designed, and enacted, as well as the educational outcomes it generates.
The discussant response will bring the three contributions into conversation and push the debate further by asking: What, precisely, makes learning genuinely intergenerational? What forms of difference become visible – or disappear – when we think through generations? Are we too quick to assume that intergenerational learning is inherently valuable? These tensions will open up a critical debate about the field’s future in the light of contemporary societal challenges.
Presenters
Isabell Grundschober
Isabell Grundschober is a Researcher and Lecturer at the University for Continuing Education Krems, Austria. She specialises in lifelong learning as well as technology-enhanced education, focusing on innovative teaching methods in adult education and work-integrated learning.
Karmen Mlinar
Karmen Mlinar is an Assistant Professor at the University for Continuing Education Krems, Austria. Her scholarship centres on intercultural relations, intersectionality, implicit theories and knowledge construction in education, teacher education and continuing education.
Patrick Reisinger
Patrick Reisinger leads the Austrian Digital Skills Office at OeAD, leading national digital competency strategy, large-scale adult training programs, and represents Austria in the European Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition.
Markus Marquard
Markus Marquard is Managing Director of the Centre for General Academic Continuing Education at Ulm University. His research focuses on educational geragogy, digitalisation, and intergenerational learning. He currently serves as a member of the German Federal Government's 10th Commission on Ageing, which addresses the theme of education in later life.
Dorothee Hoffmann
Dorothee Hoffmann is a Research Associate at the Centre for General Academic Continuing Education (ZAWiW) at Ulm University. Her work focuses on intergenerational learning, where she designs and facilitates university teaching, dialogue formats, and co-creative workshops that bring together diverse generational perspectives.
Yan Yin Ho
Yan Yin Ho is an Associate Professor at the Singapore University of Social Sciences. She also holds the appointment of Deputy Director at the university’s Teaching & Learning Centre. Her research interests include adult learning, academic coaching and learning to learn competency, with a focus on providing personalised learning support to adult learners.
Jennifer Yeo
Jennifer Yeo is an Associate Professor at the Singapore University of Social Sciences. Her research focuses on adult learning, andragogy, and the design of learning across educational and workplace contexts. She is particularly interested in how learners develop capabilities through practice, interaction, and boundary-crossing experiences, and how these insights can inform curriculum and andragogical practice.