OVERVIEW

Soft Skills are the abilities we all use to interact with our environment. These are skills that influence how we study and work, making it easier to achieve personal goals effectively. Companies and organizations also expect individuals to demonstrate these skills appropriately to better achieve results. Furthermore, the widespread adoption of digital communication technologies and remote work has brought to the forefront a new category of skills that enable people to create and share digital content, communicate and collaborate, and solve problems effectively and creatively in life, learning, work, and social activities in general.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students will learn to identify and enhance their strengths and areas for improvement, and to

understand how to interact and act within a professional system, clarifying their interests and

how to achieve them. An immediate benefit will be the ability to better organize their studies

and manage their time successfully, achieving more with less effort during their academic

path. The teaching unit contributes to the development of transversal skills required by the

Degree Programme.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Recognize their preferred learning strategies through the completion of a reflective journal during laboratory activities.

2. Identify and describe their abilities, concentration skills, and complexity management during practical exercises and self-assessment activities.

3. Apply methods for managing social interactions and constructive communication in group simulations and collaborative activities.

4. Develop decision-making autonomy and the ability to seek support during the implementation of a personal self-development plan.

5. Demonstrate empathy and the ability to build trust in group work and peer evaluation contexts.

PREREQUISITES

No specific prerequisites are required.

TEACHING METHODS

The course consists of 8 hours of lectures and a theoretical-practical laboratory component lasting 16 hours. Attendance at both the lectures and the workshop is mandatory, in accordance with the Academic Regulations.

The course will be coordinated by the faculty members responsible for the course. At the beginning of each workshop session, a brief theoretical introduction will be provided to present the foundational principles behind the methodologies used to develop specific soft skills. These skills will be practiced and applied through 15 practical exercises, team coaching, Think-Pair-Share activities, and peer evaluation.

At the end of the course, students will be required to submit a short report outlining the results of their experimental activities.

Students with certification of disability, specific learning disorders (DSA), or special educational needs should contact, at the beginning of the course, both the instructor and the Department’s disability liaison, Prof.ssa Elena Lagomarsino (elena.lagomarsino@unige.it) to agree on teaching and examination arrangements that, while respecting the objectives of the teaching unit, take into account individual learning needs and allow the use of compensatory tools if necessary..

The course also awards 3 Open Badges:

1. Advanced Personal Competence: autonomy, focus, stress resilience — specifically developed through tests, self-assessments, exercises, and all workshop activities, which are both the means and goals of soft skills development.
2. Advanced Social Competence: relational ability, collaborative attitude, sensitivity, and empathy — specifically developed through tests, self-assessments, exercises, and all workshop activities, which are both the means and goals of soft skills development.
3. Advanced Learning-to-Learn Competence: self-assessment and self-directed learning — explicitly developed through the learning of self-development methodologies and the use of the self-reflective journal technique, which will be explained in detail during the workshop.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

For all students taking the laboratory course for 3 ECTS credits

1. Definition of competence and characteristics of soft skills

2. Mechanisms of self-learning and self-development: motivation and training

3. Building a personal development plan and using the reflective journal

4. In-depth focus on: Communication, Digital communication, Time management, Teamwork, Problem solving

5. Methods for continuing personal development independently

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Materials provided by the instructor through AulaWeb. Additional references will be communicated during the course.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

First and second semester. Calendar: https://economia.unige.it/didattica/calendari-didattici

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

No final exam. Attendance and exercises are mandatory. Erasmus students: same conditions, with language support.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Assessment based on:

- Completion and quality of reflective journal

- Active participation

- Peer evaluation and lab work

FURTHER INFORMATION

Check the AulaWeb page of the course for updates.