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Purpose. This chapter discusses the challenges and different strategies to increase skill development for the future workforce.

Methodology. Multiple sources on the topic were studied and reviewed in this chapter. The idea of skill and its development is discussed in the literature review.

Findings. Different nations’ governments have promoted human capital development by providing up-skilling and retraining programs to balance supply and demand. Skills gaps need to be brought to the attention of stakeholders, such as governments, businesses, and the educational system. Teachers, employers, and other stakeholders need to develop strategies and action plans to ensure that the skills gaps are appropriately identified and adequately addressed. These initiatives must be developed with input from various stakeholders.

Practical Implications. The research results would inform the curriculum, incorporating skill development processes tailored to various scenarios. These findings would aid business organisations in crafting skill development programs that address identified skill gaps. Challenges in skill development would be taken into account during course development, and relevant teaching–learning materials would be created. Key stakeholders, such as accrediting organisations, employers, and students, should exert more influence on academic institutions to prioritise societal demands for economic development.

Originality/Value. The uniqueness and significance of this chapter lie in its concise summary of the strategies to tackle the hurdles in skill development.

The purpose of this study is to document the process of transformative learning during students’ internships.

A qualitative study was conducted with 13 interviewed students to gain deeper insights into their learning experiences during their internships. Their weekly reflections from their 6 month’s internship experience were also coded for common themes.

The study found numerous trigger events ranging from task-related challenges to interpersonal challenges to environmental challenges led to mindset shifts in students during their internships. The mindset shifts are enabled by students engaging in the trigger events through asking questions, seeking information and reflecting. Other enablers of these mindset shifts are workplace psychological safety, social support and individual learning orientation. The conclusion drawn is that trigger events and enabling resources such as external support are central to healthy mindset shifts and learning.

This paper provides important guidance for supporting transformative learning during student internships.

This paper provides important guidance for supporting transformative learning during student internships.

The very essence of internationalisation, which depends heavily on academic mobility and cross-border interactions, has been adversely affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has been associated with a significant decline in student and staff mobility in South Africa and around the world. Nonetheless, it has also catalysed innovation and inspired new approaches to teaching and learning that have the potential to transform the future of higher education. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education institutions are grappling with a fundamental question that goes beyond the practicalities of internationalisation: How can we re-envision the concept of internationalisation to meet the challenges of the new normal? This question calls for a deeper reflection on the nature of internationalisation itself. How can we ensure that cross-border interactions and exchanges continue to foster a sense of global community and intercultural understanding, even in a world that is physically distanced? This chapter seeks to explore the profound implications of the pandemic on the internationalisation of higher education (IHE) in South Africa. It aims to critically examine the present challenges to internationalisation and the strategies that have been developed to address them in the context of the post-pandemic world. The chapter employs a critical reflection approach through the use of qualitative research, systematic literature review, and document analysis. By utilising these methodologies, it seeks to delve deeper into the implications of the pandemic on the IHE in South Africa.

This chapter describes challenges that students, faculty and administrators at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, ITESM) experienced related to remote learning and isolation. The authors document experiences and strategies of different management teams to act flexibly in times of uncertainty and to support society in general. Ultimately, technology, experience and trust in various levels of leadership as well as horizontal and inclusive communication changed the educational status quo and strengthened the university community.

The study is an attempt to expand the knowledge about the psychological and behavioral aspects of Indian students studying abroad amidst fear of uncertainty and social unrest.

The exploratory study is employed to seek a better and deeper understanding of the possible impact of the potential war on the student abroad study process. In the study, the participants were selected from Delhi NCR of India. The thoughts and opinions of students on studying abroad under the fear of uncertainty were covered in a semi-structured interview.

Five broad themes emerged from the analysis of the interviews that influence students' choices and attitudes toward their decisions on studying abroad. The themes are “safety”, “fear of incomplete degree”, “financial stress”, “parents' apprehension” and “emotional breakdown”.

The study leveraged an understanding of the mindset of Indian students. Considering the student's doubts and fear over such uncertainty and war-like situations, the higher education policymaker can adopt some measures (hybrid education, short-term programs, student exchange programs, shift in destination, distance learning and new forms of educational technology) to cope with such upcoming challenges, ensuring their safety and pursuing their dreams by taking higher education abroad.

This qualitative study develops a comprehensive understanding of how students perceive such extreme crises and how their thoughts, attitudes and behavior toward studying abroad change. The study contributes to comprehending the student's description of perceptions, emotions, opinions and behaviors under the fear of uncertainty and social unrest.

The main aim of the existing study is to assess work-home interaction which is a challenge to human resource management (HRM).

The existing research is primary in nature. The sample size of the study is 285. The responses obtained from structured questionnaire. The qualitative data collected from secondary sources. For quantitative analysis various statistical tools have been applied, namely, Cronbach Alpha test, Correlation analysis and Regression analysis. The variables understudy was work environment, training opportunities, career opportunities, pay structure and technology factors.

As the recent pandemic continues to spread, all institutions should essentially remain alert and adaptable to new circumstances. HRM was essential throughout the pandemic, but now more than ever HR professionals must go above and beyond to meet the demands of organizations. The purpose of this study was to illuminate some of the most significant HR concerns that have surfaced in the aftermath of recent pandemics.

Employees' perspectives on work and life have shifted as a result of the added stress brought on by pandemic. So, businesses should provide crucial care to their workers' spirits and also HR professionals should pay close attention to their concerns and address the same thoughtfully.

The research adds to the current literature by illuminating the additional HR difficulties that have emerged in the wake of the global epidemic. More research may reveal additional significant HR difficulties, but these are a good place to start.

This paper aims to facilitate researchers, practitioners and policymakers in understanding and managing the impact of the black swan event – COVID-19 on work from home in the social science subject area through bibliometric analysis. For this purpose, the authors analyzed publications from the Scopus database.

In this paper, the authors conducted bibliometric analysis based on two major techniques: performance analysis and science mapping. The authors applied VOSviewer and Biblioshiny to address the research questions of present study. The study explored the hot trend topics and summarized them with discussions and implications.

Based on the analysis of 500 publications, the authors present an overview of performance and science mapping from the perspective of different aspects such as publication output and authors. Also, authors visualized the text mining by co-word analysis forming nine clusters as well as mapping trend topics. The existing publications were divided into ten clusters according to different keyword analyses: Leadership, Mental health, Technology, Crisis Management, Gender, Challenges, well-being and Work-life balance.

Sample from the Scopus database is not exhaustive, and the dataset may be skewed due to the adoption of the selection criteria. The authors’ concentration was on academic publications in English that excludes potentially intriguing and pioneering studies done in other languages. The study area was limited to social science only.

The paramount lesson is that the COVID-19 quandary is multifaceted, necessitating not simply adaptations to current strategies but also an understanding and analysis of advancements in the economy, commerce and society. According to the analysis presented above, to overcome the COVID-19 “black swan event”, managers must think ahead. The analysis gives leaders and decision-makers a range of useful information on work from home (WFH) difficulties in COVID-19, as well as initiatives and revisions that must be implemented at the economic, social and scientific aspects when dealing with such uncertainties. The findings also aid managers in forecasting the need for sophisticated technology, organizational agility and resilience to attain the desired direction of progress.

With a focus on addressing WFH during COVID-19 from social science perspective and to synthesize its future research directions systematically, the authors performed Bibliometric analysis both with VOSviewer and Biblioshiny, in order to enhance the overall analysis for higher accuracy and more reliable results that is unique value addition and contribution to the existing literature.

This paper aims to explore the epistemic connections between three instructional coaches and a first-year in-service teacher during remote planning and debrief meetings. Prior evidence suggests that remote instructional coaching leads to better teaching practices and identifies the instructional coaching moves used to prompt teacher reflection.

In this study, the authors utilized quantitative ethnography and epistemic network analysis (ENA) approaches to explore the epistemic frames of three remote university-based instructional coaches as they supported a first-year in-service teacher.

Quantitative ENA findings shed light on the network connections between instructional coaches and teachers, as well as the epistemic frames observed during planning and debrief meetings. Additionally, the authors provide qualitative findings that complement and reinforce the quantitative results.

All data collection occurred via Zoom, and the class was in a hybrid modality, with some students attending class in person and some attending remotely via Zoom. This unique context could have impacted the epistemic connections surrounding technology and logistics.

This study provides a practical codebook for use in future studies that explores instructional coaching. Findings from this study can be used to inform instructional coaching decisions.

The ENA findings helped deepen the authors' understanding of how instructional coaches can support a first-year in-service teacher during planning and debrief meetings in several ways. Additionally, this study presents a unique context given the COVID-19 pandemic and the remote model of instructional coaching.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) programs are traditionally delivered in-person and full-time (40 h per week) for 10 weeks during the summer. However, this type of format has the potential to limit broader student participation. This study aims to compare learning assessment data between a traditional NSF REU (10 weeks of summer, full-time, in-person) to an alternative NSF REU delivered virtually, part-time and over 10 months as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

A retrospective pre-then-post survey was completed to assess perceived learning gains for each REU program. Three learning gains categories were assessed: entrepreneurial competencies, career goals and research skill development. T-tests were used to evaluate a difference in means between pre and post.

Findings show the greatest quantity of learning gains within the alternative program delivery. Moreover, a larger quantity of learning gains was perceived within the first semester of the alternative program delivery compared to the second semester.

The authors propose the NSF should be intentional about trying new approaches to REU programs delivery, including duration and format, as a way to broaden participation in engineering.

This study is original in that it is the first of its kind to assess an alternative REU program delivery (allowed only because of the COVID-19 pandemic) in comparison to traditional REU program delivery.