Educating the next generation of information professionals

Any education for the professions today, and even more so in the future, has to, at the very least, acknowledge some core generic skills and attributes that seem common across the spectrum. Most professional bodies such as ALIA call for this basic knowledge to be included in any university program. Increasingly, employers are looking for graduates with strong communication skills who appreciate the need for transparency and accountability, as well as have the ability to take a big picture, multidisciplinary approach to their work. In addition, there is an expectation that a recent graduate, particularly at the Masters level, will have some knowledge of management, in particular human resource management and project planning; have well developed communication skills; be able to demonstrate initiative and creativity; understand the need for research and have, at least, the foundation knowledge and skills for developing a research program; be aware of ethics and relevant codes and their implementation in practice; understand fundamental IT principles and practices; and, increasingly, have a grounding in sociology (including in the Australian context, Indigenous studies).