The purpose of this study was to identify how the leadership training programme based on the acmeological approach for the Master’s students influences the students’ emotional stability and how that programme was perceived by graduates. The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods to yield data. The dimensions of emotional stability such as behavioural self-awareness, communication and conflict management, emotional and behavioural self-efficacy, adaptability, and self-programming of a positive mental attitude were used as variables in the study. Three qualitative and quantitative tools were used in the study. Those were the adapted and modified Emotional Stability Scale in the leadership context, the focus group interview, and the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software. The IBM SPSS Statistics (25.0.0.1) was used to compute the yielded data. The study found that the train-the-trainer leadership programme entitled “Crisis-driven Leadership” based on the acmeological approach fostered a statistically significant improvement in the Master’s students’ emotional stability. Moreover, the graduates perceived the programme positively and could more or less accurately explain how it enhanced their experience. The study upgraded the concept of leadership training by focusing on the development of the students’ emotional stability. The latter was trained using the combination of the age psychology and cross-disciplinary games (gamified activities, simulations), online and offline personality-development-purpose learning, a project method, collaborative learning technologies. It increased substantially the effectiveness of both development of the students’ emotional stability and leadership training. The study has brought a new psychological perspective to developing emotional stability in the students aged 20-22.

As a part of learning process, project-based assessment (PBA) is determined to be a potential approach in higher education evaluation that focuses on developing the important objectives related to critical thinking, team working and problems solving skills. The aim of the paper is to find out students’ reflection and teachers’ beliefs towards using this project-based assessment method in teaching Intercultural Communication Competence (ICC). To collect the data, a project-based assessment design was applied for 124 English major students at B University in the 9 weeks ICC course. This project was implemented from the beginning of the course, and at the end of the course, learners’ products were performed with specific activities regarding culture knowledge competition, online cultural community activities, talent performance, situational judgment ability, and eloquence skills. In addition, a set of questionnaires were delivered to the participants, plus the interviews with 36 teachers who have taught culture-related subjects from the universities in Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia. The findings revealed that although there were certain challenges, using project-based assessment in teaching culture had satisfactory effects on students’ intercultural competence, problem- solving skills, critical thinking, and learning motivation.

Professional certifications represent for many university degrees, especially postgraduate degrees, a recognition of their academic quality and the future employability of the graduates. This article contributes to the analysis of the impact of external accreditations on students’ perception of employability and satisfaction. We offer a case of study, a Master of Science (MSc) in Banking and Finance that became the first academic degree in Spain to obtain the two professional accreditations required for employees in financial institutions since 2019. A survey to a sample of students who graduated two academic years before and two years after the MSc was recognised is used to measure students' motivations for enrolment and satisfaction. The results provide significant evidence that professional accreditation became a key motivation for students to enrol the master, is associated with a more diverse geographical origin of students, and students highlight the higher quality and better coordination of the teaching staff.

The field of engineering education is constantly evolving to meet the challenges of technological and societal advancements. Continuous research should be conducted to identify the potential match between the skills that employers seek and the ones engineering graduates gain at college. The purpose of this study is to identify areas of agreement and disagreement between the faculty and employers regarding the skills and knowledge that engineering students acquire during their undergraduate education. The study uses an explanatory sequential design method by employing a questionnaire that was developed based on the Engineering Competency Model (ECM) by the Employment and Training Administration of the USA Department of Labor and responded to by 125 volunteer engineering faculty. Additionally, interviews were conducted with 2 industry professionals to gain deeper qualitative insights. The study found that while faculty mainly stated that students acquire personal effectiveness, academic, and workplace competencies in college, employers disagreed with these perceptions, particularly regarding interpersonal skills, integrity, professionalism, writing, and communication. Additionally, the study found a significant mismatch between faculty and employer assessments of industry-wide competencies, with employers expressing concerns about graduates' preparedness in areas like design, business, and sustainability. These findings suggest significant updates and cooperation with industry experts in engineering curricula and their implementation.