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Purpose: This paper investigates the effects of working during university education on labour market outcomes of university graduates. Design/methodology/approach: Based on data from three successive cohorts of graduates from the Spanish region of Catalonia, the authors estimate the effect of having worked in different types of jobs before graduation, classified according to work intensity and the match with the field of study, on the probability of being employed, having a permanent contract or having a job that requires the specific degree four years after graduation. The authors employ a multinomial endogenous treatment model that enables controlling for self-selection into pre-graduation working activities. Findings: Pre-graduation work activities that are related to the field of study are generally beneficial for employability and job stability. Work experiences unmatched with the degree's content are detrimental for graduates' job–education match. Originality/value: This is the first paper that jointly considers the role of work intensity (part-time vs full-time) and the relationship with the field of study in a framework that accounts for self-selection into different types of jobs. The authors also contribute to the literature by estimating the effect of pre-graduation jobs not only on the chances of being employed four years after graduation but also on two important aspects of job quality: having a permanent contract and having a job that requires the specific degree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to report on a case study concerning the development of sustainable energy partnerships involving engineering faculty and undergraduate students at the University of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Design/methodology/approach: Faculty were motivated to seek partnerships with public and private entities in the local area for the purposes of realising mutually beneficial outcomes. The educational programmes of future engineers, when sustainability is considered, are analysed. Education for sustainable development has to include multidisciplinary active learning as a desirable competence. Active learning can be obtained when problems are based on real life because they are most motivating for students. Constructive alignment component is obtained because learning objectives are linked with learning activities related to the needs of public and private entities. Findings: Through the provision of technical expertise, the adoption and success of renewable energy projects was facilitated on the one hand, while final year undergraduate students benefited in terms of hands-on experience in helping to bring these projects to life, drawing on the knowledge and skills they had acquired throughout their degree programmes. These works are addressed to students by faculty members with the aim of developing and promoting renewable energies. Outcomes from partnerships surpassed expectations; not only were different benefits realised as were initially hoped for, but this success led to partnerships being sustained over time. Originality/value: Fossil fuel-based energy systems are associated with a myriad of negative environmental and social externalities. It is difficult to overstate the importance of transitioning towards alternative low carbon energy sources for climate change mitigation which are less centralised compared to the status-quo for energy security and energy independence. By actively facilitating the development of decentralised renewable energy sources in Catalonia, the projects reported herein are of significant value in social environmental and educational terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to measure the effect that knowing the Catalan language has on individuals' comparative advantage to perform certain jobs in Catalonia (Spain), where Catalan and Spanish coexist. Design/methodology/approach – Using census data for 1991 and 1996, and for individuals born in Spain, the paper first estimates a Probit model for individuals' level of Catalan proficiency in order to correct for the possible endogeneity of Catalan knowledge, as it may be jointly determined with occupational selection or be a reflection of unobserved human capital or innate ability. Then, it estimates a bivariate Probit model for the probability of choosing a given occupation conditional on a given Catalan proficiency level. Findings – The paper finds that advanced proficiency in Catalan reinforces selection into being employed, being an entrepreneur, and into white-collar occupations and communication-intensive jobs. Being able to read and speak Catalan increases selection into white collar occupations by between 11 and 16 percentage points, while writing Catalan increases by 4 to 7 percentage points the probability of engaging in services, and government and educational activities. Practical implications – Because census data are cross-sectional panel effects on language selection cannot be analyzed. Nevertheless, the paper's results suggest that investing in learning the local language, at the firm and the government level, improves job matching and assimilation of workers to multilingual economies. The authors suggest a cost-benefit analysis to assess the effectiveness of language policies for further research. Originality/value – The results contribute to the scarce literature on the economic value of a language, i.e. on how much language knowledge as a form of human capital reinforces individuals' comparative advantage to perform certain tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The paper seeks to describe the Catalan corporate e-learning providers from the perspective of quality perception, quality assessment and quality control. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review reveals key aspects of the definition of quality in e-learning. The results of the review constitute the basis for exploratory research into the way quality is perceived and handled within the Catalan corporate e-learning sector. Findings – It was found that the organisations studied attribute major importance to quality dimensions related to any kind of teaching/learning, whereas other dimensions with clear relation to e-learning receive lower priority. The study also reveals certain incoherence between the dimensions of quality and the applied strategies of quality assessment and control. Research limitations/implications – The presentation of pre-defined quality indicators could have led to a distortion in the answers given to the questionnaire presented. It would be interesting to compare and contrast the findings using interviews addressed to quality managers and focus groups in organisations representative of the sector. Originality/value – The paper integrates the discussion of theoretical approaches and models for quality in e-learning with the description of important players in the field of e-learning that had not yet been studied from the perspective of quality perception and quality control. It can be understood as an exploratory step towards further studies in order to contribute to an improvement in the quality policies applied in the corporate e-learning sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents methodological and strategic results of the first two years of the implementation of the second environmental plan (2002-2005) at the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) and discusses the benefits and difficulties of new strategies adopted. Particularly, the focus is pointed to the introduction of environmental aspects into technical education, in the framework of an integral university approach that combines simultaneous actions in the areas of education, research, university life and communication in order to develop a consistent and synergetic model. The paper describes and discusses the strategies that have been adopted for accelerating the transformation of the university towards a sustainable university, which include: to create useful tools for decision making, particularly strategic planning indicators; to introduce environmental indicators into university mainstream processes; to assess the transformation potential through an environmental research map; and to work synergistically through "linking initiatives". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1996 the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) adopted an Environment Plan which incorporated classical technical education, promoting multidisciplinary environmental research, and improving the environmental performance of university life as a whole. This paper outlines the first environment plan (1996-2001). It discusses its encouraging results and consequences, and describes how it was the main motivation for the design of a second environment plan for the period (2002-2005). The paper pays special attention to the curriculum greening experience of UPC: six years ago the university decided to start greening its entire range of courses, over a wide range of technical and scientific areas. The paper explains the most relevant projects, and attempts to evaluate their effectiveness in improving the environmental performance of the university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]