Universities UK’s Future Jobs Roadmap sets a welcome ambition: meaningful work-based learning for every undergraduate by 2035, with a milestone of 50% by 2030. At the Institute for Futures Development, we support that direction. We also believe the students at university today should benefit from it. (Universities UK announcement)
That is why we developed The Lab. Our platform matches live industry and community challenges to university curricula, while IFD manages the employer relationships and coordination that can make this work time-consuming to organise. The platform is operational, and universities can engage with us now to bring these opportunities into their programmes.
The roadmap gives this work fresh urgency. A student starting a three-year degree this autumn will normally graduate before 2030. There is every reason to begin extending access during their time at university.
Consider the opportunity. A student can spend three years studying business without ever discussing a business problem with the person trying to solve it. They can learn about sustainability without having to explain which environmental investment an organisation should make first, or why. Connecting that learning with a current organisational challenge gives their knowledge somewhere to go.
The practical question is how to make these experiences widely available.
Think about what happens when a lecturer wants to bring an employer’s problem into a module. Someone has to find the organisation, reach the right person, establish what they need and work out whether the challenge fits the teaching. Then come the emails, the schedules, the introductions and the follow-up. Repeat that across departments and student cohorts, and a promising educational idea becomes a considerable coordination task. Achieving UUK’s ambition means making that process manageable across whole universities.
This is the work IFD takes on. The Lab connects organisational challenges with relevant curricula, and we manage the relationships that support their delivery. Academics retain responsibility for teaching and assessment, with a platform and supporting service that reduce the effort of bringing employers into the learning experience.
That makes it easier to use the curriculum universities already have. An existing module provides the academic foundation; a live challenge gives students somewhere to apply it. Universities can extend access to employer engagement through the courses students are already taking.
The possibilities reach well beyond business schools or engineering departments. Organisations need to understand people, communicate ideas, interpret evidence, design services and make difficult choices. Students across the sciences, arts, humanities and professional disciplines have something to contribute. Every university can make use of this approach, and students in every subject can benefit from a closer connection with those questions.
For a student, the difference becomes apparent quite quickly. A promising recommendation meets a real constraint: “We have six weeks and half that budget.” The team has to listen, rethink and explain what can be achieved.
Alongside applying their subject knowledge, students practise the soft skills employers look for: communication, teamwork, adaptability and problem-solving. They learn to work through uncertainty, respond to feedback and take responsibility for their contribution. These experiences help build the professional confidence at the heart of UUK’s ambition.
The work also gives students evidence to take into recruitment. Named challenges become case studies in a growing work portfolio, supported by a branded certificate students can download when they submit their response. One team is selected as the winner of each challenge, providing further recognition of their achievement. Students can show what they investigated, explain their contribution and discuss what they learned. That gives them a stronger basis for conversations with employers and supports the roadmap’s emphasis on preparing graduates for working life.
Bringing such opportunities into taught programmes can also broaden access. A student’s chance to work with an organisation should not depend on a family introduction, the ability to relocate, spare time outside study and paid employment, or which university they attend. Curriculum-based challenges allow universities to bring that experience to whole cohorts, with academic support built into the process.
Employers benefit too. Businesses, charities and community organisations gain fresh thinking on current problems and a practical way to contribute to students’ development. An organisation that cannot accommodate a year-long placement may still have a valuable challenge to share. IFD provides a route into university collaboration and helps keep that engagement focused and manageable.
Placements, internships and other forms of work-based learning will remain valuable. Live challenges add a flexible route that universities can use across their provision, supported by the connections and coordination needed to make it work.
UUK’s roadmap gives the sector a shared direction. Reaching its ambition will take sustained effort, but the infrastructure to make progress is already available. Through The Lab, IFD offers curriculum matching, managed employer relationships and a platform that makes collaboration easier.
2030 is a milestone. Universities can start giving students these benefits much sooner.
The Lab is ready for universities to engage with today. Book a conversation with the IFD team to explore how it can support your response to the Future Jobs Roadmap.