Education 4.0 and Outcome-Based Education (OBE) @ LBEF CAMPUS

By: Dr. Sandeep Kautish, Dean (Academics) , LBEF CAMPUS

Industry 4.0 and Education 4.0 are currently favoured internationally to promote industry-based educational renewal and has already been adopted by several countries i.e. Canada, the United States and India and many more. Education 4.0 is a response to the needs of Industry 4.0 where human and technology are aligned to enable new possibilities. The new vision of learning promotes learners to learn not only skills and knowledge that are needed but also to identify the source to learn these skills and knowledge. Education 4.0 relies on flexibilities; flexibility in learning time, place and method. Out of various offered flexibilities, the best flexibility is that the students have a choice in determining how they want to learn.

Based on features of Education 4.0 and backed with its advantages, Outcome-based Education (OBE) is an educational theory which based is on designing the educational system around goals i.e. outcomes. An OBE based curriculum means starting with a clear picture of what is important for students to be able to do, then organizing the curriculum, instruction and assessment to make sure this learning ultimately happens. Revolutionary OBE pedagogy ensures that all students are equipped with the knowledge, competence, and qualities needed to be successful after they exit the educational system.

Benefits of Education 4.0 based OBE –

•    Needs-driven– OBE focuses on designing the curriculum in terms of the knowledge, skills and attitudes expected from graduates and aim to equip students for lifelong learning.
•    Outcomes-driven –The OBE model of education encompasses a line that runs from considering training needs and to set an aim (purpose) for the programme, goals for syllabus themes, learning outcomes, and finally assessing the learning outcomes in terms of the set learning objectives.
•    Design-down approach– Linked to needs and the purpose of the programme, learning content is only selected after the desired outcomes have been specified. Content of curricula becomes a vehicle to achieve the desired learning outcomes.
•    Focus shifts from teaching to learning– The Education 4.0 and OBE model has a student-centred learning approach where professors act as facilitators. Study guides help the learners to organize their learning activities; continuous assessment and self-assessment are major features.
•    Holistic in its outcomes focus– Although the learning objectives are aimed at learning at the grass-roots level, they are linked to goals and aims at higher levels. Attaining learning objectives is therefore not an end in itself; it provides building blocks for achieving higher-level outcomes.
•    Participation and Collaboration– The adoption of OBE encourages participation and collaboration from multiple disciplines and interest groups in planning and implementing the curricula which will foster learning in various areas of knowledge.
•    Self-directed Learning– OBE promotes more self-directed learning and allow students to have a metacognitive understanding of the educational program and their role in that process.

Principles of Education 4.0 and OBE –

1. Clarity– The focus on outcomes creates a clear expectation of what needs to be accomplished i.e. students will understand what is expected of them and teachers will know what they need to teach during the course.
2. Flexibility– OBE is meant to be a student-centred learning model. With a clear sense of what needs to be accomplished, instructors will be able to structure their lessons around the student’s needs.
3. Comparison– OBE can be compared across different institutions i.e. what outcomes a student has achieved to decide what level the student would be at within a new institution.
4. Involvement– Student involvement in the classroom is a key part of OBE. Students are expected to do their learning so that they gain a full understanding i.e. theoretical and practical concept of the subject.

OBE can be summarized as an eclectic educational philosophy taking the best from previous approaches and framing it in a new visionary system that is appropriate to the needs and demands of new educational pedagogy. It brings about a national focus on education as a means to an end and not an end in itself. It forces the uncoordinated and laissez-faire educational system and its practices into the background and introduces strategic educational planning that is aimed at achieving high-end results.

Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation has introduced Outcome-Based Education (OBE) and LBEF CAMPUS is the first institution in Nepal to introduce Outcome-Based Education. All the courses offered at LBEF CAMPUS follow Outcome-Based Education (OBE) to ensure that our students are industry-ready and employable.

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