Mid Sweden University

Higher education institutions' collaboration with organisations in the surrounding society includes education, research and development initiatives. Such initiatives are often discussed in terms of lifelong learning and should, in an ideal situation, include the continuous professional development of individuals as well as organisational development (2). Such an ideal embraces the dissolving of boundaries between individual and organisational development and the idea that successful continuous professional development should occur at both individual and aggregated levels. Based on a networked mode, higher education institutions are closely linked to their surrounding society, embracing a two-way relationship with a hybrid character, including multiple connections with branches and/or organisations (3). Formal education and informal work-related tasks are blurred and emphasised as equally important (1).

This paper aims to analyse and discuss the tensions that occur when higher education lifelong learning initiatives intersect with initiatives for employees' continuous professional development and with organisations' goals. The following research questions are posed: 

1) Which tensions between individual and organisational goals emerge when higher education lifelong learning initiatives aimed at providing continuous professional development are implemented? and 

2) How can the intersection between employees’ continuous professional development in terms of higher education courses be understood from an organisational perspective?

The study is based on a higher education initiative planned and performed in collaboration with eight organisations belonging to an established network of bank and insurance companies. A casestudy-inspired approach was conducted. Data were gathered from professional development courses and embraced conversations with leading representatives of participating organisations, email interviews with teachers, e-mail conversations between teachers and course participants, and course evaluations (open-ended and Likert scale questions).

The findings show that while participants in the courses found the courses to contribute to continuous professional development, the organisations did not have the same view. Thus, tensions in the intersection between professional development for individuals and organisations were identified. Bringing organisation-relevant data as input to the courses was identified as a key to providing the establishment of solid links between theoretical perspectives and work-related practices. In focus were collaborative features and the idea of linking theoretical reasoning to authentic organisational problems.

The study suggests that a crucial barrier breaker to reduce or eliminate the main barrier is a course on strategically managed professional development for leading representatives of participating organisations. A combined focus on individuals and organisations could also stimulate leading representatives to take a holistic approach to continuous professional development. This includes increased responsibility to ensure that investments in continuous professional development are beneficial for organisations.

1.Cremers, et al. (2014). Self-directed lifelong learning in hybrid learning configurations. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 33(2), 207–232.

2. Mlambo, et al. (2021). Lifelong learning and nurses’ continuing professional development: A metasynthesis of the literature. BMC Nursing, 20, 1–13.

3. Nørgård, et al. (2019). Networked learning in, for, and with the world. In A. Littlejohn, J. et al.(Eds.), Networked professional learning: Emerging and equitable discourses for professional development (pp. 71–88). Springer.