Digital capabilities and connecting the dots

A multi-university project considered how to embed the development of evolving digital capabilities and work practices into university curricula across Design, Communication, Business and Engineering. This article focuses on the industry stakeholder input for developing a learning model in line with digital capabilities needed in industry. Adapting the work of Best (2009) and Evans et al. (2017), digital capabilities can be categorized as Functional, Perceptual and Adaptive. These three lenses create an integrated learning framework, using disciplinary language to contextualize digital capabilities for work practices. Further research should include advertised digital requirements for emerging jobs. We also suggest that professional learning initiatives should be co-designed by higher education institutions and industry organizations, to keep pace with the influence of evolving technologies and associated work practices across disciplines.