Conference Agenda

University teaching methods face increasing challenges due to technological advancements, interdisciplinary approaches, and evolving student expectations. These factors, combined with the traditional role of universities in balancing teaching and research, require institutions to innovate and adapt. Higher education must equip students to tackle complex societal challenges while fostering critical and responsible citizenship.

Public administration education plays a crucial role in training future public managers. A key challenge lies in enhancing students' professionalization, ensuring they develop both technical expertise and practical experience.

This paper examines a pedagogical approach implemented in the Master’s programs in Human Resource Management and Public Administration at the Université libre de Bruxelles. These "professionalizing" degrees emphasize skill development and engagement with practitioners. While primarily attended by recent graduates, they increasingly attract professionals returning to education while working in the public sector.

The approach under study involves organizational consulting missions, based on Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) (Malmö University, 2021; Nichols et al., 2016; Vermunt et al., 2021). Students address real-world problems presented by public administrations within a structured methodological framework that supports their learning and professional growth. This combination of hands-on experience and academic guidance offers valuable insights into the impact of innovative teaching formats in public administration education.

Implemented for over a decade, these consulting missions target final-year Master’s students. Unlike traditional internships, they position students as consultants tasked with diagnosing issues and formulating actionable recommendations. Through direct interaction with public sector actors, students develop both technical skills relevant to their mission and behavioral competencies such as problem-solving, teamwork, and adaptability. They are not left to navigate these challenges alone—the pedagogical support system plays a crucial role in structuring their learning experience and ensuring reflective engagement.

Over time, the pedagogical framework has evolved, integrating new teaching tools to enhance student learning. This paper analyzes the approach from two perspectives: an evaluation of its alignment with course objectives and a contextual assessment of its relevance to public administration education challenges. We critically examine success factors and obstacles within this framework.

While student engagement and the relevance of their recommendations are key strengths, our analysis highlights challenges: coordination among stakeholders (host organizations and academic supervisors), alignment of problem comprehension, teamwork management, student autonomy in skill development, the transition from an academic to a consultant mindset, and the ability to propose creative and innovative solutions. The central question remains: To what extent do these missions contribute to the long-term acquisition of knowledge and competencies, and how can they be optimized?

Our study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining participant observations (as the authors are part of the teaching team), analysis of anonymous student evaluations, and feedback from host organizations. By triangulating these data sources, we gain a deeper understanding of the learning mechanisms at play and identify strategies to improve this pedagogical model. By examining the evolution and outcomes of these consulting missions, this contribution sheds light on teaching methods in public administration and their role in enhancing student professionalization.

Gamification is becoming increasingly important for public administration, as a literature review shows (Contreras-Espinosa & Blanco-M, 2022). One important strand is the development towards so-called serious games, i.e. games that have a serious purpose (Trauzettel 2020, 5). Gamification is already being used internationally in the fields of policing, environmental sustainability, citizen participation and healthcare (Freire, & Sangiorgi, 2010; Ro, et al. 2017; Hassan & Hamari 2020; Hussain, Halford & AlKaabi, 2023).

In terms of practical implementation, individual pilot projects have already been launched in Germany to successfully adapt gamification. One example is a successful gaming project by the Federal Foreign Office to impart knowledge about Europe, climate policy or international negotiations (Federal Foreign Office, 2023). The potential of gaming for cultural and educational policy has also already been analysed (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen e.V., 2023). In the healthcare sector in particular, gaming concepts such as the ‘MemoreBox’ have already been successfully piloted in prevention programmes in retirement and nursing homes. The aim of this tool is to train seniors' stability and gait as well as cognitive skills such as memory and concentration by playing games on the computer (Trauzettel, 2020). In our preliminary study, we review the current state of research and conceptualize a theoretical framework for the use of serious games in public sector education.

In public administration research on the interaction between citizens and the state, the focus is more often placed on the state and rather than on citizens (Jakobsen et al., 2019). When citizens are studied, it is mostly through (vignette) surveys, focusing on their satisfaction with public services (Van De Walle, 2018). However, this research design has limitations, as citizens’ perceptions are often not only a reflection of the performance of public sector organisations, but also reflect exogenous factors, such as the personal background or political opinions of citizens (Van Ryzin, 2007).

Moreover, diverse representation in research remains a challenge (Cooper et al., 2021) as those citizens who are most dependent on public services are often not included in the research design (Christensen et al., 2020). Similarly, it is often the same group of citizens who seem more attracted to actively influence public policies, for example through participatory budgeting (Van der Does, 2023) or coproduction (Verschuere et al., 2012; Voorberg et al., 2015). Non-participation of citizens has multiple causes (Cornwall, 2008) and scholars should thus, when designing their studies, consider aspects such as the division of power (Abizadeh, 2023), the recognition of local knowledge (Openjuru et al., 2015) or exchanging knowledge visually instead of verbally (Cole & Knowles, 2008).

Different modes of engagement with society have been developed in different disciplines, such as community-based participatory research, action research and service learning (Barker, 2004; Doberneck et al., 2010; Holland et al., 2010). Moreover, citizen science is a well-known method to involve citizens in research (Robinson et al., 2018). Through active engagement of scholars in the community, a reciprocal relationship can be created, which is beneficial for both research and community (Dick, 2017). Impact driven or engaged research in public administration is more concerned with ‘speaking truth to power’ than such reciprocal relationships with communities and citizens (Boyer, 1990, 1996; Neely et al., 2018).

This raises the question: what can public administration scholars learn from research methods developed in other disciplines for citizen-centred research in order to achieve more effective knowledge exchange with and for citizens through their own research? Based on a scoping review, we present a typology of methods along two dimensions: (1) on the level of community engagement and (2) whether the goal of research is to understand or to change societal problems. The goal of this paper is twofold: the typology provides a framework to select suitable approaches to include citizens in research addressing their needs, and it provides public administration scholars with tools to develop knowledge about the citizen-side of public service delivery. These tools could then also become part of teaching curricula.

Public administration training is increasingly adopting an anthropocentric (human-centered) approach that prioritizes the development of civil servants’ skills, mindset, and leadership capacities. Rather than traditional top-down instruction, this approach centers on trainers’ needs and experiences, making training programs more personalized, experiential, and adaptive (Eggers W, Datar A. 2022). The National Centre for Public Administration and Local Government (EKDDA) in Greece exemplifies this paradigm through its innovative programs “Peer Mentoring for Civil Servants in Public Administration” and “Peer Coaching for General Directors.” These initiatives use guided peer support and one-on-one coaching to foster continuous learning in a collaborative, supportive environment, empowering employees to grow professionally and emotionally.

This study overviews EKDDA’s human-centric training philosophy and examines how mentoring and coaching interventions impact the public sector's skill-building, institutional culture, and leadership development. The research is guided by questions such as:

- Do peer mentoring relationships among civil servants enhance professional competencies and on-the-job skills?

- Can executive coaching instill a more open, innovative organizational culture?

- How do these programs contribute to cultivating effective leadership practices?

To answer these, a mixed-methods methodology is employed, combining qualitative interviews with program participants and administrators, and quantitative analysis of participants’ evaluation surveys. This dual approach captures both in-depth personal experiences and measurable outcomes, providing a comprehensive assessment of EKDDA’s training impact. Preliminary analysis suggests that mentoring and coaching serve as catalysts for positive change. Consistent with prior research, leadership coaching is among the most effective development practices, yielding significant improvements in participants’ skills and performance outcomes (Halliwell PR, Mitchell RJ, Boyle B, 2023). Likewise, introducing a robust mentorship program can produce a sustainable positive shift in institutional culture – for example, strengthening a culture of knowledge-sharing and continuous learning within bureaucratic settings (Mutale W, Nzala SH, Martin MH, Rose ES, Heimburger DC, Goma FM, 2023). Through developing employees’ competencies and confidence, these anthropocentric programs also nurture future leaders by enhancing self-awareness, collaboration, and adaptive problem-solving. In sum, the findings underscore the value of a human-centered training approach in public administration: peer mentoring and coaching not only build individual capacity, but also drive meaningful growth in organizational culture and leadership.