Dr. Ou Lydia Liu, Associate Vice President of Research, is a globally recognized expert in assessment of critical skills and competencies in higher education and workforce. She has also managed large-scale grants awarded by government and private funding agencies in the U.S. and international countries including India, China, and Korea. Dr. Liu has authored and coauthored over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, research reports, and book chapters in the fields of applied measurement, higher education, and science assessment. Her research appeared in Science, Nature Human Behavior, Educational Researcher, and other influential outlets. She delivered over 100 invited seminars and peer-reviewed conference presentations domestically and internationally. Dr. Liu was inducted as an AERA Fellow in 2023, and received the 2019 Robert Linn Memorial Lecture Award, and the 2011 National Council on Measurement in Education Jason Millman Promising Measurement Scholar Award in recognition of her original and extensive research in learning outcomes assessment in higher education and K-12 science assessment. Dr. Liu holds a doctorate in Quantitative Methods and Evaluation from the University of California, Berkeley and Bachelor's Degree in Science from the University of Science and Technology of China ( 中国科学技术大学 ).
Durable skills are skills that are transferable and enable individuals to function effectively across settings and contexts. Governments, employers, and education institutions all stress the importance of durable skills. However, innovative assessment of durable skills requires further research for development, reporting, and improvement purposes. In this presentation, I will discuss identification of critical durable skills, their definition, key assessment principles, the application of AI tools in assessing durable skills, and assessment insights for improvement. Mastery of durable skills coupled with strong technical skills helps individuals become future proof in the 21st century's workforce.
