The study involved 35 students enrolled in a MICE Management course who participated directly in organizing the Z Talk Business Seminar, an event attended by approximately 75 participants. Instead of learning event management only through classroom assignments, the students were involved in the entire process, from planning and preparation to implementation, evaluation, and reflection.
Learning Through Real-World Situations
Vocational higher education is increasingly expected to prepare students for professional environments where technical knowledge must be combined with practical and transferable skills. Employers often require graduates to communicate effectively, work with teams, manage deadlines, solve unexpected problems, and adapt to changing situations.
Project-Based Learning (PjBL) provides an opportunity to develop these abilities through meaningful projects. Students are placed in situations where they must plan activities, divide responsibilities, make decisions, complete tasks, and evaluate the results.
For Office Administration students, organizing a seminar provides a particularly relevant learning context. Professional administrative work involves coordination, communication, document preparation, participant services, scheduling, and problem-solving. A seminar combines many of these responsibilities in a single practical activity.
According to Azizah and colleagues from ICB Bandung Polytechnic, the value of the project was not limited to the seminar as the final product. The learning process itself became important because students had to respond to actual conditions and make decisions while working with other people.
35 Students Organized a Seminar for About 75 Participants
The researchers used a descriptive qualitative approach to examine the students' experiences during the project. Information was collected through observations, project documents, seminar documentation, and student reflections.
The researchers observed students during different stages of the seminar, including planning, preparation, coordination, implementation, and evaluation. Particular attention was given to communication, teamwork, problem-solving, time management, responsibility, participant services, and students' ability to respond to changing conditions.
Project documents included the seminar proposal, schedules, task assignments, and reports. Student reflections provided additional information about challenges encountered during the project, strategies used to address problems, and skills students considered important during the experience.
This process allowed the students to experience a complete project cycle rather than completing a single classroom assignment.
Seven Transferable Skills Emerged
The study identified seven major transferable skills demonstrated through students' participation in the seminar project.
The findings indicate that authentic project activities can transform theoretical knowledge into practical experience. Students were required to perform interconnected tasks while responding to real conditions, making the learning experience more closely connected to professional practice.
A Seminar Can Become a Learning Laboratory
One important aspect of the project was its authentic environment. Classroom simulations can reproduce many professional tasks, but they may not fully capture the uncertainty and pressure of an actual event involving external participants.
During the Z Talk Business Seminar, students encountered changing conditions, participant needs, coordination challenges, technical issues, and time limitations. These situations required them to communicate, cooperate, make decisions, and adjust their plans.
This experience made problem-solving and adaptability part of the learning process rather than simply theoretical concepts.
Communication and collaboration were also essential because seminar organization involves tasks that depend on one another. A change in one area can affect another team, requiring students to coordinate their actions and communicate efficiently.
Time management and responsibility also became more visible because students had deadlines and specific duties to complete. Students were expected to finish preparations before the event and perform their assigned roles during implementation.
Professionalism developed through direct interaction with people outside the classroom. Students had to provide services, communicate appropriately, and represent their team during the seminar.
Implications for Vocational Higher Education
The findings offer a practical example of how vocational higher education can connect classroom learning with professional experience. Authentic projects such as seminars, conferences, industry activities, and community events can provide opportunities for students to apply knowledge while developing transferable skills.
Azizah, Rahmi, Humairoo, and Anjani recommend that lecturers provide clear project roles, milestones, reflection activities, and assessment criteria. These elements can help ensure that practical activities remain connected to academic learning outcomes.
Collaboration with external stakeholders may also strengthen the learning experience. Working with speakers, participants, industry representatives, communities, or other organizations can expose students to situations that are closer to actual professional environments.
The study also acknowledges the need for further research. Since the research focused on one seminar project and used a qualitative approach, future studies could examine similar project-based activities across different vocational programs or use additional research approaches to investigate transferable skill development more broadly.
About the Authors
Nur Azizah, the corresponding author, is affiliated with the Office Administration Study Program, Pajajaran Insan Cinta Bangsa (ICB) Bandung Polytechnic, Bandung, Indonesia. She conducted the study with Sophia Rahmi, Alifah Humairoo, and Linda Rayu Anjani, who are also affiliated with the same study program and institution.
Their article focuses on Project-Based Learning, seminar organization, vocational higher education, and the development of transferable skills among Office Administration students.
Research Source
The findings are reported in the article “Project-Based Learning through Seminar Organization: Developing Transferable Skills among Office Administration Students,” published in the International Journal of Educational and Psychological Studies (IJEPS) in 2026.
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