An Exploratory Study on Experiential Learning Laboratory for Multidisciplinary Training through Face-to-Face and Online Modes: A Pilot Run on Customer Service Scenarios

Internship has been widely used to provide practice opportunities for students to apply their understanding on knowledge, theories and skills in workplace setting.  However, the availability of internship opportunities is subject to market conditions of relevant industries.  Hence, there is a need for universities and colleges to explore and develop other forms of experiential learning.  This paper proposes a training framework of an experiential learning laboratory that consists of a series of activities, including briefing and sharing sessions, practice sessions, reflective worksheets, and debriefing session.  To enhance the flexibility on the use of the proposed training framework, this paper also proposes a pilot run to be conducted in hybrid mode, with content covering customer services scenarios which can be applicable in multi-disciplines.  Questionnaire surveys and semi-structural interviews can be used to measure the effectiveness of the pilot run for further improvement on the design of this proposed experiential learning laboratory.