15 Must-Have Skills For Students: How To Power Up Learning?

Have you ever wondered how to prepare for a successful future? As a student, navigating the various demands of academic life is overwhelming. There’s no shortcut to success, but developing some specific skills for students is exactly what can help you. So, to help you on your journey, here is a list of 15 skills for students that will help them stay organised, manage time, and prioritise goals. Let’s get started! 

Top 15 Types of Skills for Students

In today's world, having student skills is an invaluable asset, so much so that a few essential skills for students are coined under the term "21st-century skills." 21st-century skills are essentially a broad range of soft skills that are important to surviving in the modern world. Moreover, we barely learn anything about these 15 learning skills for students in our curriculum. 

1. Communication 

Helpful Resources: Books, Podcasts

Benefits: Embracing conversations, enhancing trustworthiness, being more confident, solving problems, building longer & stronger relationships, and handling conflict with caution.

When they say, "Communication is the key", you should believe it! Usually, one of the most misunderstood skills for students, communication, is not all about speaking your mind or putting your thoughts into words. Not everyone knows how to be a good listener, but once you know the secret – you can master one of the best skills for students. Below, you can find some ways on how to communicate effectively:

1. Give clarity to your sentences

2. Be mindful of your tone

3. Focus on active listening 

2. Time Management 

Helpful Resources: Scheduling tools, YouTube

Benefits: Less stress and procrastination, more focus, and better work quality

As students, we all fall into the trap of cramming, over-stressing ourselves with end-minute deadlines, juggling tasks, or pulling out an all-nighter before a crucial test. To clearly define time management in simple terms, it is "the ability and art to prioritise tasks and tackle deadlines strategically". Time management stands out as one of the general skills for students, showing the way to complete assignments on time and bring more focus to work. Time management is indeed one of the most important life skills for students after communication.

1. Break large tasks into small ones

2. Be realistic with your tasks 

3. Incorporate schedulers 

4. Use practical time management tips

3. Organisational Skills

Helpful Resources: Books (Mindset)

Benefits: Enhanced productivity, efficiency, less chaos and cluttering

The art of living is organisation; everything in our lives is based on the principle of organisation. 

Organisational skills for students offer a lifelong benefit – you can learn how to stay on top of your tasks. After all, staying organised means "structuring your plan to meet your goal". If you all clumsy with your study schedules all over the place, use these tips in real life: 

1. Organise your notes, schedules, assignments, and course materials 

2. Make a personalised timetable and add breaks 

3. Divide your tasks by priorities 

4. Creativity 

Helpful Resources: EdX, FutureLearn etc

Benefits: Fuelling innovation, designing alternative solutions, and solving complex problems. 

Do you think outside the box? Or, come up with new, original ideas that stun the rest? Creativity, one of the personal skills examples for students, strikes when you pop out new, original ideas and interesting perspectives. After all, the greatest inventions to exist today, like the telephone and aeroplane, have turned into eureka moments because creativity has been the first spike to ignite the creation. Here’s how you can sharpen your creativity:

1. Go way out of your comfort zone 

2. Experiment with different things 

3. Engage yourself in creative hobbies

4. Take up different hobbies for students 

5. Curiosity

Helpful Resources: Books 

Benefits: Keeping your brain on an active run, showing higher levels of positivity and better psychological well-being

Did you know the quote, "Curiosity killed the cat", is incomplete, even though it doesn’t sound so? The full phrase is as follows: "Curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction got it back!" The quote conveys that curiosity can be scary and lead you to any possible consequences. Still, the risk might be worth it, so keep being curious!

Just like the cat's satisfaction restores its vitality, our thirst for knowledge often leads to invaluable discoveries. Here’s how you can master one of the good skills for students: 

1. Ask more questions and discover new things

2. Always question the assumptions 

3. Explore new subjects 

6. Leadership Skills 

Helpful Resources: Podcasts and Autobiographies

Benefits: Earning trust, building empathy, and making a difference in their school

"Follow the leader" is a game we all thoroughly enjoyed. In this game, a person leads, and the rest follow his actions. To put it in a nutshell, leadership is an “art and science of dealing with people and forming systemic approaches and models” and one of the best skills for students. Below, you can find the ways to be a good leader: 

1. Analyse different leaders in your domain

2. Analyse the leadership styles 

3. Find inspiration from the great leaders of the world 

4. Join student councils and leadership organisations

7. Goal Setting

Helpful Resources: Mindmapping, Vision Board

Benefits: Giving you a sense of direction and increasing your productivity.

Ambition, aspirations, career, motivation, all these words hold power only when it is attached to a goal. Every successful person, project, or enterprise starts with a goal in mind. Setting a goal is the first step to any task and is one of the skill examples for students. When practising goal setting, consider choosing specific, achievable goals with deadlines and make sure you are realistic about your timeline. Goal setting is one of the early important skills for students. Here’s how to master one of the best skills to learn for students: 

1. Choose specific, achievable goals with deadlines. 

2. Use the SMART goals framework 

3. Schedule and prioritise tasks

8. Critical Thinking

Helpful Resources: How to Think Critically by Jeff McLaughlin  

Benefits: Polishing research skills, problem-solving abilities, decision-making, and forming well-informed opinions 

The great fictional detective "Sherlock Holmes" was known to have impeccable detective skills, but his ability to think critically sets him apart from all the other detectives around the world. Critical thinking is one of the important skills of a student, as you will see every thought of yours through the lens of a detective. It is one of the best skills for students to think thoroughly! Below are the ways to put on your thinking cap and sharpen one of the unique skills for students: 

1. Be data-driven and opinionated

2. Find different arguments around the topic 

3. Ask a lot of open-ended questions 

4. Be unbiased while challenging your own biases 

9. Problem-Solving 

Helpful Resources: Sudoku, Chess

Benefits: Becoming adaptable and resourceful learners 

Problem-solving, one of the basic skills for students, helps you complete assignments, have better strategies to manage work, help you take smarter risks & decisions, and logically counter problems. We all complain and nag about having problems in our lives, don't we? Below are the ways to master one of the best skills for students: 

1. Examine different solutions and act on resolving 

2. Be on the lookout for learning opportunities

3. Train your mind to be solution-focused

10. Technology Literacy

Helpful Resources: Coursera, Udemy 

Benefits: Sharing information, conducting research, and communicating with a global audience  

Now, we all live in a global & technologically driven world; we are constantly surrounded and stunned by new technologies every day. However, we barely go out of our comfort zone to learn anything about one of the must-have skills of a student. In this digital age and era, being in touch with technology is like having two sides to a coin; it has pros and cons, but leveraging technology skillfully will open your horizons. Here are some ways to be technologically literate:

1. Pick up essential computer skills

2. Learn how to leverage social media

3. Integrate a pinch of tech into different  

4. Use productivity, language learning, writing, and study planning apps 

11. Adaptability 

Helpful Resources: Books (Mindset), Ted Talks

Benefits: Building confidence and being flexible in the face of change gives you a competitive edge in changing environments. 

Adaptability might be one of the personal skills examples for students because everyone has the skill to adapt! It is one of those skills for students that is innate to humans. With various circumstances, environments, and challenges, history has shown that man has been an ever-changing species that adapts to change quickly. Whether environmental, cognitive, cultural, or technological, we all have learned to adjust to the power of change. However, having it innately isn't enough; you have to nurture it to leverage this God-gifted ability. Here are our ways to enhance your adaptability power: 

1. Avoid restricting your mind 

2. Be open to new ideas

3. Try unfamiliar things, tasks, and activities

12. Self-Evaluation

Helpful Resources: Journaling  

Benefits: Focusing on values and goals, evaluating strengths and weaknesses 

Self-evaluation is one of the most important life skills for students. It helps them become more self-aware by analysing their progress, failures, strengths, weaknesses, behaviours, values, and morals. As humans, we are all a work in progress. Self-evaluation is not an exercise to lead you to perfection but to move you a step closer to your highest self. Below are the ways to enhance one of the essential skills for students: 

1. Defining your objectives & reflecting on your goals 

2. Assessing your strengths, areas of improvement & challenges

3. Make a POA and create new goals.

13. Focus 

Helpful Resources: Brain Games

Benefits: Efficiency at work, higher concentration levels

"Focus" is one such word that has been seen as a weapon of taunt while growing up, but it is more than that. It is one of the study skills that has volume of effect on your work and personal life. By cutting down all the fluff, focus, in plain words, is "the ability to concentrate on a given task by not getting distracted". Here are some ways to stay focused:

1. Eliminate distractions when you are working 

2. Practising meditation & mindfulness 

3. Use techniques like Pomodoro techniques, chunking, etc

14. Analytical Reasoning 

Helpful Resources: Reading case studies and research papers

Benefits: Analysing scientific experiments to make predictions 

In today's world, assumptions hold no good; the world relies on analytics & data. Let it be a task as small as planning to take a different route to avoid traffic or a big breakthrough like building a global strategy, data has become the new superpower to conquer the world next. 

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To understand and evaluate data and draw conclusions, you will need to start approaching things analytically. Here are some ways to sharpen one of the essential life skills for students: 

1. Search for evidence, facts, opinions, and questions 

2. Make correlations between similar patterns and trends  

3. Keep your logic and reasoning in check 

15. Consistency 

Helpful Resources: Atomic Habits by James Clear

Benefits: Efficiency, discipline, stability

"Consistency is the key to success" is one of the most overused mantras for success, but there is a lot of power and validity in being consistent. Consistency is not only about doing things on a daily or desired frequency but devoting and dedicating yourself to the process even through storms and hurdles. Here are some ways to be consistent: 

1. Try scheduling and following your routine religiously

2. Cut through self-doubt & be focused on your goal 

3. Keep yourself motivated and rewarded when necessary.

21st Century Learning Skills for Students

International schools play a crucial role in developing 21st-century skills in students. These skills include communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. Here’s how they do it:

1. Inquiry-Based Learning: International schools often use an inquiry-based approach that encourages students to explore, question, and solve real-world problems23. This approach fosters critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

2. Collaboration: Students are encouraged to work together on projects and assignments, which helps them develop teamwork and collaboration skills.

3. Use of Technology: International schools provide students with the technology and experiential learning opportunities that they need to master these skills fully.

4. Cross-Curricular Potential: Projects often draw on the entire curriculum, providing learners with the opportunity to try out new skills and to independently extend their knowledge and understanding.

We hope you find this information about the best skills for students useful. All of these new skills for students are also in-demand skills that will help one thrive in a competitive environment and gain a place in the crowd. Master the art of communication, problem-solving, or other educational skills for students if you want the skills employers look for in the job markets. For more information, go through our webstory on the ten most in-demand skills!