ED3537: EMPLOYER-LED INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECT (2022-2023)

This course involves students working together in a small group to undertake a consultancy-style project hosted by a micro-business, organisation, or charity. It exposes students to real-world tasks, enabling them to apply their transferable skills, for example project management, problem-solving, communication and time management, in different contexts. It also involves students participating in a range of workshops to develop their employability skills. Workshop topics include, consultancy skills and creative problem solving, using social media for research, communication & professional networking and effective teamworking skills.

An initial meeting at the start of the course, enables each project group to meet their host organisation in order to clarify the project aims and to initiate project planning. Each group also meets regularly with their host virtually to discuss their progress and next steps during the project period. By working in partnership with a range of external organisations and employers to develop the course content, this innovative course enables students to develop their awareness of key project management skills and core competencies sought by employers, such as innovation, commercial awareness, and digital literacy. Wider benefits for students undertaking the course include the opportunity to:

• Link academic study and theory to address real world problems.
• Help students understand how effective teams operate.
• Raise self-confidence and developing students’ transferable skills and attributes.
• Encourage reflective learning and self-development.
• Enhance personal development and future career paths.
• Network with individuals beyond the University.

Together this combination of on-campus workshops with project-based learning offers students an opportunity to engage with authentic, collaborative, and interdisciplinary learning –all crucial for success in the modern workplace.

The course also enables students to engage with career development activities and to build their confidence through collaborating with external organisations. During the course, students experience the issues that surround project work, including the pressures of working to a deadline and the challenges of working with a group of colleagues towards a common aim. A unique and key part of the course is the opportunity for students to reflect upon their own strengths and areas for development through a range of formative and summative assessments. These assessments help to build students’ self-awareness of their knowledge, experience, and competences and how to articulate these to future employers or postgraduate recruiters. At regular intervals in the course students also reflect on their achievements and set goals, to enable them to explore opportunities and to understand their own skills, attributes, and experience, which can help to boost their employability.

Overall, this award-winning course is designed to help students engage in career development learning, boost their self-confidence, and build their business acumen. Previous students have commented that this employability-focused course has been extremely beneficial to enhance their CV, provide work experience, and support their career thinking at this critical stage in their studies.

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

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