UK Centre for Materials Education
Working with you to enhance the student experience
Working with you to enhance the student experience
Note: This workshop has been cancelled. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused. (14/10/2003).
22 October 2003, 10.00am - 4.00pm, Aston University, Birmingham
There is no registration fee for this workshop and lunch will be provided.
The ability of departments to enhance and demonstrate the employability of their graduates is becoming an increasingly important factor in student recruitment. The integration of career and professional development activity into the undergraduate curriculum is now a priority theme in the HE quality enhancement agenda. It is therefore important that departments act to address the issue of graduate employability in an effort to meet the needs of their students and to reflect HE policy directives. This workshop, hosted in partnership with LTSN Physical Science, is aimed at lecturers who wish to learn more about the importance of, and approaches to, enhancing graduate employability.
A number of resources have been produced to support academics as they help students to develop employability skills and plan their future careers. This workshop will describe these resources and illustrate ways in which they might be used. It will be an excellent opportunity to meet colleagues who have already embedded employability and career development activities within their undergraduate curriculum. A resource pack tailored to the specific needs of the scientific education community is being put together and this will be available to all attendees without charge.
In an era of student loans and tuition fees graduates are burdened with increasingly high levels of debt. For students applying to university the need to quickly secure a well paid job has become a primary concern. The choice of institution and subject is now influenced by career prospects more than ever before. To improve their student recruitment efforts departments must take a proactive approach to enhancing and demonstrating the employability of their graduates.
In the increasingly competitive employment market our graduates must develop and demonstrate a range of skills that extends beyond the scientific and technical content of their degree course. These wider skills will better equip them to apply for 'traditional' materials jobs and will broaden the range of alternative careers open to them. It is our responsibility to make students aware of the value in developing such skills and to support them as they do so. It is also important that we equip our graduates with the ability to communicate their employability effectively.
In recognition of this UKCME is introducing a programme of activity in this area over the coming year. We intend to establish an Employability Working Group, comprised of employers, academics, careers staff and students, to guide our work and ensure it meets the needs of all concerned. We intend to work very closely with the LTSN Engineering and Physical Science subject centres to ensure our activity and resources are relevant not only to materials departments, but also to those departments that provide courses with a significant materials content.
If you would like to be actively involved in our employability work or would simply like to receive the resources developed then please let us know at the workshop. If you are unable to attend then please email our Centre Manager (Dr Matt Murphy) at murphym@liv.ac.uk and we will ensure your interest is registered.
