UK Centre for Materials Education
Working with you to enhance the student experience
Working with you to enhance the student experience
This project addressed general issues of employability, as well as specific departmental needs. The Dearing Report [1997] had emphasised the need for transferable skills to increase the employability of graduates. Articles in the press as well as feedback from employers suggested that a narrow set of science and engineering skills were not always what potential employers expected from their graduate employees.
Within the department itself, the tutorial system was not being utilized to its fullest potential. The students were not getting to know their personal tutors, and therefore pastoral responsibilities were not being fulfilled to the extent that they should have been. The project aimed to address both these issues (the lack of transferable skills and the lack of pastoral responsibility) by introducing skills based tutorials into the undergraduate course. These were structured activities for the personal tutor which would also provide essential transferable skills training for the tutees. About nine academic tutorials were replaced by 7 skills based tutorials, which had the net effect of reducing the load for academic staff.
The initial stages of the project involved a survey which aimed to address three major issues. The first was whether transferable skills should be taught at university level. The second was whether the Materials Department at Imperial College was actually teaching such skills, and thirdly, whether these skills were being effectively communicated. The project utilized two part-time research assistants from the MSc course in Science Communication to conduct this study, who were also able to use the findings of this research for their dissertation. This phase of the project involved extensive literature surveys, sending out questionnaires to students, alumni and employers, and analysing the results. These were presented in the form of a report, and were later incorporated into a journal publication.
Some skills based exercises were already in use (e.g. preparing a CV), and these were further supplemented by more exercises, accompanied by a set of detailed notes for tutors and tutees. These not only provided the framework for the skills based tutorials, but also served as valuable resources for staff and students, which could be adapted to changing needs. Though initiated by the PI, these notes were put together by a number of staff members, which lent credibility to this resource. These skills based sessions and the new tutorial model was then implemented amongst first year students. Though the initiation of this project had met with limited interest from other members of staff, it soon became apparent that students possessed low levels of transferable skills in actuality, and the project gained in acceptance.
This project raised awareness of the fact that technical knowledge in isolation may not always be sufficient to guarantee employability, and that transferable skills played a very important role in enhancing graduate skills in the workplace. The findings of this study were disseminated by means of a report and a journal publication.
