Enhancing enterprise, entrepreneurship and employability through PDP

1. Enhancing enterprise, entrepreneurship and employability through PDP Institute of Sport & Exercise Science

2. Student Qualities Profile (Peters, 2001) • focus for their planning, reflection, development and recording of achievement throughout the student’s undergraduate studies • Customised version of SQP within the personal tutorial system • Review of the skill set • Activities to support and enhance the PDP programme

3. To increase the level of student and staff engagement with PDP • To customise and implement a tutorial system which provided a school vehicle for personal reflection and development • To create meaningful opportunities for students, within and outside the curriculum, to support development of 21st century employability and entrepreneurial skills.

4. Context • Historical development of PDP within the School • The Complete Sports graduate • Planning and time management • Responsibility and independence • Interactive and group skills • Problem solving skills • Reflection • Communication and presentation skills • Entrepreneurship and networking skills

5. FOR STUDENTS Aims • To provide Information, advice and guidance – helping you make realistic and well-informed decisions with regard to your academic progress at UCW and future employment opportunities • To assist you with Action Planning – to implement these educational and employment decisions

6. Aims (continued) FOR STUDENTS • To help you gather information and seek advice to assist you in achieving your goals • To enable you to assume responsibility for you own academic progress and ultimately for your future career pathway PDP OUTLINE

7. How will the system operate? Meeting 1 to take place in Week 1 of semester 1: Make contact and establish background of student and welcome student to the School Discuss student’s interests and likely/possible pathway Ensure student understands rationale behind PDP Ensure student and tutor have each other’s contact details Fill in tutorial record sheet STAFF

8. Second Meeting • Consideration and discussion of grades from semester 1 • Discussion of the skills listed on the personal tutorial record sheet. Following the discussion the student should complete the self assessment section • The discussion section should look to address other areas of strength worthy of inclusion or identify areas of development • Tutor to check pastoral, as well as academic issues STAFF

9. Curriculum development to incorporate employability • Evaluation • Student – staff engagement • Personal tutorials • 2005/06 • Year 1 - 66.4% Year 2 - 39.9% • 2006/07 • Year 1 – 71% Year 2 – 38.4% Year 3 – 41.3% • Entrepreneurship • Specificity

10. Ensuring that all drivers at School level (learning and teaching strategy, careers, employer networks, students union, business and enterprise and curriculum development) are making a valid, co-ordinated and transparent contribution to PDP opportunities; • Identifying and making more explicit, through module outlines and during lectures, the links between learning outcomes, learning tasks and the development of generic skills and attributes; • Establishing more opportunities for the students to gather evidence in support of the specific, general, self-reliant and connected skills (Hawkins & Winter, 1995).

11. Conclusion Challenge! Furthermore, as Ward (2007: p.1) acknowledges, in quoting Burgess, there is further work to be done when employers feel…”many graduates cannot effectively articulate their experiences and achievements and their relevance to the post for which they are applying.”

12. References Bill, K. and Bowen-Jones, W (2005) 21st Century Skills for Sport and Recreation Graduates - Realising our Potential. Link 11.HEA HLST. Burgess Report (2004) http://bookshop.universitiesuk.ac.uk Hawkins, P and Winter, J (1997). Mastering Change, Learning theLessons of the Enterprise in Higher 74 IETI 37,1 Ward, R (2007) PDP and e-portfolio. UK Newsletter. Issue 12. December 2007