Projects
Employability activity focusing on entrepreneurial skills.
Project description
This project will work with students in year 2, starting in the second semester, to deliver a program of employability activity focusing on entrepreneurial skills development through themes of self reflection, creative problem solving, researching ‘markets’, pitching and selling. Students will go through a series of self reflections, a ‘This is Your Life’ PDP process, whereby they will identify the skills they have, their achievements, influences and inspirations. Running parallel to this they will be involved in a creative problem solving activity through which they will identify ideas for products and/or services that link to the subject they are studying, for example developing a film or television script, an idea for a book, developing a teaching aid to help children read, developing a magazine aimed at pre teenage boys to encourage them to keep reading.
Students will start to build a ‘This will be Your Life’ portfolio logging all activity, identifying skills developed and highlighting their research. This will culminate in an event at the end of the process similar to ‘Dragons Den’ where students will pitch their ideas to a panel consisting of the Head of School, two local employers and a business support officer. There will be several awards including Best Pitch, Best Marketing, Best Business Plan, Best Project Management, Best Website, Best Product/Service development, Best Product/Service.
Target Skills:
- Commercial Awareness
- Project Management
- Marketing – identifying unique selling points
- Communication
- Problem solving
- Financial
- Presentation
- Customer service / focus
- Networking
- Creativity
- Initiative
Project Report
Employability Skills Development with Creative Writing Students (MS Word 121kb)
Benefit to English Students
The last destination survey (DLHE 2007) highlighted the stark reality that 86% of English graduates from Glyndwr University were either unemployed or underemployed 6 months after graduation. Traditionally Humanities students take longer to find good quality graduate level employment and there are various reasons for this, for example lack of labour market awareness and understanding. Entrepreneurial skills are highly sought after by employers who complain that graduates are not equipped to ‘hit the ground running’ when they employ them and many graduate vacancies go unfilled. This project will support skills development using the degree subject as an essential underpinning element; developing the ‘product/service’ is a metaphor for them.
Ways in which the Project is New or Innovatory
This is a completely new and an innovative approach to employability and careers education delivery in Glyndwr University. It encompasses a wide variety of activities in a short space of time and will contribute towards credit bearing modules. This will be delivered as a pilot, evaluated and adapted for other courses within the University.
Outline Plan of Activities
- Jan 09 Wk 1 - 3
Introduction. Start to build the Big Red Book – ‘This is Your Life’ Reflect and Identify. Start researching product/service ideas to develop. - Feb 09 Wk 4 - 6
Creative Problem Solving workshop, Project Management skills workshop (external speaker). The Marketing Mix seminar - Feb 09 Wk 7
Product / Service development self study, write website content. - March 09 Wk 8 - 10
Pitching your product / service with Vince Brown (successfully pitched film scripts to Warner Bothers), developing Networking Skills seminar, Presentation Skills workshop, Develop your Big Red Book ‘This will be Your Life’ recording all experiences, one to one support - Easter – self study and preparation
- May 09 Wk 11
Dragons Den event and feedback
Other Information
This is a collaborative partnership between the school of Humanities, Careers Service and Enterprise. It has the full support of the Head of School. This will be built on in the final year and supported with Jobsearch, CV development, Applications, Interview skills.
Contact Details
Karen Lennox (with Sally Harrison )
Glyndŵr University
k.lennox@glyndwr.ac.uk
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