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Embedding employability and employer engagement into postgraduate teaching:
a case study from ‘environmental management systems’
Simon Kemp 02 July 2008
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Content• Environmental Management Systems – description
of the module
• Wilding Butler – the case study company
• The pedagogical approach
• Student employability outcomes
• Case study company outcomes
• Employer engagement outcomes
The module:
Environmental Management
Systems
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Environmental Management Systems• Postgraduate module available on the MSc
(optional) and MEnvSci (compulsory) programmes
• Running in various formats since 1997
• Previous version involved a fictional case-study company
• Academic year 2007-2008 used a local company to provide the module case study
The case study company:Wilding Butler Construction
Ltd.
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Wilding Butler Construction Ltd.• Local small enterprise with large subcontractor base
• Small head office located in Colden Common, Hampshire opposite the regional Environment Agency headquarters
• Contacted through regional economic partnership body and the sustainable business partnership
• Looking to establish a competitive advantage through environmental management and to engage with the University
• Wide portfolio of construction projects in the South of England – commercial, education, residential
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Residential projects
Education projects
The pedagogical approach
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Pedagogical approach• Mixed strategy with a focus on active student
participation
• Total of 30 students of mixed expertise and a range of nationalities – British, French, Greek, Chinese
• No students with previous experience or training in the subject area
• Emphasis on embedding employability and employer engagement throughout the module via the case-study
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Pedagogical approach• Embedding employability and employer engagement
was achieved through the following methods:
– Lectures
– Formation of five consultancy teams of six students
– Company head office & construction site visits
– Weekly email correspondence with the company (through a filter)
– Weekly progress and feedback sessions
– Team blogs and wiki sites
– ISO14001 certification audit
– EMS manual presentation to the board of directors
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WB Photos here
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Pedagogical approach• Embedding employability and employer engagement
was achieved through the following methods:
– Lectures
– Formation of five consultancy teams of six students
– Company head office & construction site visits
– Weekly email correspondence with the company (through a filter)
– Weekly progress and feedback sessions
– Team blogs and wiki sites
– ISO14001 certification audit
– EMS manual presentation to the board of directors
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Page title• First level
bullet points may need expanding into second level bullet points
– Second level bullet point
– Second level bullet point
– Second level bullet point
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Pedagogical approach• Embedding employability and employer engagement
was achieved through the following methods:
– Lectures
– Formation of five consultancy teams of six students
– Company head office & construction site visits
– Weekly email correspondence with the company (through a filter)
– Weekly progress and feedback sessions
– Team blogs and wiki sites
– ISO14001 certification audit
– EMS manual presentation to the board of directors
Student employability
outcomes
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Student employability outcomes
Aims:
• Direct professional experience
• Practical application of theory
• Improved commercial understanding
• Practical experience of a growing area of employment
• Enhanced presentation skills
• Professional report writing skills
• Improved time management
• Enhanced CV for all students
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Student employability outcomesQuestionnaire and focus group to identify and assess
outcomes:
• Practical skills:
– “Producing something very comprehensive for a real-life company”
– “Allows us to develop clear understanding of EMS through hands-on experience”
– “Really helps you to know how to implement an EMS”
– “Working with a real company gave a sense of achievement”
– “Very practical and provided lots of guidance for students in their future careers in ISO14001”
– “Excellent method of learning what could be a very difficult to grasp subject”
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Student employability outcomes• Employability skills:
– “Relevant to business & work”
– “Relevant to real life. Excellent real case study”
– “Gave an insight into how the real world works – very useful reality check after 3 ½ years of environmental study”
– “Makes you manage your time”
– “Very practical experience, team work, organisation skills”
– “Real company therefore something valuable to talk about in job interviews. Feel I am employable as a result”
– “At last, learning about something useful in the workplace making us more employable – not enough of this”
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Student employability outcomes• Criticisms:
– “Lots of work, difficult organising team meetings”
– “Large groups, difficult to coordinate”
– “Too much work”
– “Heavy workload, although can’t suggest how to reduce it”
• Focus group 5 months after module completion:
– “Looking back the total workload wasn’t that much greater than other modules in total”
– “No exam meant the workload balanced out”
– “We definitely need more practical and employable modules”
Case study company
outcomes
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Case study company outcomes• EMS manual – meeting most of the requirements of
ISO14001
• Compliance with existing environmental legislation
• Ensured compliance with emerging environmental legislation - Site Waste Management Plans training, template and records system
• Regional publicity in newspapers and sector publications
• Competitive advantage
• Nominated at local business awards
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Case study company outcomes• EMS manual – meeting most of the requirements of
ISO14001
• Compliance with existing environmental legislation
• Ensured compliance with emerging environmental legislation - Site Waste Management Plans training, template and records system
• Regional publicity in newspapers and sector publications
• Competitive advantage
• Nominated at local business awards
Employer engagement
outcomes
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Employer engagement outcomes• Curriculum relevance
• Further participation in EMS module
• Continuing professional work to inform teaching
• Ongoing relationship for future student research projects
• Participation in EU Framework bid
Conclusions
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Conclusions• Module enables graduates to develop a specific
employability profile and advanced level of expertise to pursue a career in EMS
• 10% of students have confirmed consultancy positions in this area prior to graduation
• Board presentations helped students prepare for interview presentations
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Conclusions• Production of the manual, certifications audits, and
board presentations have given the students confidence in their EMS expertise
• Employers have stated confidence in the EMS ability of the students after inspecting the EMS manual and testing practical understanding in interviews
• Case study organisation have an EMS almost to ISO14001 level for very little temporal and financial cost
• Module coordinator retains professional practice and relevance in teaching
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Next Year……
Any Questions? Contact details
Simon KempSchool of Civil Engineering and the Environment
University of Southampton. SO17 1BJ
[email protected] 595868
