Enhancing Employability via Student-led projects

Dr Glynis Perkin – Loughborough UniversityAlison Ahearn – Imperial College LondonFiona Lamb – Loughborough University

Student-led Activity

Discuss in groups

• Your understanding of student-led activity• Current activities/ involvement

Round the room feedback

Student-led Activity

Extra-curricular activity

Student-led activity

Extra-curricular voluntary activity started and run by students themselves

Student Engagement

Trowler (2010) provides the following definition:

Student engagement is concerned with the interaction between the time, effort and other relevant resources invested by both students and their institutions intended to optimise the student experience and enhance the learning outcomes and development of students and the performance, and reputation of the institution.

Employability

Yorke (2004) describes student employability as:

A set of achievements – skills, understandings and personal attributes – that make graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations, which benefits themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy.

Types of student-led activity

• Employer-focused

• Charitable (volunteering on others’ projects)

• Development (own project, local or overseas)

• Culture-change, outreach and education

• Save the planet and/or applied engineering

• Entrepreneurial

• Institutional

Imperial Case Study – Aurora

• What? Wifi for rural Morocco• Student challenge: Moroccan censorship/politics• Student success: Research link through HoD• Employability? Professional behaviours, technical

spec, finance, legal considerations etc• Evaluation? New - presentations and

www.aurorawimax.co.uk

Imperial Case Study – e.quinox.org

• What? Electricity for Rwandan villages• Student challenge: Finding viable business model• Student success: Success with 5 villages• Employability? This activity provides real project

experience with real outcomes• Evaluation? Self and peer review. Gov’t

endorsement. Project continues to expand.

L’boro Case Study - EcoFuture

• What? An energy saving challenge • Student challenge: Conflict with an existing university

initiative• Staff challenge: Transferring set-up funding to students• Student success: On-going and obtained external

funding• Employability? Relationships with potential employers

developed• Evaluation? Self, peer group and external endorsement

Panel Discussion

Student-led activity Checklist

• Before you start– What already exists? Is it right for you?

• Getting started– How do I raise student awareness and start projects?

• Establishing projects• Supporting projects– Legal issues, finances, mentoring

• Sustaining projects– Committee work-shadowing, symposia

Clinic

Working in small groups - determine one or more activities to implement (real or wish list).

• Round the room sharing of ideas• Identify challenges and starting point• Work through the draft checklist • Round the room feedback on the checklist

Wrap up

• Feedback invitation• Any final questions?• Use the JISCMail list to carry on networking, if

appropriate

Thank you for coming!