The BU Student Development Award – Graduate Attributes: Reflective Writing
Students on the Award commit themselves to developing a range of employability skills that enable them to demonstrate workplace experience to potential employers.
Through their involvement in a choice of over 100 extra-curricular activities, including volunteering, ambassador and mentoring roles, languages, professional development, media skills, music, sport, art and part-time employment, students are asked to submit a piece of reflective writing which is assessed for content and quality.
This enables reflection on a wide range of attributes employers look for in graduates:-
| · Communication | · Leadership |
| · Self-organisation | · Creativity |
| · Interpersonal skills | · Risk taking |
| · Ethical Sensitivity | · Problem solving |
| · Intercultural Awareness | · Critical thinking |
| · Collaborative working | · Customer/Client focus |
| · Relating to others/Caring | · Business acumen |
| · Adaptability | · Entrepreneurship |
| · Personal resilience | · Coaching & Mentoring |
| · Numeracy | · Commitment to Personal excellence |
Students match their activities to the attributes, writing concisely about their experiences, highlighting:-
- What they were involved in and what their responsibilities were
- What they did, how it went – the challenges and successes
- What they learned from the experience and how it can help in the future workplace
They are encouraged to consider how the attributes relate to the Person Specification elements of most job descriptions and how their writing can be used as content for job application forms, saving time and minimising apprehension, while giving clear evidence of specific skills gained.
Once at interview, they can confidently articulate their experiences and give employers a vision of how their behaviours transfer into the workplace, making them an ideal fit for the role.
Find out more about our BU Student Development Award and see samples of our students’ e-portfolios
Hi
Would be interesting to know how many students complete the programme?
Thank you for your reply.
Sonya Harvey, who heads the SDA, has the completion rate figures but they are much lower than we would like. Although quite a number of students enroll on the Award, many do not complete the various elements required. This is something we are currently looking into with a view to improve take up and completion rates across the university.
If you would like to contact Sonya for more information her email is: sharvey@bournemouth.ac.uk