Enhancing the taught postgraduate experience: skills, careers and employability
- Date: 16 Nov 2010
- Location/venue: The Higher Education Academy, York, England
The enhancing the taught postgraduate experience event which focussed on issues of skills, employability and careers was held on 16 November at the Higher Education Academy.
The national results of the 2010 Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) show that employment and career management are dominant motivators for students taking taught postgraduate (PGT) programmes: the top two motivational factors were ‘to improve employment prospects’ and ‘to progress in their current career path’. Further analysis conducted on the skills and personal development scale and the career and professional development scale (see full PTES 2010 report, pg 28) also showed that both scales have a significant impact on students’ overall ratings of their experiences against expectations. Employability is also an issue of national importance, given the rising numbers of PGTs as well as the Smith report’s emphasis on the need to make postgraduate provision more responsive to employer needs.
The event provided opportunities to discuss and explore aspects of employability for postgraduate taught students with colleagues from a variety of institutions. Institutional case studies outlined examples of innovative ideas to further embed employability skills within curricula.
All presentations from the event are available to download.