Module Descriptors

This module enables students to set and manage aspirations for success and create a vision for their future self. It establishes the need to commence or continue with the concept of being a lifelong learner and how to develop appropriate skills and competences.  Both Professionalism and Continuing Personal Development are investigated. Key skills are explored such as emotional intelligence, influencing skills and networking. Understanding culture, including national culture, university culture and business culture is explored in order to give context for work and learning. Finally, academic and applied research techniques are examined, covering current theories and their application in general and with specific reference to the student’s chosen pathway.

• Professional and personal knowledge and development In order to effectively negotiate the demands of modern workplaces, graduates need to understand the context in which they will be working and how they can acquire the required personal skills and competences. The module will explore various academic texts on corporate and work culture but also examine popular self-help texts in a critical fashion to understand trends in work culture and how the individual can ‘future proof’ themselves by knowing how, where, and when to engage in personal development and change.


• The needs and particularities of specific pathways Content will be suggested by those leading the module development on those pathways. However, all will have material on: the history of that discipline/ sector type and key contemporary debates. The future of work in that pathway and suggested professional trajectories for those sectors/ pathways is explored.


• Ability to engage with higher learning and apply such learning effectively within the workplace. In this, the foundational module of the programme, students engage fully with the expectations of the programme beyond induction-level activities. This will require students to examine carefully the programme handbook and relevant regulations of the University including academic integrity, style, behaviour and how to problem solve. A multiple-choice exam with a portion of credit may be used as way of testing the student’s knowledge and understanding of university requirements based on guided reading. The second part of this component examines academic and professional research skills, expectations of engagement and communication skills (particularly in an appropriately clear and high-level written form). There will be extensive work on academic research and writing including maintaining academic integrity and appropriate referencing.

On successful completion of this module the student will be able to:

L1. Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the relevant skills and knowledge required to ensure current professional and academic practices are attained.

L2. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the demands of university and professional life.

L3. Critically develop related practical competencies by showing how these can be applied to the world of professional practice and requirements of the specific pathways

L4. Critically develop a relevant professional persona and personal brand

L5. Critically evaluate key research theories, tools and techniques within an organisational context.

This core introductory unit will explore a range of knowledge and understanding relating to personal development and planning through set reading, expectation of further reading and research and experiential learning through reflection and working with others.

It is expected that theoretical and reflective work is related directly to students' past professional experience and linked to both their current studies and future aspirations in work and learning.

New and familiar academic texts will be used as a basis for creating critical insights.

Through a range of interactive workshops, lecture and peer learning together with independent study comprising research and reflection a range of generic cognitive skills will be developed intended to offer a foundation to all other component modules of the programme.

Peer learning and interactive class-based activities will foster effective communication and use of ICT which is a core requirement for all subsequent modules of the programme and are transferrable to the workplace.

In assessing experience and development needs at this point students will be able to address these needs for future modules.

Summative assessment is 100% individual but relies upon effective engagement in module activities and peer learning to achieve an effective outcome.

The following materials form essential underpinning for the module content and ultimately for the learning outcomes:

In line with the Academic Engagement Procedure, Students are defined as academically engaged if they are regularly engaged with timetabled teaching sessions, course-related learning resources including those in the Library and on the relevant learning platform, and complete assessments and submit these on time. Please refer to the Academic Engagement Procedure at the following link: Academic engagement procedure

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1. More than one assessment method can be used to assess individual learning outcomes.
2. Schools are responsible for determining student contact hours. Please refer to University Policy on contact hours (extract contained within section 10 of the Module Descriptor guidance note).
   This will normally be variable across Schools, dependent on Programmes &/or Professional requirements.