Two Case Studies AGCAS Biennial 2011, Nottingham Kirstie Coolin ESCAPES: Improving the Student Work Placement Experience Two Case Studies AGCAS Biennial 2011, Nottingham Kirstie Coolin Centre for International ePortfolio Development University of Nottingham www.nottingham.ac.uk/eportfolio

Sailing the stormy seas of... University Drivers Sailing the stormy seas of... hergé Employability Efficiency Student Experience Business Engagement

3 JISC-funded Projects SAMSON 2009 - 2011 Workforce development and lifelong learning Data sharing and communication between student, employee, academic and business www.nottingham.ac.uk/eportfolio/samson 2. ESCAPES 2010-2012 Relationship Management ‘blueprinting the Placement Experience’ - Improving processes for better student experience www.nottingham.ac.uk/eportfolio/escapes 3. SHED 2010-2012 Learning and Teaching Innovation ‘student/employer matching’ - Unlocking institutional data for knowledge exchange www.nottingham.ac.uk/eportfolio/shed

Nottingham Postgraduate Placements Placement Discovery and Management Case Study 1 Nottingham Postgraduate Placements notts-pg-placements.co.uk Placement Discovery and Management Shared Service between the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University ERDF funded project run by the University of Nottingham’s Graduate School. Aim: to place 397 Nottingham Postgraduates into Nottingham SMEs (2009-2012)

Developed ‘on top of’ the OPUS Open Source Placements system Developed with the key users Introduced efficiency and streamlined approach to the placements processes Better visibility of placement opportunities Improvements now being made reflecting student feedback

2-3 month Industrial Placements Introduced the Mahara ePortfolio Case Study 2 Biosciences MScs in Food Production Management and Applied Biomolecular Technology 2-3 month Industrial Placements Introduced the Mahara ePortfolio

An Example – A Placement Pilot 2 month industrial placements for MSc students at the School of Biosciences 180 MSc Placement students… 10 Academic staff… 15 Employers… 1 Placement Manager… 1 Mahara ePortfolio…

3-way communication Student, Academic and Employer

Judith

What was the purpose of the Mahara ePortfolio? An online space to store and present work Create and present weekly reports on project progress Record and track professional and academic skills gained whilst on the placement Multi-way communication between Student, Academic Supervisor, Placement Manager and Employer Supervisor A central place for the Placements Manager to coordinate, track, monitor and identify early any issues Announcements, share relevant news items Judith

What did the students, staff and employers say?

Judith

Outcomes Better feedback management Closer links between the University and Employer Better project planning and dissertation support Professionalism as a learning outcome Peer interaction with current and former students Easily reviewed placement record Improved relationships with their mentors Received guidance and steer on work-based projects from their employer Significant efficiency improvements in placement administration

Thank you for listening Kirstie Coolin Kirstie.Coolin@nottingham.ac.uk Centre for International ePortfolio Development University of Nottingham The Centre for International ePortfolio Development (CIePD) are an autonomous Centre within the University of Nottingham’s Information Services. Our aims are to deliver projects that maximise the efficiency of information flow in order to support educational stakeholders access seamless ICT services and quality information. www.nottingham.ac.uk/eportfolio