Embedding Enterprise in the Curriculum CEC 202 A Sense of Place School of English Second Year Approved Module

Objectives Building relationships with key organisations in the tourism/ heritage sectors Providing innovative solutions to problems faced by these organisations Giving students the opportunity to engage with these organisations in order to appreciate the ways in which research can be applied in the ‘real world’ Giving students an insight into the problems and challenges faced by these organisations Providing the opportunity for students to acquire key skills in teamwork and presentation.

Project Partners Sheffield Cathedral(2006, 2007, 2008) Sheffield Tourism (2006, 2007) Sheffield History Desk (2006) Heeley City Farm (2006) Magna (2006) The Sheffield Brewery Company (2008) Museums Sheffield (2009) Green Estates (2010) Portland Works (2011)

Benefits To Partners Projects completed at minimal cost Building relationship with University Access to students’ ideas and opinions To Students Experience of solving ‘real world’ problems Insights into own skills and abilities Opportunity for building teamwork skills

Tools Clear Brief from Partner Belbin Team Role Descriptors Weekly Journal Project Conference Consultancy Report

Clear Brief from Partner Planning and discussion Partner presents at first session Site visit during second session Communication is vital!

Belbin Team Role Descriptors Students evaluate themselves at the beginning of the module As a team, they discuss these and allocate roles/ jobs accordingly Students learn to appreciate different personalities/ different skills All role types have good and bad points!

Weekly Journal Students reflect on their experience Builds awareness of skills development Allows them to learn from problems and mistakes Enables rapid intervention in case of problems Longer reflective journals at two key points ‘This is like therapy’!

Quotes from reflective journals Where do I start? The last couple of weeks have brought out a lot of qualities in me, that I thought I was not capable of…. As previously being a shy individual, I had never thought that I could communicate with members of the community with confidence. However the best part of it was representing the University of Sheffield. It was a great pride to say that you’re a student from the University of Sheffield who is carrying out a campaign to save Portland

Now that I have reached the halfway point in the group project I feel that I have acquired many skills through working with the team of girls on the campaign to save Portland Works. In the initial self-assessment, I described myself, according to Belbin’s Team Roles, as a Teamworker, as I thought of myself as one of the people in the group, who help it to run smoothly and identify the work that needs to be done and who can do each job…. However, now that we are half way into the assignment, I feel that I have become more of a Monitor Evaluator as I think that I am quite good at weighing up the team’s options and what we have to do as a group, as I think some of the girls’ strengths lie in their creativity, whereas I think I am better at assigning jobs to people or ways that things can be done.

Project Conference Present findings/ recommendations in a business-like environment Client and colleagues from University invited A sense of achievement and celebration.

Some comments from students the project has provided me with numerous transferable skills which will be welcomed in my modules next year and in many workplaces. I feel like our work is actually worthwhile in the community. Our input is helping towards making improvements for local people, which provides me with a great sense of satisfaction. I feel I have contributed to a good cause and done something more meaningful and helpful to others than writing essays about novels and poetry. Making team decisions, listening to the opinions of others, dividing up tasks and trusting everyone to do their fair share are all transferable skills which employers look for in a potential employee who will be working in a team environment.

But it’s a bumpy ride….