Professional Enhancement Program (PEP)

Within the Masters by Coursework program in the Faculty of Arts, Dr Joel Moore and I implemented a required professional enhancement component. This would ensure that our graduates are better prepared to manage their careers for the long term underpinned by clearer knowledge of the future world of work. Additionally, we sought to create  a unit that provided students with opportunities to develop professional skills that would complement the core expertise they had developed in their coursework and to better apply this knowledge in their capstone projects and ultimately in their working lives.

Steps taken

	Extensive consultation for curriculum design. We sought a radical departure from current curriculum design that would not only meet the needs of students but also the needs of industry and employers. To achieve this we recognised that extensive consultation with both alumni and industry partners was required. Additionally, we looked for opportunities to incorporate students and to involve them in the co-creation of a curriculum that would better suit their developing academic and professional needs.
	Determine the essential graduate attributes. We engaged extensively with industry professionals and alumni to determine the knowledge, skills and attributes that they thought were essential in our graduates. This included: Constructive communication skills. Effective networking skills. Ability to work in teams. Career resilience. Ability to analyse and apply data strategically.
	Consulted with students. We consulted with students in our Graduate Leadership program who expressed enthusiasm for a course with built in flexibility. An opportunity to create a bespoke unit suited to where they were at in terms of their career development.

The development of a modularised unit called “Professional Enhancement” facilitated by future world of work and career specialists in addition to experts in communications and applied data. The unit contained:

• A foundation module designed to develop student understanding of the future world of work and how to apply their personal strengths for long-term professional success.
• Choice from a suite of electives including topics such as data analytics, media training and communicating for impact.
• Move assessment grading to pass/fail, which allowed students more time to engage with content and take risks in a lower-stakes environment.

• Ensure key stakeholders are involved in the design including industry, educators, alumni, and current students
• Ensure high calibre career specialist educators with experience suited to the career level and multidisciplinary backgrounds of the student cohort
• Build - in choice through elective modules providing diverse skill options which students can select according to their own needs

• Ensure buy-in from your Faculty Education leadership including Deputy Dean
• Consider enhancing the personalisation of the learning through de-emphasising grading
• Consult widely - particularly with industry partners, students and alumni
• Remember curriculum design and renewal is an iterative process - keep working on and refining the offering

Above all else - listen to what your collaborators are saying!