Jisc Change Agents' Network Conference 2024

At Greenwich Business School we have very large programmes and very diverse students, with a brief to continuously improve our curricula and our graduate outcomes. Working with external platforms is a way to do this. However, these are often implemented as ‘should do’ for students rather than ‘must do’ as part of the assessment, impacting uptake from hard-to-reach groups and reducing the ability to spread brand awareness among less well-represented groups. Join us to hear how we’ve done it (the highs and the lows). This is not a sales pitch; we’re keen to share our good practice and enable you to consider similar options, exploring time and resource-efficient ways to deliver employability skills to all students. 

This case study from the University of Greenwich Business School demonstrates how employability skills for the modern world may be developed by integrating third-party platforms, specifically Forage Job Simulations, Shortlist.Me asynchronous video interviews and GMetrix Microsoft Office learning and assessment.  Increasingly, universities are promising their students employer-informed, relevant courses that respond to contemporary themes in real time.  Using external resources where the employer relationships, relevance and contemporary issues are being adjusted live and ‘on the ground’ offers a way to bridge the gap, ensuring that our support keeps pace with our students’ experiences. 

We'll examine challenges and how to overcome them, as well as critical learnings. We’ll discuss:

• How the barriers to rapid, at-scale implementation of third-party platforms and opportunities into core student experiences can be successfully navigated, the benefits of the ecosystem approach and points to consider from both sides. 

• How this approach keeps staff and students connected to contemporary practice, enabling both sides to learn from the other

• Explore the practical implications of integrating employability-focused elements into curriculum, emphasising their direct alignment with real-world job requirements and industry expectations.