By Nicky Thomas

The “Graduate skills to Thrive” framework, affectionately has been researched and developed by Nicky Thomas, working with colleagues in the University of Exeter Business School (UEBS) and Student Employability & Academic Success team (SEAS).

As a Business School we know how important professional SKILLS are to a student’s chances of career success.  This is why we are launching and embedding the GRADUATE SKILLS to THRIVE framework into Business School academic modules so that students can identify, practice and reflect on the skills sets we know are important for their future professional success.

In the Business School we have lots of ideas how this tool can be used to support module & programme design, learning activity and curriculum design, personal tutoring and open-day marketing – but what is the best way to implement the framework to support students to engage in their personal development.

How can students harness the power of the new GRADUATE SKILLS TO THRIVE framework for their own skills development?

With the help of a small education incubator grant, plentiful refreshments and a group of enthusiastic student volunteers … Nicky Thomas (Business School) and Fiona Hartley (SEAS) hosted four workshops with UG & Masters students from across Business School disciplines and a further workshop for academics.

Making use of Playmobil Pro and (DIY) spinners, the workshops were fun and interactive, as a result participants felt comfortable to contribute openly and honestly, whilst developing their own understanding of skills and the relevance to them.

The sessions generated lots of practical ideas for how to implement the skills framework in the Business School and to develop resources to support students (and academics). 

Following the success of the workshops, the Business School has embedded the mapped core modules on all its programmes to the framework and are rolling out a badge on module ELE site to show the skills students can expect to develop on each core academic module.

The graduate skills to thrive framework is embedded in the Business School’s PREPARE TO SUCCEED campaign which will encourage and support students to develop their professional knowledge, skills and behaviour through their academic experiences.

Discovery Grants 2022-23 Education Education Incubator Higher Education Innovation Pedagogy