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Professional Placement for Geographers

Module description

Increasingly, graduate positions request that applicants have work experience applicable to the role. This module will enable you to immerse yourself in a professional environment; you will learn to apply the skills learnt during the first and second years, improve personal and transferable skills, make new contacts and enhance employability. This module allows you to arrange your own placement year and to incorporate this into your degree programme, and for this to be reflected in your degree title. It is your responsibility to find, apply and secure a placement position with a relevant organisation. A minimum of nine months full-time should be spent in the workplace. The module has a range of assessments based on personal reflections on your workplace role and skills development. The host employer will also submit an end of placement report providing an overview of attendance and key achievements.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module will enable you to develop professional skills in a workplace environment. This module offers an excellent opportunity for you to immerse yourself in an environment where you can develop professional skills, gain a greater understanding of the use of your degree and ultimately improve your CV. You will be encouraged to reflect on your experiences during the placement to help you to make career decisions for the future.

You will further develop the following academic and professional skills: problem solving (linking theory to practice, developing your own ideas with confidence, showing entrepreneurial awareness, being able to respond to novel and unfamiliar problems), managing structure (identifying key demands of the task, setting clearly defined goals, responding flexibly to changing priorities), time management (managing time effectively individually and within a group), collaboration (respecting the views and values of others, taking initiative and leading others, supporting others in their work, maintaining group cohesiveness and purpose), and audience awareness (presenting ideas effectively in multiple formats, persuading others of the importance and relevance of your views, responding positively and effectively to questions).

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Interact effectively in a professional environment
• 2. Work in a professional team and deal proficiently with the issues that teamwork requires

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Apply skills learnt during Stages 1 and 2 of your degree in a professional environment
• 4. Acquire practical skills for use in a professional environment

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Evaluate your own performance in a professional role and identify skills that you’d like to develop further
• 6. Identify and effectively communicate the employability skills and professional development opportunities that your chosen role provided
• 9. Evaluate your own strengths and weaknesses in relation to graduate-level professional and practical skills, and act autonomously to develop new areas of skills as necessary
• 10. Reflect effectively and independently on learning experiences and evaluate personal achievements

Syllabus plan

Whilst undertaking this module you will gain valuable work experience and professional development by spending time working within an organisation appropriate to a future graduate. Placements can begin as soon as you have completed the second year and should last for a minimum of nine months (leave during this time to be taken according to the host organisation’s leave procedure). During your work experience, you will be expected to participate in monthly meetings with the module convenor and placement cohort. These meetings will be informed and structured around your formative reflective placement journal and summative assessments. During the placement, you will produce a poster aimed at prospective employees/interns to outline the role of the organisation, including its values and aims, and the skills you can develop within your role. You will produce a report at the end of the placement to reflect on your professional development, including the skills learnt and developed, your strengths within the role and how the placement has influenced your career goals. You will submit an oral presentation (recorded) to describe the skills you have acquired and evaluate your experiences during the placement at the start of your final year.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to complete further written assignments, as detailed in the table above. If you are successful on referral then the final module mark will be capped at 40%.

The employer’s report is neither referable not deferrable. If you fail this assessment or the module overall your degree title will be commuted to BA or BSc Geography accordingly.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Cottrell, S. (2003), Skills for Success: The Personal Development Handbook. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Fanthome, C. (2004) Work Placements: A survival guide for students. Palgrave

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• Module ELE page
  
• Geography Employability ELE page
• www.ex.ac.uk/employability

Key words search

Careers, employability, work experience, transferable skills, personal development