Ultraversity Notes

An enquiry from Cohort 1 led me to put down some of my thoughts about the practical application of the Graduate Skills module. The researcher had asked for a letter showing that the BA Honours Learning, Technology, Research would be specifically useful for a specialist career which is on the horizon.

I suggested that the researcher should take the initiative to present a portfolio of her research on early years work to support her application, and that providing this portfolio could be the focus for her Graduate Skills module.

The introduction could be done as a covering letter or a short CV

Portfolio based on her studies into Early years, matched with the university's graduate skills list.

The conclusion should be something on which we could base a reference - I've often had to write my own references for busy headteachers, they just check and sign them. I'm thinking for Cohort 2 of suggesting that they write this piece in the style of a press release, and will think of some alternatives as this will use the patchwork text approach.

Having in mind a practical application of this module will help to sharpen the focus for all researchers, though there will be a range of settings. A smart approach would be to ask researchers to suggest these settings - but I need also to have some in mind. I believe the original design was aimed at the most common type of university student - someone who is about to complete their first degree and seek either their first full-time job in a career path, or to apply for a place on a post-graduate course. The Ultraversity project has been targeted at people who are in full-time employment (including voluntary work and parenting) and in particular for people who already enjoy their work enough to want to spend three years developing their skills in the work setting. Some will be hoping to use their degrees for promotions or more challenging careers in the same field. Others will want to continue doing their jobs because they have found a great career: for these getting an Honours degree might be for personal satisfaction or to enable them to do their jobs better. Another group will be those who plan to specialise. There will be more reasons as well as these for getting a degree.

The assessment product for the Graduate Skills module is a portfolio including reflective commentary. The portfolio has to be in an appropriate format for electronic communication, but in line with the technology element of the degree this could be an e-portfolio, using either a product such as the KEEP toolkit or, for the more confident, a website.

It should be an interesting module.