International Conference on Enhancement and Innovation in Higher Education Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow 9-11 June 2015 Welcome

Cathy Lambert, Veronique Johnston Deborah Callister A Rising Tide Raises All Boats: the Work of the Graduate Employability Project at Edinburgh Napier University

Summary of Project 3-year, cross-university project January 2013 to December 2015 £898k per annum 23 staff 5 strands of distinct but inter-related activity: o student employability development o curriculum development o employer relations o student mobility o monitoring and evaluation

Underpinning Principles Strong institutional commitment to GE Explicitly integrating graduate attributes and employability into the curriculum Aligning employability to subjects and to the relevant labour market Variety & capacity in work-related experiences Involvement of employers & professionals in design and delivery Systematic & tailored opportunities for skills development for everyone Formal prep for employment-seeking

Key Objectives More students into employment (particularly professional/managerial) Embedding an outcomes & evaluation focus: o tracking specific groups, e.g. MD20 & MD40, care leavers etc o demonstrating ‘additionality’ Balance between innovation and doing more of what we know works Extending the number & variety of work-related & mobility opportunities Embedding partnership working approaches Aligning to our SFC Outcome Agreement Employer Mentoring Celebration Event

Edinburgh Napier Business School Focus on curriculum development, through the design of new work based learning (WBL) and work related learning (WRL) modules to enhance the existing options available within undergraduate degree programmes Successful accounting, law and management networking events engaging with over 50 business and organisations attended by over 500 students Professional Advisory Panels within Accounting (APAG) and Sales (SEGCIP) subject groups with student, academic and key industry representatives. ‘Business School Summer Internship’ programme for 2nd & 3rd year students providing 28 paid internship opportunities Development of short term mobility opportunities for Business School students across Europe

Celebrating successes to date Met or exceeded nearly all Year 2 targets Step change in the visibility of employability Focused curriculum development in all Faculties Mapping of work-based/related learning within all UG modules and programmes Significant new opportunities for students to gain insight into, and experience of, employment Significant increase in student internships (e.g. Santander & University schemes) More coherency & capacity with employer engagement Significant increase in student participation in Careers activity and Personal & Professional Development Expansion of employer mentoring and student mobility provision Embedded evaluation and tracking of cohorts

Lessons Learned Large, complex projects take time to bed in Governance arrangements key to sharing of best practices Outcomes focused approach has: driven debate, promoted clarity around objectives; and underpinned the evaluation framework Additional resources have created space for innovation and creativity Additionality comes through delivering more existing provision that works, as well as through innovation Embedding employability within the curriculum is the most effective approach to engaging with students The project focus has acted as a ‘collaboration enabler’

And finally…. Project funding has re-energised our employability agenda and led to better student outcomes Our greatest challenges are to: maintain momentum; and secure long term sustainability in terms of impact, resource, activities and mind sets

Contact details: Cathy Lambert Director, Student & Academic Services, Veronique Johnston Assistant Director, Student & Academic Services, Deborah Callister Employer Liaison Officer, Edinburgh Napier Business School, More info can be found at: Project/Pages/Graduate-Employability-Project.aspx