Professional and Academic Development at Essex Business School

Essex Business School are very proud to announce a new skills development module for undergraduate students.

Professional and Academic Development (PAD) module

All new first year undergraduate students at our Colchester campus from October 2022 will find the brand new Professional and Academic Development (PAD) module on their timetables.

The PAD module is designed to help support student development, not only during their studies but also to support them in their future professional career.

Within the 15-credit module students will meet the Essex Careers Team (from whom students can learn helpful tips for securing a future role), learn how to use the library services, meet their personal tutor and be exposed to a wealth of useful resources to help students make the most of their time at Essex.

The module begins with an exciting Business Week task where students get ‘hands-on’ experience of being an entrepreneur. The task involves students working in small groups to develop a new product, service or event that they believe to be missing from the student experience at the University of Essex.

Following this, the next part of the module will focus on learning valuable study skills to support future learning (for example, essay writing, referencing and note taking).

The module will also help student begin to focus on career planning and employability skills, including help in building an effective CV and identifying future employers. As part of the module, we the Essex Business School Learning Team be inviting external speakers who work in business, into the classroom. This will give students the opportunity to ask questions to people who are currently in a role that they may want to explore in the future (e.g., chartered accountants).

Pilot scheme and student feedback

The module has already been running successfully for Essex Business School students at our Southend campus. Here is what they had to say:

"I enjoyed the business week task in which we were put into groups and given the task of creating a product/service useful for students. This allowed me to think more like an entrepreneur whilst also working as part of a team to utilise peoples’ talents."

"I found the tasks in which we looked into graduate jobs and what they require useful, in order to identify additional requirements a potential employer is looking for and how I can fulfil those to become more employable."

October 2022

"We are really looking forward to introducing the module and its benefits to our students at our Colchester campus from October 2022. We look forward to meeting you!" - Hugh Kilmister, Student Experience Manager, Essex Business School