Aims

This module aims to help students develop their professional identity and competence, enhance their employability and personal enterprise skills by providing opportunities to apply disciplinary knowledge and skills in a relevant real-world context.

Outline Of Syllabus

This module introduces students to professional practice and career planning supported by talks and presentations from practitioners and employers.

The syllabus will require students to:

• Explore a variety of employment contexts in which the knowledge and skills of the nutrition student can be applied to grow their professional network and experiences

• Explore complex real-world challenges that are faced by external partner organisations and propose solutions

• Conduct group work in collaboration with partners to propose solutions to real-world challenges, based on knowledge and professional competencies of the Association for Nutrition

• Create a reflective essay scaffolded around professional and evidence of engaging in activities with external clients and industries

Placement activities are built into the teaching activities of the module and should be managed to fit around the student’s academic and other activities and must be a minimum of 50 hours.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Supported by module tutors, students will reflect on and manage their own learning and development through a series of workshops, seminars and lectures, both on campus and online. They will develop their professional profile, and work to grow their professional network and experiences. Peer feedback will be utilised to support challenge in understanding the various industries and in self-assessment.

Students will be expected to complete 50 hours of placement within a nutrition environment and placement providers will be requested to sign off competencies in attendance and professionalism. Students will be unable to submit the portfolio of evidence until they have completed their 50 hours within the work environment.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Written Exercise
The written exercise will provide students with an opportunity to undertake desk-based research on their chosen industry sector, where they will present data on the current state of the industry, available roles, and employee attributes required for their chosen career path (linked to their placement setting). Students will be expected to self-assess their strengths and weaknesses in relation to these attributes, and their readiness for the workplace. They should also explore the opportunities and threats that the placement setting will provide in developing their graduate skill needs. Students who have not completed the 50 hours of placement will not be able to complete the portfolio and reflective essay. Links to learning outcomes K1, K2, S1 and S2.

Reflective Essay and Portfolio of evidence
Students will be expected to compile a portfolio of evidence across the whole module, demonstrating their journey in securing a placement, undertaking relevant activities to address their graduate skill development needs, and outputs associated with these. The reflective essay should present the information as a narrative, with appropriate cross-referencing to the evidence within the portfolio. Links to learning outcomes S1, S2 and S3.

In order to pass the module, students must achieve a mark of 40% or above in written exercise and reflective essay and portfolio of evidence, complete 50 placement hours and achieve an overall mark of 40% or above for the module.