Can you tell us about your overall experience with College Employability Programme and Writing a Policy Brief course?
So far, my experience has been fantastic. I engaged with the College Employability Programme because I had one assignment on Sustainable Tourism (lecturer, Dr. Anna de Jong), which was to write a policy brief. Students were required to sign up to this course (so it was mandatory) to learn how to prepare a policy brief and get the template. However, in the process I found out that the other courses were not mandatory, I believe as a new student we can access this course and choose any course that interesting (such as, Digital Skills, Study Abroad Induction, Presentation Skills, etc). I also get the opportunity to meet (1:1 appointment) with a mentor regarding my work. It was incredibly helpful for me because the task was difficult. A policy briefing needs to be concise, although I tend to use more words in a typical essay. Wow, that was tough, but I received comments and input, and I'm crossing my fingers for a positive outcome.
In what ways has this College Employability Programme course prepared you for internships/future jobs?
In the future, I believe ‘Writing a Policy Brief’ course is very useful, especially for students who wants to pursue career as a consultant. It will help you to learn how to write effectively and efficiently and is also full of content that can describe/explain the situation. The one example that I liked from the policy brief is the challenge in how to present our data. We needed to be creative with it, playing around with images and graphs so our readers can understand our points but at the same time, enjoy reading our paper.
What did you find most beneficial about the Policy Brief course?
First, there is the material then there are the instructors or mentors and finally there is the feedback. The College Employability Programme includes a wide variety of classes in addition to writing a policy brief. After my exams are over, I'll check out more course from the College Employability Programme!
What are some useful skills you feel you have gained from the course?
It helps me create a structure for my research reports and dissertations, as well as develop excellent research abilities, formulate research questions, utilise, and apply research methodologies, and construct research reports.
Would you recommend the course to others and why?
Yes, without a doubt because it will help any students who are interested in presenting their findings concisely through a policy brief and they will enjoy and find value through this course. The policy briefing is action-focused summary papers that are accessible to a variety of audiences, including informed non-specialists. All students should absolutely participate.
Fransiska is from Indonesia and is currently pursuing a MSc in Sustainable Tourism and Global Challenge on our Dumfries Campus.