Aiming University Learning @ Work

Aiming University Learning @ Work was a three year project, involving three project partners (University of Glasgow [lead institution], University of St Andrews and Glasgow Caledonian University), funded by a Strategic Change Grant from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) between 2006 and 2010. 

The main aim of the project was to create a strategic shift within higher education institutions towards work related learning as a means of enhancing students’ long term employability. The project teams began with the premise that structured periods of work experience or ‘work placements’ tend to be commonly understood. However, they knew that it was not realistic to offer all students ‘work placements’, either from a resource point of view or from a supply perspective. One aspect of learning that appeared under-developed at the time was ‘work related learning’, which incorporates work placements, but which also includes a wider range of activities that are flexible and less resource-intensive. So, the project set about exploring and developing new models for embedding work related learning within the curriculum for non-vocational subject disciplines, including English Language, History, Psychology, Mathematics, Physics, Biosciences, Business and Management.

During the lifetime of the project, academics, students, careers staff and employers worked closely together to pilot innovative approaches to work related learning in the undergraduate curriculum. We learned a great deal about what work related learning can consist of and how it can be successfully embedded within curricula. Our findings have now been published and are available to you. So whether you are an academic interested in introducing work related learning within your subject discipline, an employer wishing to offer work related opportunities, a senior manager looking to develop institutional policy on work related learning or a member University support staff looking for ways to support it, you should find a publication relevant to your needs.