The 2020 EUA Learning & Teaching Thematic Peer Group on "Meeting skills and employability demands" explored how universities can ensure that their study programmes reflect the dynamic demands of society and the labour market, and address skills demands throughout the student experience. In this paper, employability is considered as…

Too often student services have become a provider of discrete assistance in which one-way information transactions take place between the staff/student paraprofessionals providers and the students receiving the services. Students attend academic advising appointments, listen during tutorial or small groups study meetings, and read computer screens…

University students in paid employment have less time for studying, report more stress, and participate in fewer extracurricular activities than non-employed students. These negative outcomes that result from combining work and study can cause employed students to experience the domains of work, study, and social life as practically incompatible,…

Recognizing that university statements about equity, diversity, and inclusion are often cosmetic, performative, or at best, aspirational, rather than indicative of on-campus realities, this project analyzes interpretations of student identity and diversity through publicly available materials. The primary purpose of this research was to…

Background: The decline of young people's wellbeing in the UK and elsewhere has become an increasing focus for attention. In this context, it is encouraging to note some evidence suggesting that participation in extracurricular activities may have potential to improve wellbeing. However, the considerable conceptual and methodological challenges…

Many employers report that newly qualified graduates lack key skills necessary for success in the workplace. Although variable, many lack general 'transferable' or 'soft' skills including communication and teamworking. Staff at Edinburgh Napier University have sought to address this using the Skills Passport tool. The main element of the Skills…

In recent years there have been calls to increase both the number and diversity of engineering graduates within the UK. In addition to this, technological advancement and the need to solve complex socio-economic problems, have contributed toward a shift in the skills and abilities that practicing engineers require. Such changes have led to an…

This book examines the structural and cultural factors that explain the persistence of an attainment gap between white and Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students in UK universities. So-called 'deficit' approaches have long represented the orthodoxy in higher education strategy-making, yet they overlook the structural and institutional…

PISA 2015 data show that, on average across OECD countries, as many as three out of four students from the lowest quarter of socio-economic status reach, at best, only the baseline level of proficiency (Level 2) in reading, mathematics or science. While in Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong (China), Ireland, Japan, Korea, the…

As an approach to the internationalization of higher education, Internationalization at Home (IaH) looks beyond the mobility of a minority of students, emphasizing instead the delivery to all students of an internationally focused curriculum and the embedding of intercultural communication. This can be expanded to include extracurricular…

Recent studies have brought attention to the potential of translation as a symbolic activity to improve students' translingual competence. This study contributes to this growing field of study by examining students' voices in class discussions in translation classrooms. Five translation sessions were implemented with beginner and intermediate…

Developing University graduates' employability is of increasing strategic institutional focus in the UK. Existing research evidences the role of Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) in supporting students to develop personal, professional and employability skills. This research explores the impact of the PASS Leader role on graduates' job…

A positive transition to secondary school is pivotal to adolescents' mental health and success. However, the school transition research has mainly focused on transition-related adversities rather than adolescent wellbeing and adaptation. While the disturbing consequences of a difficult school transition are known, little attention has been paid to…

Studies about effective practice in Higher Education (HE), student retention, progression and attainment suggest that student engagement is a major factor in success. A sense of belonging to a community of students and academics is seen as key to creating effective engagement. Such studies have identified interventions that have proved successful…

This article explores students' extracurricular activities and, uniquely, their short- and long-term effects on employability. Drawing on the literature, six research questions are identified. A questionnaire and interviews with alumni provide the quantitative and qualitative information needed. The effects of different extracurricular activities…