Embedded employability in Chemistry

Posted on: 31 May 2022 by Richard Finch in Employer Connections Blog

A Skills Enhancement Programme to provided students with an opportunity to work in groups on authentic real-life industry projects.

During 2020-21, in response to students lacking the relevant experience due to missing out on internship and placement opportunities because of the pandemic, Careers and Employability developed a Skills Enhancement Programme which brought real projects to students for which they could work in groups on authentic industry projects, developing skills such as time management, building confidence and presenting their findings through presentations at the end of the programme.

All project groups were supported by mentors throughout the programme which was run over MS Teams.  The outcomes of two cycles of this programme made us think about how we could use a similar model in the curriculum, bringing industry and real projects together and facilitating group project work. 

Chemistry took on the challenge and agreed to trial the model in one of their final year modules as a fully embedded activity with an assessment attached.

Utilising our links with the Materials Innovation Factory (MIF) at the University of Liverpool and a Department of Chemistry spinout company, the Employer Connections Team worked together with Unilever and CageCapture (a start-up specialising in advanced materials) and developed 18 potential project titles for students.

These challenges directly replicate the types of activities these companies would give new graduate recruits or groups of graduates early into their employment. Topics were all aligned to the company’s interests ranging from sustainability, inclusive laboratories, packaging, animal testing, costings, the use of AI/VR in industry and automation/cobots.

Chosen by the students, 12 of these authentic projects were then researched by 24 student groups. From the company perspectives, on this occasion, they were not directly involved in the supervision or assessment of the projects but a 1-page executive summary from each group was shared with the companies so that they were able to see students approaches and benefit from their perspectives within their organisations.

Students benefit significantly from this kind of alternative real-world experience. From an employers perspective, the commitment can be minimal but provides a unique opportunity to raise your company profile amongst an engaged group of students, talent spot and access student perspectives on genuine business problems.