Postgraduate Careers Team wins Blackboard Catalyst Award
The Management School’s Postgraduate Careers team was recently awarded a Blackboard Catalyst Award in recognition of their work in developing an innovative online pre-arrival careers development course.
The course was developed in collaboration with ULMS Learning Technologist, Will Moindrot, and aimed to support postgraduate students in their transition to university by helping to alleviate culture shock and creating a supportive learner community.
Learning activities, staged throughout the four week course, were designed to be fun and interactive by incorporating appealing materials as well as content produced by current students explaining what life in Liverpool is like. Content also aimed to encourage students to make the most of the services on offer to them during their time at the Management School.
The course was initially trialled with a small pilot group of pre-arrival students in August 2018 and received good feedback.
Xiaobei Wu, International Employer Engagement Officer, commented “It is a great honour to receive this award. We are always trying very hard to support our students’ career development and provide them with a great experience. This pre-arrival course is an example of how we try to go the extra mile and extend this support, even before the students have started the postgraduate journey. I am really pleased our effort and its effectiveness has been recognised.”
Will Moindrot, Educational Developer, commented “Competitions such as the Catalyst awards allow us to take stock and capture the knowledge and expertise we have built up through our work, and it's a great opportunity to get the University of Liverpool on the map as leaders in the field.
It can also drive further enhancement to what we do through reflection and feedback from international peers who often make up award panels. I would strongly encourage others to examine their work, see what areas of innovation they are particularly proud of, see what similar opportunities exist and then go for it!”
Blackboard is the international company behind Vital, the University of Liverpool's Virtual Learning Environment. More information on the Blackboard Catalyst awards is available online.