AP2AE35-Career Planning and Professional Practice for BSc Environmental Management

Module Provider: School of Agriculture, Policy and Development
Number of credits: 10 [5 ECTS credits]
Level:5
Terms in which taught: Autumn / Spring / Summer module
Pre-requisites:
Non-modular pre-requisites:
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded:
Placement opportunity: Micro placement
Current from: 2021/2

Module Convenor: Ms Rebecca Jerrome
Email: r.m.jerrome@reading.ac.uk

Type of module:

Summary module description:

You'll gain and apply a range of essential career planning skills including developing your career action plan, CV, applications and professional networks, through a series of seminar sessions supported by a Careers Consultant. You'll use your skills to apply for and undertake a short work experience placement (35 hours) related to Environmental Management, and through this experience will develop your critical self-reflection abilities, to help you get the most out of this professional development opportunity.

Aims:

This module provides opportunities for students to gain essential career planning skills and provides a means of promoting and recognising short term work placements within the field of Environmental Management which are independently organised by students and approved by the University. Its main aims are to (i) to enable students to learn and apply essential skills for planning their career (ii) enhance employability through acquisition of relevant experience and (iii) promote personal and professional development and increased self-awareness by providing a framework for critical self-reflection in the context of the career decision making and work based learning experience.

Assessable learning outcomes:

This module provides opportunities for students to gain essential career planning skills and provides a means of promoting and recognising short term work placements within the field of Environmental Management which are independently organised by students and approved by the University. Its main aims are to (i) to enable students to learn and apply essential skills for planning their career (ii) enhance employability through acquisition of relevant experience and (iii) promote personal and p rofessional development and increased self-awareness by providing a framework for critical self-reflection in the context of the career decision making and work based learning experience.

Additional outcomes:

Students will also gain experience of

• Careers information retrieval, research and decision making using a variety of sources.


• Writing an effective application (a CV and covering letter)


• Networking - informed by their understanding of the recruitment and selection processes.


• Organising a mini work-placement


• Applying their scientific/technical skills and knowledge to the tasks and responsibilities of the role in which they are working in the micro placement.

Students will also gain or enhance a range of day to day transferable skills in the work place, as appropriate to their role, including for example time management, communication, team work and independent work, initiative, organisation, decision making and global awareness.

Outline content:

1. A series of career planning sessions, supported by ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁÏÍø Careers service


2. 35 hour Micro-work placement, which will satisfy the following conditions:
   
   
   
   1. Work placements must amount to 35Ìýhours minimum - the equivalent of one full time week of work. Other arrangements for accrual of time may be discussed with and approved in advance by the module convenor on a case by case basis (i.e. weekly day/part day sessions over a period of time). Longer summer placements are allowed/encouraged but are not a necessity for completion of the module.
   
   
   2. All placements must be within a company or organisation connected with environmental management, for example in the areas of conservation, consultancy, management, education, research, communication, planning and policy.
   
   
   3. Placements must be undertaken between the end of the Part 1 examinations and the end of the Easte r Vacation of Part 2.
   
   
   4. All placements must be discussed with and approved by the University in advance of the