The Future Ready Ideas Lab: Future Proofing Bioscience Students Enterprise Skills

Authors

  • John Barrow Institution of Education for Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Aberdeen
  • Joy Perkins Centre for Academic Development, University of Aberdeen
  • Pietro Marini Institution of Education for Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Aberdeen
  • Ann Davidson Scottish Institute for Enterprise, Glasgow

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21100/compass.v13i2.1039

Keywords:

Enterprise Education, Employability, Skills, Employers

Abstract

Given the pace of technological change, today’s students need to be prepared for changing employment roles in an ever-evolving world.  Increasingly, employers require graduates to be innovative, adaptable and resilient, and have an enterprising mind-set.  Enterprise education supports students to develop these key attributes and skills, enabling them to engage with the pace of change.  In our teaching context the challenges of delivering enterprise education is to support and engage 300 students, at an early stage in their life sciences degree programme, to start developing core enterprising behaviours.  To address this, a bespoke enterprise workshop was devised.  A Kirkpatrick evaluation-based survey was then used to investigate the following themes:  1) students’ satisfaction and reaction to the enterprise session; 2) students’ ability to articulate their skills; 3) participants’ behaviour post-session and 4) benefits derived from the session.  The data collected reveals students’ awareness of their skills and their understanding of what may be required of future employers and their employees.  Although it is also clear from the data, broadening all students’ horizons and their enterprise engagement is challenging.  The next step is to conduct a longitudinal study to gather a time perspective view on this cohort’s enterprise knowledge and learning.

Author Biographies

John Barrow, Institution of Education for Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Aberdeen

John Barrow is a Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Aberdeen.  He delivers innovative and modern teaching, particularly in the areas of biochemistry and molecular biology, at all levels of university education and beyond. Prior to teaching, he was a postdoctoral research scientist in several areas of the life sciences including diabetes, stem cell biology, developmental biology, neuroscience and bioinformatics.

Joy Perkins, Centre for Academic Development, University of Aberdeen

Joy Perkins is the Educational & Employability Development Adviser in the Centre for Academic Development at the University of Aberdeen.  She works in partnership with academic Schools and other stakeholders, to enable cross-fertilisation of employability ideas and practice across the University.  Her research interests and recent publications include embedding graduate attributes in curricula, enterprise education and the role of employer engagement in curriculum development.

Pietro Marini, Institution of Education for Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Aberdeen

Pietro Marini is a Lecturer in Pharmacology and Medical Education at the University of Aberdeen.  He delivers teaching to undergraduate science and medical students as well as coordinating the flagship widening access programme, Gateway 2 Medicine, which allows students to enter the medical degree programme from non-traditional backgrounds.  He has a strong research background in opioid and cannabinoid pharmacology and uses this extensive knowledge in his teaching.

Ann Davidson, Scottish Institute for Enterprise, Glasgow

Ann Davidson is responsible for the Scottish Institute for Enterprise (SIE) teaching activities, where she designs, delivers and evaluates enterprise and entrepreneurship education for students across Scotland.  Before joining SIE in January 2011, she successfully developed training initiatives with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland and the WS Society, where she was Course Director for three years.

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Published

07/30/2020

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 2 (2020): Compass: Journal of Learning and Teaching

Section

Case Studies

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