Work-based learning (WBL) is an educational strategy that provides students with real-life work experiences where they can apply academic and technical skills and develop employability.
There are many opportunities for these experiences to be embedded in the curriculum. This resource is a collection of interviews with lecturers at Sheffield Hallam University who have successfully embedded WBL in their courses. This page introduces you to them, and gives a brief outline of their work.
One of the things that surprised us in these interviews is how often the lecturers talked about how fun these WBL modules are to run. How exciting and rewarding they are.
As this resource develops we are hoping to find a way to group together different themes and topics (peer assessment, for example), but at the moment it just shows the different approaches to WBL, how it has been implemented and the expected (and sometimes unexpected) outcomes.
Please use the menu on the left to find out more.
Sue Beckingham
Principal Lecturer
Level 5: Digital Marketing
An elective module designed to help students develop business skills with real clients to help them prepare for placements in the following year.
Working in groups of 5 or 6 they help to develop digital marketing strategies for the small businesses and charities they are working with. They write an analysis of the current approach to marketing and a six month plan, which is presented to the client via screencasts.
Sally Billau
Lecturer: Interior Architecture and Design
CoLAB Project
About 100 students work cross-year with a wide range of external clients from a variety of industries. All of the clients are initially invited to pitch proposals to the students and the students work in small groups with the clients to deliver 2D or 3D solutions which fit the brief, and these are displayed in a public exhibition at the end of the year. Students promote their own portfolio on digital platforms and learn to develop business skills, as well as team working skills. Assessment for the project is done via self-assessment and peer assessment.
Alex Crombie
Lecturer: Physics
Level 5: Professional Practice
Small groups of students work with clients across a range of industries to solve real-world problems. This includes project tendering, research, presentations to the client and writing a summary report.
They are assessed through a more reflective piece, about their role and the process of running the project.
Gregg Ibbotson
Course Leader: Cyber Security
Level
Students develop soft business skills to compliment their technical competencies. In this full-year module the students become prepared for placements and industry. They learn group-working skills and build presentation confidence. In the second semester they work with external partners to put on an event.
Jonathan Scholey
Senior Lecturer: Mechanical Engineering
Reverse Engineering Project
Working in small, structured teams, students disassemble a small electrical device, study it and reassemble it. Based on Jonathan’s experience in industry they produce professional documentation to emulate a real-world working environment. Team and individual components are assessed and there is a strong focus on making the module as inclusive as possible, for people who can’t attend every session.
Melvyn Ternan
Senior Lecturer: Animation
Level 4: Stop Motion Animation – Foundation
This module comprises of one formative and one summative task. The students work in groups and take on different roles in three different animations, which relate to roles in the industry. Melvyn talks about the challenges surrounding group work, how the students respond and how they develop -both personally and professionally- over the course of the module.