Luke Regan and Chris Hall @goldblach  – Sheffield Hallam University

This thunderstorm session will focus on sharing practice about our project involving getting students to work as social media consultants on live projects. It will provide a brief analysis of the pedagogical impact on students too.

Attendees will hear from students about their own experiences, and leave with ideas on how they might develop such projects in their own practice.

Aims of the project:

• To evidence social media as an employability skill
• To evidence the need from employers for social media skills
• To make students aware of and to be able to articulate their ‘hidden’ skillset

Details of the project: For three consecutive years we have been collaborating with local and national organisations (businesses and charities) to provide students with high quality work related learning. The process has been managed by the Venture Matrix team and implemented on a module level by academic staff Christopher Hall and Matt Butt.

Third year students from two different courses collaborate enthusiastically in groups for 6 weeks as ‘Social Media Consultants’ to the organisations. The organisations are always open and willing to listen to the students ideas and in some cases have implemented the proposals before the end of the consultancy period.

The scheme has provided a clear bridge between the theory and practice of Social Media, and has provided final year students with enhanced employability skills and increased attainment and engagement.