The University and Colleges have identified a set of skills and attributes ("transferable skills") which all undergraduates can expect to acquire during their university career. These skills, as well as enhancing academic performance, can be used beyond university, and are sought after by employers. Students are encouraged to make use of the opportunities afforded to them to develop these skills which will stand them in good stead in later life.
This document sets out the way in which these transferable skills can be acquired through the teaching programme offered by the Department; it also identifies ways in which College based activities may contribute to these acquisition of these skills.
Intellectual skills
Department: Lectures, practicals and examinations
College: Supervisions (problem solving, discussion, critical analysis)
Communication skills
Written:
Department: Projects, practicals write-ups, scientific writing course
College: Supervisions (written explanations and essays)
Oral:
Department: Presentations of project work, discussion of practical write-ups
College: Supervisions (oral explanations and discussion)
Non-verbal: (i.e. development of an argument using mathematical or symbolic language):
Department: Practicals write-ups
College: Supervisions (problem solving)
The Department will offer, with the assistance of Procter and Gamble, a one-day course on Communications Skills.
Organisational skills
Management of work and extracurricular activities
Department: Working in a group (practicals) or research team (projects)
Interpersonal skills
Department: Working with others for practicals or projects; regular discussion with members of staff and other leading scientists
College: Living, working and socialising in a diverse community; taking positions of responsibility
Research skills
Department: Use of library to supplement information given in lectures; literature projects (finding information, both in traditional and electronic forms; critical evaluation); designing experiments; fourth-year research project.
Numeracy
Department: Lectures (as part of NST); data handling in experiments and projects
College: Supervisions for NST Mathematics
Computer literacy
Department: Lectures (as part of NST); computer based experiments and exercises; use of electronic data bases and information (literature and research project); using equipment under computer control; use of computers to analyse data (practicals and projects); word processing (projects).
College: Computing resources for the above; EMAIL and Internet access.
Foreign language skills
Department: Third-year language option.
College: Support for self-access language teaching