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KEELE ANNUAL TEACHING SYMPOSIUM 15TH JUNE 2016 CREATIVITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION
to her project, PDP had mainly been focused on undergraduate students. This project was aimed at expanding that to a widely diverging postgraduate student population, with locally more than 50 % of students originating from outside the UK. Taught Masters especially had been neglected. These programmes mostly comprise 1 year and are often vocational in nature. Students are from varied educational backgrounds and have very different experiences of PDP. Cultural differences can also be significant. Phase 1 of the project comprised of interviews with international students and staff, compiled into report form. Significantly interviewees only had experience of CDP in previous workplaces, but generally not PDP. Very notable were limited transferable skills and a lack of reflection. For PDP to be successful, Kate indicated that it is imperative that students recognise that this has the potential to lead to enhanced degree quality, increasing their employability in an ever more competitive environment. Communication with staff and awareness of cultural issues are key points. Staffs interviewed were likewise not always fully aware of the meaning of PDP. Benefits recognised were increased student selfawareness and enhanced ability to manage and structure studies. To achieve this staff require training, support and above all enthusiasm. Especially challenging aspects identified in these interviews were cultural issues and the wide variety of students in taught PG courses. Kate then summarised the findings of this first phase of the project, identifying crucial aspects that will need to be implemented for PIPS to be successful: language skills; students taking ownership of their own PDP; explicit definition of benefits; avoidance of being patronising( tricky with such varied backgrounds!); managing expectations; encouraging lifelong learning. And staff needs to be well informed and fully engaged with the process. Phase 2 of the project comprised the development of customisable PDP resources as a resource for the various PG courses. Each of these follow a similar structure, with an introduction setting the scene, followed by sections covering amongst others transferable skills, career planning and work experience. Kate specifically highlighted that facilitator notes and training to aid use of these are absolutely essential and need to include planning. Beyond the scope of this very informative presentation that no doubt had lots of resonances with a substantial part of the audience, Phase 3 encompassed piloting across a variety of subjects and a variety of courses, followed by Evaluation in Phase 4. In a lively discussion the need for flexible resources was further explored: these need to be adapted to each cohort and be engaging and fun, with vested interest and tangible outcomes. In the final talk of a fascinating and wide-ranging session, Peter Lonsdale from the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Keele gave