Using e-portfolios for professional development

Fowles-Sweet, Wendy; Haslam, Oliver

Abstract

It is often claimed that engineering graduates entering the workforce lack required professionalism skills – as defined by the UK-SPEC for Engineers (Engineering Council, 2013).

UWE considers Professional Development as very important. Work underway in the Department of Engineering Design and Mathematics (EDM) for is designed to help students develop professionalism, a key best practice identifier as EDM moves towards practice-based learning. Students are encouraged to see themselves as “Student Engineers” who are “practising professionals” from the moment they start their degrees. The focus is on innovation to aid understanding of Professionalism - particularly for full time students with minimal or no previous work experience.

This session considers the:
• Perception that graduates find it hard to “sell” themselves to potential employers, unable to articulate and demonstrate their skills to gain employers’ attention.
• Use of the technology medium to support students’ developing professionalism: e-portfolios at Masters level
• Creating an e-portfolio for all full time undergraduate students, to clarify their studies support their long term professionalism

The e-portfolios under discussion in this session are both established – used by Masters’ students to produce Chartered Engineer-ready evidence, and new – core to Master and Undergraduate Degree Apprenticeship learning, the latter having benefitted from the experiences of the former.

Using e-portfolios in various professional modules encourages engagement with professional development when aligned with assessments - gaining a wider appreciation of societal issues (Lawlor, 2016). The reflective portfolio approach balances opportunities for and recognition of professional development by students – whether postgraduate, undergraduate, or those on degree apprenticeship pathways.

Students recognise a flexible e-portfolio approach enables long-term reflection about their work / life balance. Employers find employees are more aware of both their technical learning and their wider obligations as professionals within society. Students confirm the benefits of the e-portfolios, with many continuing to use them long after graduation.

• Presentation Conference Type: Presentation / Talk
• Conference Name: SEDA Autumn Conference 2019: New Frontiers in Educational and Curriculum Development
• Start Date: Nov 14, 2019
• End Date: Nov 15, 2019
• Deposit Date: Nov 22, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 22, 2019
• Keywords: e-portfolio, professional development, career planning, evidence
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/4660376
• Additional Information: Presentation given at the SEDA Autumn Conference 2019