On this learning design project, I worked with careers and employability professionals to design, deploy and refine a series of employability modules to be delivered in a blended (synchronous and asynchronous) format. To achieve this, I relied on my advanced digital competencies including knowledge of learning analytics and H5P, to customise and build out Brightspace, the institution’s virtual learning environment (VLE).
Our learners were a diverse cohort of over 3,000 undergraduate students from a range of academic disciplines with varying accessibility needs, making this the largest active unit in the University of Limerick (UL). I used universal design for learning (UDL) principles and evidence-based teaching strategies to meet students where they were, and to support them as they developed the employability skills they needed to thrive in the future world of work.
These modules sit within the award-winning Cooperative Education Programme (co-op) at UL. UL is a recognised leader in work-integrated learning with a particular and longstanding commitment to cooperative education. This is an educational philosophy that takes a partnership approach to experiential learning between the university, the employer, and the student. Unlike many other institutions, UL offers placements to all undergraduate students, regardless of academic background or personal circumstances, and manages this placement process centrally in line with its commitment to equity of opportunity, inclusion, and mobility.
As an alumna of UL with first-hand experience of its leading Co-operative Education programme, I relished the opportunity to contribute to the experience of future graduates in this way.
