Digital Work Experience Platform
Lead Participant:
U-EXPLORE LIMITED
Abstract
Many students never get the chance to access work experience.
As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, even those fortunate enough to have secured placements will never see those placements fulfilled. For all of these students, this represents a major setback in their career development and it has the potential to widen an already significant gap for those young people from more disadvantaged backgrounds.
Our proposal to create a Digital Work Experience Platform ("DWEP") will help address this issue, providing large numbers of students from all backgrounds with access to a structured programme, co-created with and supported by employers.
Different to online employer encounters, the DWEP will focus more on replicating crucial outcomes typically achieved through on-site placements. Key features of the DWEP will therefore include simulated work-based tasks, independent research, reflective learning and assessment, pastoral input from academic tutors and employer feedback.
By building the DWEP on the existing Start platform ([www.startprofile.com)][0] - already used by thousands of schools, colleges and employers in the UK and internationally - it will be accessible, sustainable and scalable, benefitting hundreds of thousands of students for years to come in addition to those impacted now by Covid-19\.
The DWEP will blend the existing Start technology with an industry-leading Learning Management System including secure video-conferencing and collaboration tools, ensuring that a stable and secure platform can be built and deployed quickly to meet this urgent need.
To achieve our goal, we will collaborate with our extensive school, college and employer network to design and curate high quality digital work experience programmes for students. The result will be a flexible solution -- one which can be used by any school or college at a time to suit their timetable and students. It will also enable a wide range of employers - large and small - to engage with the programme, in both its design and delivery.
[0]: http://www.startprofile.com%29/
As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, even those fortunate enough to have secured placements will never see those placements fulfilled. For all of these students, this represents a major setback in their career development and it has the potential to widen an already significant gap for those young people from more disadvantaged backgrounds.
Our proposal to create a Digital Work Experience Platform ("DWEP") will help address this issue, providing large numbers of students from all backgrounds with access to a structured programme, co-created with and supported by employers.
Different to online employer encounters, the DWEP will focus more on replicating crucial outcomes typically achieved through on-site placements. Key features of the DWEP will therefore include simulated work-based tasks, independent research, reflective learning and assessment, pastoral input from academic tutors and employer feedback.
By building the DWEP on the existing Start platform ([www.startprofile.com)][0] - already used by thousands of schools, colleges and employers in the UK and internationally - it will be accessible, sustainable and scalable, benefitting hundreds of thousands of students for years to come in addition to those impacted now by Covid-19\.
The DWEP will blend the existing Start technology with an industry-leading Learning Management System including secure video-conferencing and collaboration tools, ensuring that a stable and secure platform can be built and deployed quickly to meet this urgent need.
To achieve our goal, we will collaborate with our extensive school, college and employer network to design and curate high quality digital work experience programmes for students. The result will be a flexible solution -- one which can be used by any school or college at a time to suit their timetable and students. It will also enable a wide range of employers - large and small - to engage with the programme, in both its design and delivery.
[0]: http://www.startprofile.com%29/
Lead Participant | Project Cost | Grant Offer |
|---|---|---|
| U-EXPLORE LIMITED | £49,554 | £ 49,554 |
People |
ORCID iD |
| Matthew Peters (Project Manager) |