Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

Successful completion of Stage 2 of a relevant NUBS programme.

Students must have identified and had Business School approval for a work placement or been allocated an appropriate study abroad placement.
Students must have attended or accessed content pre-departure briefings before their work/ study placement commences.
Study Abroad students must have also completed all Terra Dotta pre-departure tasks as set by the Global Opportunities Team.

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

This module is designed to enable students participating in a mobility opportunity (on a work placement, international study abroad or a combination of both) in the UK or abroad, to gain credits towards their Newcastle University degree. Students will be encouraged to appreciate that a “learning experience” is not restricted to academic situations like a degree programme but can include any situation in which they may be involved during their mobility experience. The module will encourage students to critically reflect on their learning and development in relation to the relevant graduate attributes. In consonance with the overall aims of the degrees offered by NUBS this module aims to:

• build on the skills gained at Stages 1 and 2;

• provide an in-depth knowledge and understanding of studying and/or working in the location of their mobility experience (UK or abroad) and apply their knowledge and understanding of practice relevant to their degree specialism;

• support students in developing the relevant graduate attributes;

• develop the ability to appreciate the complexities and constant change in the external environment;

• encourage critical reflection on personal, professional and academic development and
employability journey to their future career and enterprise goals.

Outline Of Syllabus

Students on a study placement should complete a minimum of 48 credits (24 ECTS) and a maximum of 60 credits (30 ECTS), or equivalent, per semester. They will be required to attend lectures and seminars and attempt all assessed work and exams as timetabled by the host institution.

Students on a work placement will be required to carry out tasks and duties as assigned to them by their line manager/supervisor as per the job description which was agreed as part of the placement’s recruitment and selection process. The university will require confirmation from the placement provider that the student has met the minimum placement duration.

In addition, all students are required to reflect on their experiences during the placement and/or study abroad year. Instead of following a specific syllabus students will record, in a systematic manner, their learning and development through a series of formative reflective portfolio activities and two summative assignments.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

On completion of the module students will be able to:
•       demonstrate an increased awareness and understanding of the culture of the country and/or organisation where they have been located;

•       demonstrate an increased appreciation of the complexities and constant change in the country and/or organisation where they have been located;

•       display an increased knowledge relevant to their degree specialism, taught from a different cultural perspective and/or from a practically-applied perspective in the workplace.

Intended Skill Outcomes

On completion of the module students will be able to:
•       Show progression against the relevant graduate attributes;

•       Demonstrate the ability to function as an independent, critical and creative thinker;

•       Display increased global and cultural awareness in a work and/or study context;

•       Communicate and relate effectively to others in cross-cultural environments;

•       Reflect upon and articulate examples of how they have enhanced their employability and transferable skills.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The module is designed to encourage students on their placement and/or study abroad year to focus on their learning and personal and professional development. Through independent learning they will become used to reflecting in a systematic and sustained manner on goals, processes and achievements as well as on their progress against the relevant graduate attributes.

Support is provided to students prior to departure in the form of workshops and additional materials to help students to action plan and recognise and develop their skills. During their mobility activity contact is maintained by the Student Experience Team in line with the University Placement Charter via virtual placement visits (1 in semester 1 and 1 in semester 2). Additional guidance and support will be provided by the academic module team reporting to the Module Leader. Self-directed e-learning resources are available to support students across their mobility activity and provide them with a comprehensive framework to support their progress during the year.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The two items of assessment provide students with a structure to initially plan and then guide their reflections of their time spent on placement and/or study abroad. In semester 1 students set SMART objectives and complete a self-assessment against relevant graduate attributes. Throughout the duration of their mobility experience, students will be required to reflect upon their progress against their personal goals as well as the attributes. Students will be encouraged to provide supporting evidence to demonstrate their personal and professional development. The assignment in semester 2 required the students to reflect on the progress made against specific development goals outlined in their first assignment.

Both assignments are pass / fail. If a student fails to submit or achieve a pass mark for either assignment, they will be given one opportunity, to revise and resubmit or submit, their work within a reasonable timeframe unless a PEC has been granted. If the work still does not achieve a pass mark or is not submitted within the time allocated a resit task will be completed in the August resit period and will be a 3,000 essay will be set related to graduate employability.

The resit opportunity will only be available if students have failed either NBS3000 assignment. Students also need to meet the attendance requirements for a work placement/ engagement and ECTS requirements for a period of study abroad.

If a student does not achieve a pass for the module they will be transferred back to the three year version of their degree programme for their final year [subject to achieving a pass at Stage 2].
Provision of a virtual visit by the Student Experience Team during the mobility activity ensures that the student feels supported by the Business School, as does the feedback from the assignments by the academic module team.

In order to pass the module, students must also complete all eligibility checks and associated tasks (e.g. Placement Learning Agreement) in compliance with publicised deadlines.

General Notes

For the academic year 23/24;

1.Students are required to complete 9-12 month placement for a minimum of 1100 hours.

2.Students studying abroad will be required to complete 2 semesters of study with a host university. Study abroad should be physical activity and virtual activity will only be considered on a case by case basis (e.g. due to change of provision due to a pandemic or if a host country has closed borders and a student can only attend virtually. Students who want to combine work placement and study abroad or complete more than one work placement should note that the minimum work placement requirement is 4 months. However, we would expect students to complete a full year of the same activity and changes to activity are only considered in exceptional circumstances.

3.Students can start counting hours as soon as they start their approved placement / study abroad activity.

4.Students need to have started working at their placement organisation by mid-September of the placement year to ensure they are able to complete the required hours by end of semester 2 (June of the placement year).

5.Where we have any students requesting that they start work at their placement organisation after the middle of September (due to placement organisations delaying starts) these requests will be reviewed on a case by case basis by the module leader in consultation with NUBS Deputy Director.

6.Should a student be affected whilst at placement by a national or local outbreak, (including periods of self-quarantine that might be required for more localised issues) , where restrictions are imposed by their organisation or government that mean the student can no longer continue in their 'work role', they can with relevant evidence submitted, complete a minimum of 26 weeks (962 hours) placement activity and this will be acceptable for a 120 credit module but ONLY in these circumstances.

7.All other personal related issues that affect a student's performance on the module will go through the PEC process as normal.

8.Assessment approach will remain the same, 2 summative assessments. Assessment points have been set at the end of October (to accommodate later than usual placement start date) and end of April (where students are asked to reflect on their progress to date within their placement and are encouraged to reflect on progress against the relevant Graduate Attributes both in terms of positive progress and any unexpected change they have had to address).

9.Canvas materials for module start will be available by the June before the placement begins. Module handbook and academic briefing will also be available from the end of June.