Introduction and Contextual Background
As an Employability Educator at University of the Arts London (UAL), I manage the Creative Innovator programme, an extracurricular offering designed to empower students to explore career paths beyond the barriers of employment or self-employment. This case study explores the programme’s evolution for 2024, aiming to enhance student experience and develop valuable employability skills.
Evaluation
The 2023 Creative Innovator programme was hybrid and utilised a flipped classroom format. A Padlet housed recordings and materials, hand this proved popular with students and staff. The programme ran during Tuesday evenings in the Spring term and although students made up a high majority of bookings, attendance was primarily graduates, and in-person was very low compared with online. Overall feedback was positive, but attracting current students proved challenging due to scheduling across diverse courses and colleges. The programme’s content successfully navigated four key areas: identifying skills and ideas, prototyping and testing, pitching and promotion, and intellectual property protection.
Moving Forward
To address scheduling limitations and better cater to current students, the 2024 iteration will be offered as a single full-day event in August, aiming to capture students before studies resume and minimise disruption to holiday schedules. Recognising the benefits of flexibility, a hybrid format will be maintained, with additional incentives for in-person attendance. Considering this, options like canteen/cafe vouchers for a free lunch are being explored. Additionally, the programme could offer an exclusive in-person benefit such as one-on-one consultations with careers staff members.
Adapting the programme to a one-day format demands a more experiential approach. Interactive exercises will be central, encouraging creative thinking and fostering practical plans of action with clear next steps for ongoing support. A element of flipped classroom will continue with potential inclusion of a quiz element to gauge student engagement. Furthermore, the existing 2023 Padlet will be revamped to support the 2024 programme while remaining accessible throughout the academic year, regardless of programme participation, so this enhanced resource can be actively shared across UAL.
By implementing these changes, the Creative Innovator programme aims to demonstrate a strong foundation in meeting diverse learner needs. Through a dynamic, hands-on approach, the programme will hopefully foster learning and encourage students to embrace their full potential. Finally, ongoing program evaluation through feedback and engagement metrics will ensure continuous improvement.