Professional Liaison Unit

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Personal Development

The Professional Liaison Unit (PLU) designs, delivers and assesses Personal Development (PD) activities for all School of Informatics students.

What is Personal Development?

Personal Development is a structured and supported process undertaken by students to reflect upon their own learning, performance and achievement, and to plan for their personal, educational and career development.


Personal Development for Undergraduates

At undergraduate level, Personal Development is a progression requirement for first and second year students. The focus is on students’ abilities to analyse and develop their basic, academic and employability skills.

First year students assess their levels of competency in the above skills, create and deliver effective professional presentations and develop their understanding of their own career aspirations through a ‘mission statement’ type blog.

Second year students use industry-standard competency-based interview questions to analyse responses from returning placement students. Second year students also further evaluate their employability skills enabling them to develop personal and skills profiles for their CVs. They submit these to the PLU for approval prior to applying for placement opportunities.

Career Management Personal Development for Postgraduates

At postgraduate level, Personal Development is focussed on developing students’ employability skills.

Details regarding options and facilities available to postgraduate students are provided during their courses. These include assistance with identifying suitable internship opportunities. The Centre for Career & Skills Development Unit offers a range of tools and activities including mock interviews.