Tailoring professional development to postgraduate students: it's not the chicken, it's the egg

Abstract

Graduate employability and professional development are more commonly discussed in an undergraduate context. Yet many postgraduate students seek professional development as part of their programme of study. There are challenges in providing an in-programme tailored, person-centered professional development offer at post graduate level when student cohorts are often large and international. This case study explores a professional development provision embedded into a master's programme, centred on developing self-reflection through experiential learning approaches. The students tailor their path through taught workshops and lived experiences, to recognise gaps and take actions to fulfil their development needs; during their studies, and as reflective practitioners of the future. The paper concludes there is a need for self-reflection to be practised and assessed as part of a professional development provision at master's level, but that measuring the impact of developing this skill in an individual cannot be accurately captured immediately post-graduation.