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Curriculum reform.
Recommendation 37: “All students should have an opportunity to study overseas. The university should adopt a target for the percentage of students who study overseas for different lengths of time.”
Strategic plan
Target 4.3. “To enable 1200 (pa) of our students to have an overseas experience”
EHEA. Promotion of mobility. By 2020, 20% of graduates to have conducted part of their studies in another institution.
BSc (Hons): RSC recognised degree,
MChem: Accredited by RSC.
Professional body accreditation
Level 5 year not to be “bolt-on”
Equivalent to MSc (SCQF level 11)
Often dealt with as “one year in industry with course work by distance”
Degree structures
BSc (designated)
BSc (Hons)
MChem
3rd 4th 5th
Department of Chemistry
3rd year marks used for decision
making.
Course work/project
Courses/Mini-project Project
Exams before Christmas
Advanced courses
Level 5 project
4.5 months duration (minimum placement length 3 months)
60 credits (30 ECTS), 50% of final year marks.
Can be done in house, in industry, or in another UK university, but…..
Opportunity to embed Erasmus into the programme
•Receive financial support from EU
(based on number of outgoing students)
•Gain transferable credits (1 ECTS = 2 Aberdeen credits).
•Funding for monitoring visits
Schedule:
• Discuss potential placements with Aberdeen supervisor.
•Identify project @ end of 4th year
• Oct-Dec. (yr 5) literature review.
•Jan – May: project placement.
•March: Monitoring visit by Aberdeen supervisor*
• May: submit project report in English and defend @ UA.
* Fortnightly communication (e-mail with report) with Abdn supervisor
CM5505 module weightings: literature review 3%, project 18%, oral presentation 9%.
Assessment
Overseas host completes pro forma assessment based on:level of commitment,organisational skills and ability in the lab,ability to interpret your data, andability to integrate into the research environment (including
health & safety)
Erasmus links
Mainz
Regensburg
Merseburg
Clemont-Ferrand Turin
Pau
Bordeaux
Aberdeen
Barcelona
Porto
Jaen
ToledoMadrid Ankara (Tk)
Department of Chemistry
Goteburg (S)
Camerino
“Manageable” number of links.
Created through common areas of research activity.
Staff prepared to commit to organising and monitoring.
Enthusiastic Dept Erasmus coordinator
Gdansk
Incoming Erasmus students sorted by countries
Department of Chemistry
0
5
10
15
20
25
DK E D F P B TK I
Nr
Stu
den
ts
S,2008
W,2007
S, 2007
W,2006
S, 2006
W, 2005
S, 2005
W, 2004
Department of Chemistry
Outgoing students
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 20120
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
No
of p
lace
me
nt stu
de
nts
Year
Aust
USA
UK
Can
EU-Erasmus
Provides opportunities to achieve many of the “graduate attributes.”
Students well-prepared for further PG study (PhD).
Student are noticeably more mature and independent.
Other Advantages of studying in Europe
Gentle introduction to a new language
Experience of a new culture
Enhanced employability.
Department of Chemistry
Janine Montero: (Universita Degli Studi in Turin, Italy). I had an amazing time! The staff in the Chemistry Department made me feel at home from the moment I arrived, helping me find my feet and settle in quickly. The atmosphere in the laboratories was also fantastic and the students I worked with were extremely friendly and supportive. In fact, I’m still in contact with several of those colleagues...even though it’s been four years since my exchange!
Susanne Muller (Chambers, Gothenburg, Sweden) “I enjoyed EVERY aspect of my time abroad – it was the best time of my life and an experience I wouldn’t have want to miss. Studying abroad was the best decision of my life – meeting new people from different cultures, researching in a top-class research centre and living in a exciting city, what more could I want from an Erasmus exchange? It is a Once-In-A-Lifetime opportunity NOT to miss and I would highly recommend it to anyone.”
Student testaments
Laura Scott (Universitè de Bordeaux, France) I spent 5 months in 2006 as part of the research group of Dr Brigitte Bibal. Having gone with very little French I improved immensely in the time I was there and the experience of living in a different country always provides a talking point on my CV.
The Department was commended for the placements undertaken from January to
May of level 5 of the MChem degree programmes. It was clear that academic staff
took care to prepare students for the placements by requiring them to do a literature
review in the first half-session of the year. A member of staff, normally the student’s
supervisor, visited the student on site during the placement. The level of support
offered to the students was good and staff reported that students derived
considerable benefit from the experience. That view was confirmed by students who
had clearly valued the opportunity to gain experience in a different laboratory.
INTERNAL TEACHING REVIEW, April 2010
Research quality activity.
Positives so far.....
Programme functions smoothly and is recognised in a positive manner by assessors, students and accrediting bodies.
Managed to convince students of advantages of placement in Europe cf USA etc
Contributes (in a small way) to university targets.
Still to be done....
Increase proportion of MChem : BSc (Hons) students without compromising quality
