Jointly organized by:
Steering Committee on 4-Year Undergraduate Curriculum
Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL)

Title: Embedding Experiential Learning into the Curriculum and Linking to Extra-Curricular Activities

Speaker: Mr Simon Kemp, Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton
Date: Mon 24 Oct 2011
Time: 12:30pm – 2:15pm
Venue: LG-06, Hui Oi Chow Science Building, The University of Hong Kong

Synopsis:

Integrating employability into the curriculum through experiential learning is an agenda of growing international importance for universities. Curriculum reform offers many opportunities for innovative solutions to address this issue.

This presentation will explore the benefits of experiential learning through a number of case study examples of teaching and assessment innovation, student engagement, volunteering, employer engagement and campus greening. A postgraduate module in Environmental Management Systems (EMS) at the University of Southampton will be used as one of the examples to demonstrate the multitudinal benefits that can occur from integrating employability through innovative experiential teaching and assessment methods. The difficulties in embedding experiential learning into the curriculum will be highlighted. It will conclude with a discussion of the potential benefits for students, universities, employers, and society from linking experiential learning with sustainable development activities.

About the Speaker:

Mr Simon Kemp is the Director of Employability and Employer Engagement, Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton where he has worked since 1996. He has been recognised as an innovator in pedagogical theory and case study practice through the award of a National Teaching Fellowship from the UK’s Higher Education Academy. His teaching and research interests lie in Environmental Management Systems (EMS), Carbon Footprinting, Environmental Law, Waste Management, and Education for Sustainable Development. He has coordinated over a hundred sustainability projects with industrial partners for teaching and assessment projects in sectors such as construction and demolition, retail, freight handling, energy, waste, and health care taking some to ISO14001:2004. One of his main current projects is leading the University of Southampton in a national ‘Green Academy’ project to embed sustainability across the institution.