The REALIE Project and Student Partner Francesca

Having been involved with Mission Employable throughout this past year as a member of the Working Group and as the Peer Mentor Officer for English, I was delighted when I found that I would be working with the Mission Employable team over the summer to develop a Mission Employable Year Abroad project.

In my role as Education Development Officer for Year Abroad, I am working on the Residence and Employment Leading to International Employability (REALIE) website and developing the Modern Languages Employability Blackboard. Together, these resources will help students to realise, develop and utilise the skills that are gained during a residence abroad in order to increase their employability. Whilst the Blackboard site will be available to Modern Language students exclusively, REALIE will provide information that can be used by any students completing a period of study or employment abroad as part of their degree.

The REALIE website, whilst providing students with information about the transferable skills gained during residency abroad and how to articulate them, will also serve as a blogging platform on which students can share their experiences. This ensures that the project continues to be for students, by students and, I hope, will provide first and second year students with a wealth of advice in preparation for the year abroad. The blog will also give those students who are abroad the opportunity to reflect on the skills they have gained throughout their placement.

http://www.realie.org/

Watch out for more from me later in the summer, as we start our Year Abroad experiences!

Francesca