DCG Impact Review 2024 - Flipbook - Page 10
TEN | STRATEGIC PRIORITY ONE
READY FOR
THE WORKPLACE
DCG’s dynamic curriculum
brims with work-related
experience to put
students’ classroom
learning into context.
With employability at the heart of the DCG learning
experience, staff have forged solid relationships
with local employers to co-design and co-deliver
study pathways that create a seamless route from
education to the workplace.
Students are introduced to – and involved with – the
world of work at every stage so that they become
employees of choice for businesses across the city
and beyond.
The employer engagement strategy spans
everything from work placements and internships
to guest lectures, professional mentoring to industry
visits, recruitment events to CV workshops.
In 2022/23 over 3,200 students undertook work
experience placements – an increase of more than
700. There were also signi昀椀cant rises in the number
of students completing employer-led projects,
joining sessions on interview techniques and
attending guest lectures from the likes of Toyota
Motor Manufacturing UK and the British Army.
For employer-led projects, students are set
challenging briefs where they are expected to meet
deadlines and perform as they would in workplace
settings. In just some examples:
• Business students created potential products
for HUUB and presented their ideas in Dragons
Den style sessions
• Digital students designed, produced and tested
a 3D escape room, then pitched the concept
to Make Your Escape Derby
• Travel and Tourism students acted as
ambassadors at East Midlands Airport
• A multi-agency event at Carsington Water
showed Public Services students how emergency
workers would deal with a plane crash
• Performing Arts students acted out a
mock employment tribunal hosted by HR and
employment law specialists Precept to help
with the training of Law students
Community projects also allow students to gain
valuable work experience based on live briefs.
Often these projects bring together groups studying
different subjects to mirror the multidisciplinary
nature of the modern workplace.
In one example, Art and Design students linked up
with Engineering students to create a stunning
trophy for the Derbyshire Brain Game event. In
another, Construction and Horticulture students
joined forces to develop a memorial garden at
Heanor Miners’ Welfare.
