Hi everyone! My name is Inês and I’m one of this year’s Student Fellows, working on the Bristol Skills Profile Development project in collaboration with the Careers Service. I’m also in the second year of my PhD in Politics, which looks at how postcolonial Lusophone immigrants recount and resist ongoing colonial discourse in Portugal, where I’m originally from. It does so through a co-creative methodology aimed at centring research participants’ voices, which combines collaborative poetic inquiry with unstructured interviews.
Before coming to study at Bristol, I gained a BSc in Economics and Politics and an MSc in Global Governance from the University of Exeter, and went on to work there for two years post-graduation as a Digital Learning Developer, supporting academics’ use of the online learning environment and other digital tools to enhance the learning and teaching experience.
As I’m taking a co-creative approach to my doctoral project, BILT’s emphasis on co-producing with students and championing student voice aligns with my own priorities as a researcher. Similarly, my previous professional experience within the Higher Education sector fostered an interest in all things student experience, and most pressingly, how it can be improved. I believe that skills development – not only acquiring skills but also being able to articulate them – is key to ensuring students make the most of their time at university.
The Bristol Skills Profile Development project aims to develop our understanding of what “skills development” means to students, what (if any) actions they take towards furthering their skills development – within and beyond the curriculum –, what their motivations for this might be, and what barriers they might face. This will involve conducting focus groups with students to ensure their voices are being heard, in line with BILT’s priorities. I wanted to work on this particular project because I too have struggled to articulate the skills I’ve acquired through my studies in a way that matches potential employers’ expectations. I believe that this is largely due to a disconnect between what students think employers want and what they actually want, which can lead to job rejection. This speaks to the importance of my project, particularly in terms of incorporating student perspectives. My hope is to produce valuable and accessible research outputs aimed at making the university experience less transactional and more transformative.
Having the opportunity to contribute to such important research is really exciting. If you’d like to know more about the project, or if you’re interested in participating, don’t hesitate to drop me an email (ux23715@bristol.ac.uk)! I look forward to working with you 🙂
