Session Outline

The core purpose of personal tutoring is to provide a point contact for support for students’ personal, academic and professional growth while at university. To support with the latter, higher education institutions also have specialist careers services. While majority of students seek advice from Careers Services during their time in Higher Education, a common complaint is a lack of support for careers in their respective discipline. Further, 2 in 5 graduates do not know what types of jobs or careers to pursue at the point of finishing university, with majority of graduates taking steps to secure jobs seriously only after graduation. Students who have a career plan upon leaving university report better professional outcomes early in their careers (Shury & IFF Research Ltd, 2017). When surveying students on a new Digital Health MSc program at the University of Bristol, I found that students most valued future planning and careers support in personal tutoring, with similar results emerging from other institutions (Ayton & Walling, 2022). Personal tutors are at a unique position where they can influence students to adopt a more strategic approach to future planning while offering more field-specific support.

In this Roundtable Session, we will brainstorm together on how personal senior and personal tutors can become more systematic in supporting final year undergraduate and taught postgraduate students’ future aspirations. Drawing on best practice and experiences across participants, we will aim to address the above challenges, share best practice and develop actionable recommendations.