Professional approach

You may or may not be on a 'Pro' programme, but all of you, without exception, no matter what your course of study, need to be taking a professional approach to your learning and self-development responsibility.

This means that you have to discipline yourself to invest not just time, but your energy, creativity and thinking power and take responsibility for your own learning. That after all is what you will be employed for – if it were just a matter of being an information-carrier, organisations would just buy computers and data-bases and do away with employees. 

What does this mean in practice?

·         Be on time and be prepared to work. Arriving in the class after your teacher has started teaching is not 'good' unless you have very good reason indeed. It's a 'respect' thing.

·         If you have been asked to think/read/do something before this class: make sure you have actually done it – don't rely upon others. If you haven't done it – how do you expect to understand or play an active part in the rest of the class which is based upon it?

·         Sometimes you will be faced with a 'blank sheet of paper' situation or 'problem' and you will have to think individually and as a group and come up with ideas, develop them, analyse and evaluate and propose solutions: it is not your teachers' job to think for you – no future manager is going to say to you: "We have this problem. Do this. Draw these conclusions and make these recommendations", they will leave you to find a way to approach and address the problem.

·         This is your 'Last Chance Saloon' effectively: in the classroom you are in a win/win situation: you can take risks, try things out knowing that your teachers want you to do so, will guide and help you and that you will have the support of your classmates.  In the working world, however, one is almost always in a win/lose situation and it is difficult to take risks for fear of failure: the tendency is to play it safe, which is a recipe for not learning, not developing.  So while you are here, while you have the time and the support: set yourself goals for improvement in your writing and presentation skills, analytical and evaluative abilities etc.

·         Follow the assignment specifications to the letter (we award marks based upon this criteria set) and hit the deadlines without fail.

·         Participate fully!  Ask questions if you are confused… offer ideas or experience: we learn from each other perhaps as much as from our teachers.