Professional Development PGCert

Program Overview

The Professional Development Postgraduate Certificate program from Lancaster University offers flexible, tailored study with a range of optional modules in leadership, change management, and personal effectiveness. The mandatory Personal Learning and Development module, with support from a learning mentor, enhances self-awareness and develops lifelong learning skills. Online learning is primarily utilized, with assessment methods including coursework, projects, and presentations.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The Professional Development Postgraduate Certificate program offered by Lancaster University allows students to tailor their studies to meet their specific professional development needs. It offers a flexible format with a variety of optional modules in subjects such as leadership and management, change management, learning and development, and personal effectiveness. Students can start with one module and return later to build it into a qualification, or they can enroll for the entire qualification at the outset. The "step-on, step-off" nature of the program allows students to pace their studies to suit their own work/life balance. The program requires students to complete a mandatory module, Personal Learning and Development, and a range of optional modules totaling 60 credits. Students can claim credit for prior learning for exemption from some modules.

Outline:

Mandatory Module:

• Personal Learning and Development (PLD): This module facilitates activities to raise self-awareness about strengths, development needs, and the skills and knowledge required for personal and professional growth.
It helps students design and negotiate a personalized program of study, with the support of a learning mentor. Students evaluate the applicability and usefulness of these techniques in their work context.
• Developing Emotional Intelligence: Explores the concept of Emotional Intelligence (EI) and evaluates different models in terms of their validity and effectiveness.
Students learn to apply EI to their workplace, analyze and understand others, and enhance their ability to perceive, understand, and manage emotions. Students learn key principles and processes such as confidentiality, values, and ethics, and consider their applicability to their practice.
• Models for Planning Change: Expands knowledge and understanding of strategies for achieving work-based change.
• Systems Thinking: Designed for those grappling with change in complex environments with interdependent systems, relationships, and business boundaries.
Students explore complexity science theory and human system dynamics, evaluating tools and techniques to identify creative and efficient solutions.

Assessment:

Assessment methods vary and may include coursework, project proposals, reports, reflective commentary, and oral presentations.

Teaching:

The program primarily utilizes an online learning format, with self-study, reflection, discussion forums, and the application of learning to real work contexts.

Other:

The program's Scheme Director, Paulette Swindell, emphasizes the importance of the PLD module and its associated learning mentor support in helping students grow in confidence and learning maturity.