An Innovative Approach to Summative Assessment in Higher Education: Employability Skills Development through Commercial Involvement in Assessment

TThis session aims to introduce an innovative assessment model which was created in cooperation with a number of organisational units, in order to increase employability skills development of the widening participation student body in GSM London through commercial involvement in the assessment process. The fundamentals of the Model were that it needed to be credit bearing to encourage students to complete; be embedded into the current curriculum so that it did not require students to further work outside the curriculum; based on a genuine need of an employer to assist in achieving employer buy-in; and selective to help motivate students to do their best. The outcomes of the pilot application of the model clearly showed the positive impact of practical industrial experience on active learning and on employability skills development at the pre-employment stage of widening participation student body. In addition to the introduction of the outcomes of the pilot application, the weaknesses and the potential areas to improve of the model will be discussed with the audience in order to improve the positive impact of it.