Document Status: Draft Version 8
Version Date: 23 July 2014
Investigating New Competences for Physics Graduates: Fostering
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
A Departmental Survey
Introduction
Working Group 2 of the Horizons in Physics Education (HoPE) project, funded by the
European Commission (E.C.) has four broad aims to:
1. Revisit the conclusions on generic competences made by the Tuning Project for Physics
Graduates (http://www.unideusto.org/tuningeu/) to explore how their importance may
have changed since 2005 and to explore whether new competences are required in
order to prepare physics graduates for the workplace outside of research.
2. Investigate the extent to which physics departments (or universities as a whole) have
introduced the development of additional competences into their educational/training
aims, including the delivery of these as part of programmes of study that produce
graduates of physics.
3. Investigate the feedback from physics academic staff on the relevance and importance
and merits of these competences to ensure physics graduates are prepared for the
workplace outside of research.
4. Obtain detailed information, including examples of current practice from physics
departments on the specific innovation, entrepreneurship and enterprise competences
that they include in the educational experiences and learning opportunities offered to
their physics students.
https://www.survey.bris.ac.uk/bham/new-competences-for-physics-graduates
This survey forms an important part of a number of approaches to collecting data that will
inform the response of the working group in relation to these aims. We intend to follow up
some survey responses to collect additional information, either through email
correspondence or telephone interviews, and the permission of those responding for us to
do this is listed at the end of this survey form.
Aspects, including questions and their responses (section 3), of this survey have been
adapted from a UK Department for Business Innovation and Skills Research Paper1. This
research paper, while prepared for UK government, explored the (non discipline specific)
practices of higher education institutions in countries outside of the UK. As such, it offers
potential for comparing general findings with those taken directly from physics
departments.
1
BIS (2011) Supporting Graduate Employability: HEI Practice in Other Countries. Available online:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/32421/11-913supporting-graduate-employability-other-countries.pdf
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Document Status: Draft Version 8
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In this survey we are focused upon physics graduates who follow a path other than a
research career in physics.
Section 1: Background
This section is to determine context-based information about your institution that will allow
us to classify and understand the context of individual responses.
1. In which country is your institution located?
2. Approximately how many students currently enter your university each academic
year, to study physics at:
a. Physics Bachelor Programmes (for example BSc)?
b. Integrated Master’s level programmes (for example MPhys or MSci)?
c. Physics Master’s level (for example MSc)?
d. Other programmes (Please provide details of what these programmes are and
their level).
Section 2: Competences Required of Current Physics Graduates
3. In 2007, the Tuning Project (http://www.unideusto.org/tuningeu/) conducted a
survey amongst physics academics across Europe (one physics department for each
EU country) and employers of physics graduates. This resulted in the following list
of the most highly ranked General Transferable Competences that should be
possessed by physics graduates at completion of their first cycle. Please give your
view on the ranking of the importance of each of these 6 competences and please
add any comments you may have on each. Three rows have been left blank at the
bottom of the table for you to add any suggestions you may have for extra
competences.
General Transferable
Competence
(the last 3 rows are left
blank for you to suggest
extra competences)
Capacity for Analysis and
Synthesis
Problem Solving
Capacity to learn
Applying knowledge in
practice
Creativity
Teamwork
Your Ranking of the
Importance of this competence
for employment (not for
physics research) Please rank
with 1 being ‘most important’
Any Comments?
Section 3: Entrepreneurship and Enterprise
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Document Status: Draft Version 8
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A particular area that we are keen to explore is the practice of physics departments in
providing opportunities for enterprise and entrepreneurship education to their students as
part of their physics programmes of study. Based upon a definition provided by the UK
Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education “enterprise education is defined as the
process of equipping students (or graduates) with an enhanced capacity to generate ideas
and the skills to make them happen. Entrepreneurship education equips students with the
additional knowledge, attributes and capabilities required to apply these abilities in the
context of setting up a new venture or business.”2
4. How important (with 1 being not important at all and 5 being very important) is the
development of student/graduate enterprise and entrepreneurship skills within:
a. The aims, objectives and mission of your institution?
b. Your physics curriculum?
5. Does your department have a strategy (or other plan) in place for enhancing
student/graduate enterprise and entrepreneurship skills?
c. Yes
d. No
e. Don’t know
6. If you answered ‘yes’ to Question 5, is this strategy (or plan):
 Part of a wider departmental learning and teaching strategy?
 A separate (stand alone) departmental strategy?
 Part of an institutional strategy?
 Don’t know
7. Does your university/department offer activities to help your physics students
develop their enterprise and entrepreneurial skills?
 Yes
 No
 Don’t know
8. Approximately how many of your physics students in the previous academic year
participated in:
 Enterprise and entrepreneurship activities offered by the physics department
through a dedicated module or course.
 Enterprise and entrepreneurship activities embedded within and throughout the
physics curriculum (i.e. as part of a module of study)
 Extra-curricular enterprise and entrepreneurship activities offered by your
university
9. Is enterprise and entrepreneurship education:
 Embedded within, and across, the physics programme?
 Offered as a credit bearing module/course as part of the physics programme?
 Offered as an extra-curricular module, course or series of activities?
2
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/InformationAndGuidance/Documents/enterprise-guidance.pdf
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Don’t know
10. In which years of academic study do the enterprise and entrepreneurship activities
take place or are offered to your physics students (please tick all that apply)?
Year Bachelors
1
2
3
4
5
Year
Masters
1
2
11. Who is responsible for delivering the enterprise and entrepreneurship activities
encountered by your physics students?
 Academic staff from the physics department
 Academic staff from another department (for example business or economics)
 A central university unit/service/department
 The students themselves
 Employers
 Student’s union
 Visiting representatives from business and industry
 Other (please specify)
 Don’t know
12. Do employers or employer organisations have a role in contributing to the design,
development and delivery of your enterprise and entrepreneurship activities?
 Yes (please provide brief details)
 No
 Don't know
13. Which of the following teaching and learning methods are utilised in providing
enterprise and entrepreneurship education to your physics students?
 Lectures
 Case studies
 Entrepreneurs/practitioners in the classroom
 Project teams
 Company visits
 Venture simulation/mini company/
 Competitions
 Other (please specify)
 Don’t know
14. How does your department monitor that the activities you undertake in relation to
enterprise and entrepreneurship education activities are effective and meeting the
needs of both the students themselves and employers?
 Meetings with students and graduates
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Meetings with employers or employer organisations
Formal assessment of the skills developed (please provide brief details)
Completion of key or specific tasks/assignments
Students develop a portfolio of tasks and skills developed
Other (please specify)
Don't know
15. The following graduate competences are associated with entrepreneurship and
enterprise education3. For the following question, please rate how important you
consider the following skills, attributes and abilities in physics graduates who follow
a path other than a research career in physics:
Short Name of
the Enterprise
and
Entrepreneurship
Specific
Competences
Goals and
ambitions
Self-confidence
Perseverance
Internal Control
Action Orientation
Innovation and
Creativity
Persuasion and
Negotiation
Approach to
Extended Description of the
Enterprise and
Entrepreneurship
Competences
Recognise and achieve goals and
ambitions, especially in response
to challenges
Enhance self-confidence and belief
through practice of enterprising
skills and behaviours
Demonstrate perseverance,
resilience and determination to
achieve goals, especially within
challenging situations
Recognise they are in control of
their own destiny and use this
understanding effectively within
enterprising situations
Take action and learn from both
actions and active
experimentation
Innovate and offer creative
solutions to challenging and
complex problems that apply or
extend existing knowledge,
solutions and ideas
Persuade others through informed
opinion and negotiate support for
ideas
Manage a range of enterprise
Using a scale of 1 (not
important at all) to 5
(very important) please
rate the importance of
each competency for
employment outside of
physics research
Does your department
undertake specific activities
that will help your students
develop this competency?
Yes (please briefly describe), no,
unsure, no answer.
3
Based upon, and developed from, those defined by the UK QAA:
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/InformationAndGuidance/Documents/enterprise-guidance.pdf
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Management
Decision Making
Responsibility
Networking
Opportunity
Recognition
Financial and
Business
Awareness
Market and
Commercial
Awareness
Version Date: 23 July 2014
projects and situations
appropriately, for example by
proposing alternatives or taking a
holistic approach
Evaluate issues and make
decisions in situations of
ambiguity, uncertainty and risk
Demonstrate awareness and
understanding of the ethical and
social implications of activities
undertaken
Use networking skills effectively,
for example to build or validate
ideas or to build support for ideas
with potential colleagues or
stakeholders
Recognise patters and
opportunities in complex
situations and environments
Model and propose business
opportunities that take account of
financial implications, cost-benefit
analyses, legal implications and
issues of intellectual property, and
market patters and needs.
Understand market and consumer
needs and appropriate strategies
and approaches for generating
wider awareness and engagement
from others.
16. Please briefly describe the activities offered to your physics graduates to develop the
enterprise and entrepreneurial skills identified in the table above, including, where
possible, an assessment of their impact (based upon data and evidence). Further
follow-up by the HoPE Working Group will be undertaken with a view to creating
short case studies of good and effective practice for dissemination across.
17. Please provide your contact details so that we can contact you for any further
information that will help support this work.
Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey
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