The 'Keynote' project aims to disseminate and embed good practice within curricula to enhance students (studying textiles / fashion and material) awareness for future employment and lifelong learning through a realisation of key skills: communication, information technology, numeracy, learning to learn and working with others.

This Project will focus on discipline-specific areas of textiles, fashion and printing. It is designed to disseminate and embed existing good practice in developing key skills in the curriculum and preparing students for future employment and lifelong learning skills. Nottingham Trent University (NTU) will lead this bid in partnership with The London Institute (LI) and the University of Leeds School of Textile Industries (UL) [Consortium partners]. These institutions have been selected as they represent diverse groups of students and collectively have demonstrated excellence in the six areas of QAA subject review assessment.

There will be an equal partnership between the consortium members, drawing upon existing good practice from the Institutional Quality Assessment Reports:

The departments have good links with industry and these lead to relevance and enhancement of the curriculum through student placements, industrial visits, external examiners from industry and accrediting bodies.

Employers commented positively on the curriculum. They valued the development of IT skills, and stressed the importance of mathematical and statistical competence……..they were enthusiastic about project work and the year out, and saw these as helping to create employable graduates.

Diagnostic assessment and self assessment of student learning skills is undertaken during induction leading to the allocation of appropriate support…. Group tutorials provide a structured programme of study skills development in the first year and subsequently learning skills are taught, when appropriate, as an integral part of the programme.

Consortium members are committed to sharing project outcomes within Materials Technology as key skills contextualised within the curriculum are more likely to be truly embedded. Additionally, some of the materials produced will be of a generic nature and therefore applicable across the higher education sector. Outcomes will include:

· Staff Resource Pack on Key Skills

· Tutor, Employer and Student Guide on 'Preparing for a Work Placement'

· 5 Good Practice Guides

· Student Progress File

· Publications, 2 national conferences, 9 institutional workshops and a web-site

Developing and enhancing the key skills of our graduates is timely and highly relevant to meeting the needs of employers.

Employers want people who can rapidly 'fit in' to the workplace culture, work in teams, exhibit good interpersonal skills, communicate well, take on responsibility for an area of work, and perform efficiently and effectively to add value to the organisation - they want adaptive recruits. Harvey et al 1997

The need to ensure that students are aware of the key skills developed during their programmes of study is critical to their future success. External agencies are concerned that:

Few students are able to articulate what they have gained from their experiences in higher education.

Association of Graduate Recruiters, 1995

Five key skills have been identified to give consortium members a common language. These are the four key skills recommended by Dearing, (communication, numeracy, use of information technology and learning how to learn) plus working with others, as employers see this as crucial for future employment (NTU Employer Conference 1999).