Developing Career Resources for DMID Students

Discover

Students and staff both reported that a well-defined career strategy is crucial. They also agreed that receiving compulsory support is essential and that relying on self-directed career planning and experience can put individuals at a disadvantage.

Students also expressed worries about picking suitable modules to help in their career goals.

What do staff think?

• Students need a confidence boost to help them gain knowledge of career options and professional experience
• Everyone should be aware of all the resources available, like alumni and career services
• University support, advice, and guidance is key for giving young people the confidence and direction they need.

What do students think?

• "Module names are really complicated, and often don't describe what you're actually going to do in the class"
• "Getting work experience is really tricky, and the application process is intimidating"
• "We want our career aspirations to be discussed more"
• "We like being able to explore different fields, and we like how broad the course is"

Define

Using research data from interviews and focus groups, we created empathy maps, a student persona, and a staff persona. Our analysis showed that staff and students needed more confidence and clarification about the steps to take in career development.

Wireframing

A "Module Hub" outlines each module, and explains the course outline in a more accessible way than it is communicated currently. It is more accessible to students, and employability modules are added. Optional modules that give students work experience are also displayed more clearly (RH).

Each 'Module Page" makes it clearer what the module looks like, what coursework you will be doing, and what career this could lead to.

A "Career Hub" allows students to explore all the different careers DMID can lead to.

Each "Career Page" gives detailed and accessible information on what skills people need, resources for students, and access to people they can ask about the career path.

Develop

Evaluation 1

To gather feedback on the wireframe prototype, I shared it with recent graduates on LinkedIn and included a Microsoft Form with qualitative and quantitative questions. Using the feedback, I created a high-fidelity prototype, and improved it by:

• Adding an "Opportunities" section to the Careers homepage and an "Other Titles" section to individual career pages.
  
• Removing salary details from the details panel so students could choose a career based on their passion rather than their salary

Deliver

Evaluation 2

In the second evaluation cycle, I gathered student feedback through a Microsoft Form with a prototype and open-ended questions. Based on their responses, we made improvements like adding links and enhancing button usability. Check out the improved prototype below.

Final Prototype