AD2PID: Professional Practice Placement for International Development

Module code: AD2PID

Module provider: School of Agriculture, Policy and Development

Credits: 20

Level: 5

When you’ll be taught: Semester 2 / Summer / Semester 1 / Semester 2

Module convenor: Ms Rebecca Jerrome , email: r.m.jerrome@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s): This module is only available to BSc International Development and joint language programmes with International Development students. (Open)

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: Micro placement

Academic year: 2025/6

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 29 May 2025

Overview

Module aims and purpose

The module aims to expose students to professional practice in the development sector and to give them an understanding of the range of career opportunities available to them,  providing opportunities for students to:

1. Develop ‘careers curiosity’
2. Gain a range of essential career planning skills
3. Network with a range of employers in the development sector by  conduct a series of informational interviews with potential employers to develop a deeper understanding of careers in development and the skills and experience required through evaluation of job roles. Students may also complete a micro-placement if they prefer, which is independently organised by the student and authorised by the University.
4. Enhance self-awareness and engage with a framework for critical self-reflection and experiential learning in the context of career planning and employability.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Identify, assess, prioritise and effectively communicate their skills, interests, values, personality traits and experience in the context of careers and employability via a portfolio of evidence
2. Reflect on their personal career planning journey including through critical reflection on the personal and professional learning gained from their interactions with professionals in the sector, including securing informational interviews with relevant employers, attending career and sector-led events and specific job roles.
3. Be confident in careers information retrieval, research and decision making using a variety of sources and tools including networking and approaching potential employers - informed by their understanding of the recruitment and selection processes and networking tools available
4. Apply skills and knowledge in the process of undertaking informational interviews, where applicable, including self-motivation, resilience and self-organisation
5. Understand the management, policies and organisations involved in the development sector.

Module content

1. Career action planning 
2. Careers research tools and opportunities 
3. CVs and cover letters 
4. Networking including use of online platforms e.g. LinkedIn 
5. Informational interviewing techniques 
6. Applications and job interviews 
7. Reflective thinking and writing 
8. One to one tutorials for specific support/guidance about career choice, strategy for the module and reflection 
9. Relevant field trips in the local area to meet professionals in practice

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Students will receive teaching in a ‘workshop block’ of teaching early in Semester 2 of Part 1 (compulsory for all students to attend) to provide an essential overview of career planning, tools and skills). This will be followed up with seminars/tutorials in early Part 2, to support students in investigating careers roles in their area and developing reflective thinking and writing skills in support of the assessments. Students will allocate time to attending relevant career and sector-led events to build discipline knowledge and employability skills.

Students opting to do a micro-placement must have completed the placement by the end of Week 6 in Semester 1 of Part 2 and are encouraged to complete the placement over the summer vacation at the end of Part 1. All micro-placements are subject to approval by the University and cannot be completed until approval is in place. The approval process takes 3-6 weeks.

Drop-in sessions will be available for support.

Students will attend a short field trip to interact with relevant organisations in the local area. 

Study hours

At least 60 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Level 3 (i.e. foundation modules for Part 0) and Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

There are regular opportunities for discussion in class sessions and one-to-ones. In addition, students will work through examples of reflective writing in preparation for writing reflectively about their own placement experience.

Students will be able to submit their draft CV and approach letter in Part 1 following the career learning workshops and receive associated feedback.

Reassessment

Additional costs