ESSEX BUSINESS SCHOOL

Study skills

Two students discussing a brochure

Skills for your career and for life

Your degree will challenge you in ways you never thought possible. We will develop your capacity for critical thinking and you will learn new skills that you will apply to your studies. But don't worry, you won't do this alone.

At Essex Business School we put our students and staff success at the centre of everything that we do, and that extends to offering additional support and development workshops to help you improve your skills and understand how you to apply them in a work context.

You will be able to access support from the main University of Essex Student Support Team, but as an Essex Business School student, you will also be able to receive support from our Learning Team and through our embedded skills modules to help you succeed in your studies and prepare you for your career beyond Essex.

BSc Accounting and Finance student, Suraj Chadha, sits in the Essex Business School winter garden
"You can tell that Essex cares a lot about their students and their emotional needs. There’s so much pressure on young people now and times are extremely hard. The student services here are excellent. There is so much available. Use it!"
Suraj Chadha BSc Accounting and Finance Student Engagement team 2018 to 2020
Dr Lorcan Whitehead, Essex Business School Learning and Teaching Advisor, supports a student at one of the Bloomberg terminals in the business school's virtual trading floor.
Student and study skills support at Essex Business School

Essex Business School have a passion for supporting students at every step of their academic journey to prepare them for their futures. One of the ways they support students is through developing academic study skills. Dr Lorcan Whitehead from the EBS Learning Team explains how supporting students' study skills helps them to achieve at Essex and beyond.

Find out more

Skills modules and workshops

Skills modules

Embedded into our undergraduate curriculum are modules devoted to teaching students research and study skills as well as helping then to understand academic feedback and evaluate academic progress. 

These modules are taught and delivered by the Essex Business School Learning Team (see below) and are designed to introduce new skills which university students are required to develop.

Skills Modules include:

  • Professional and Academic Development (PAD) - with the aim of developing your overall academic skills, learning experience and performance this module will help you to develop active learning skills. The PAD module aims to support students in the transition to university. We embed this module in all first year undergraduate degrees to ensure that you start to develop professional and academic skills from year one and throughout your degree. Find out more about the Professional and Academic Development modules.
  • Student Success Tutorials - these modules run throughout the second year of our undergraduate degrees and provide students with guidance on their academic progress. Students receive guidance on how to use academic feedback effectively and have the opportunity to create an action plan for their personal and professional development. Find out more about the Student Success Tutorials.
  • Successful Futures - this second year undergraduate module enables students to engage with an ever-changing business environment and link subject understanding with the real world of employment. The module takes a practical view of employability and as such, students are prepared to take advantage of graduate opportunities at the point they’re advertised. Students gain an understanding of the graduate labour market and recruitment processes, as well as timelines for recruitment and interview and assessment centre techniques. Students also have the opportunity to learn about options for postgraduate study via this module. The module culminated in the annual Successful Futures undergraduate careers conference for Essex Business School students where students have the opportunity to hear from and meet graduate employers along a topical theme. Find out more about the Successful Futures module.

Peer and career mentors

How many questions do you have about starting university?

Don't worry, we're prepared for any question or request that you have - that's why we run a peer mentoring scheme partnering new with existing students to help you settle in and to make sure you get the most out of your university experience.

You'll be automatically assigned a peer mentor when you start your studies at Essex Business School.

If you've got a really good idea about how you want Essex to influence your career but you're not sure how to get the help you need, then career mentoring can help. We work with Essex Alumni, Essex staff and local business practitioners to match you with someone who could really add value to your journey to that dream career.

 

Find out more about mentoring

Student engagement team

Our student engagement team includes the Essex Business School Student Services staff and paid student members who form a student Connect team. Together, the Student Engagement Team runs an annual programme of social, soft skills and well-being support throughout each term.

Maths, Excel and Bloomberg PAL training

The Essex Business School Bloombergers)
The Essex Business School Bloombergers

At Essex Business School we employ a team of trained students as the Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) team who run weekly clinics in maths, Microsoft Excel and Bloomberg skills.

Any Essex Business School student can drop in to these clinics to refresh their knowledge or learn something completely new!

 

Find PAL skills clinics on Facebook

Study buddies

If you are struggling with a particularly difficult assignment, don't do it alone; find a study buddy!

The Essex Yammer forum is the perfect place to find other like-minded students to help you share the load of revision and coursework. Don't struggle alone, make use of the opportunity to find classmates and team up to start your own or join existing study groups.

Yammer is also a great platform through which to sell your old textbooks and find out about new resources.

 

Log in to Yammer

Personal tutors

Your personal tutor is your direct link to most services and support throughout your time at university. They will help you feel connected to Essex Business School and will be there for you to ask questions about your course, especially if you encounter any difficulties that could affect your studies. 

 

Find out more about personal tutors
Essex Business Students work on the Bloomberg terminals in the business school's virtual trading floor.
Professional and Academic Development at Essex Business School

All first year undergraduate students will now find the Professional and Academic Development (PAD) module on their timetables. The PAD module is designed to help support student development, not only during their studies but also to support them in their future professional career.

Find out more
An Essex Business School Masters student engages in a Skype call while sat cross-legged in the Business School building
Need a hand?

Get in touch! If you've got something on your mind and you want to speak to someone in the department, tell us and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.