Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Education and Learning

at University of Bolton United Kingdom

The market value of the UK games industry was approximately £5.7 billion in 2018, with over 37 million people playing games in the UK*. If you are seeking a career in a strong sector of the economy, then games is an excellent choice. From PC, console and mobile games, through serious games for education and training, to the emerging virtual reality games market, software developers are seeking highly qualified games specialists.

Our Games Design course offers a broad study of games, with an emphasis on the technical, design and innovation aspects, rather than programming. Key topics include content production, games and level design as well as platforms and technologies. Our dedicated games team will work to help you develop skills in games analysis, usability and playability testing and understand the concepts underpinning games production and the business of computer games (for instance sales and marketing).

Team-based projects involving regular critique sessions with your peers and members of our games team are designed to help you develop the high-level of team working and communication skills that are vital in the games industry. Our intensely practical, hands-on approach aims to encourage and support you to develop a high-quality portfolio of work ready to demonstrate your skills and creative flair to potential employers.

Highlights

• We share your passion for games. As well as extensive experience playing games (just like you!), our dedicated games tutors offer a vast range of industry experience, a wide network of contacts in the games industry, and knowledge of the latest games research and developments.
• Industry experts from the leading games studios in the UK, along with Bolton graduates now successful in the sector, are regularly invited to give guest lectures on aspects of games development.
• Team working and collaboration are essential for games industry success, so we encourage you to work with students from our Games Art and Games Programming courses forming interdisciplinary teams to complete games projects.
• Our Game Jams are great opportunities to build your social network and practice your communication, project management and problem solving skills.
• We work with games development companies on games usability and software testing, giving you the opportunity to test games before they go to market. In the past, some of our students have even got their names mentioned in the credits.

Key Features

• University of Bolton games graduates have been enjoying careers in the games industry for longer than most – we were one of the first UK universities to offer games courses.
• The course covers both 2D and 3D game environments, concepts and mechanics for traditional gaming (PC and console), mobile gaming (cloud, social and casual), and virtual reality gaming, along with game play analysis and testing.
• We offer opportunities for you to go on studio visits and field trips, undertake work experience with relevant studios, and network with professionals.
• The assignments and projects set on the course are based on industry pipelines and standards to give you a real feel for a career in the games sector.
• Our well-equipped, dedicated games labs feature high-specification PC hardware, HTC Vive VR systems and industry-standard software, along with modern and vintage consoles.

If you've been struggling to find a postgraduate course that exactly matches your ambition then the University of Bolton's MA (Specialist Title) via Creative Practice could be the answer. Our expert team will work with you to devise a series of projects that enable you to develop your creative practice. You may choose to focus on a single discipline, such as Animation, Illustration, Art and Design, Fine Art, Graphic Design, Media, Performance, Dance, Photography, Textiles and Surface Design, Fashion, Creative Writing, Live Events Design and Production, or an associated subject. Alternatively, you may combine several areas of practice to follow an interdisciplinary route. When you successfully complete the master's, your degree title will be chosen to reflect the focus of your studies.

We'll support you to develop a unique body of creative work through a series of negotiated projects that will be underpinned and informed by industry practice. You'll work with a specialist supervisor who will provide support and guidance throughout the developmental process. Alongside this, you'll undertake two taught modules. The first investigates current contexts for creative practice and offers you the necessary skills to undertake research at an advanced level. The second invites you to place your practice within a professional landscape to help you gain the skills to develop your industry profile and ensure your work reaches your desired audience.

With a strong theoretical underpinning, this MA is designed to develop your skills in research, critique and synthesis. We’ll guide you as you learn to work with self?direction and originality and develop your analytical and critical competencies. This combination of academic, creative and professional skills development helps to prepare you for a career in the creative industries, as well as providing a sound basis for doctoral-level study.

The MA is designed to enable you to develop a considerable body of work and a plan for its future development beyond the course. This may take the form of applications for funding, exhibitions, publication, or small?scale tours.

Our industry?engaged staff are practising artists, writers and performers. You'll benefit from our strong industry links with a range of arts and cultural organisations across Greater Manchester and the North West region, which offers opportunities for industry masterclasses and lectures, joint projects and networking.

Highlights

• You can develop your unique body of creative practice under the supervision of our experienced teaching team.
• We'll support you to prepare your creative practice for industry via funding applications, business plans, exhibitions, publication or small?scale tours.
• You'll be able to make use of specialist facilities across the University of Bolton's Schools of the Arts and Creative Technologies to develop high-quality creative outputs.
• We'll help you learn about tax self-assessment, invoicing, intellectual property and risk assessments, as well as offer business start-up sessions to prepare you to take advantage of opportunities for enterprise development.

Key Features

• Teaching and supervision are delivered by our dedicated team of experienced and well-qualified staff.
• The programme provides opportunities to engage with and learn from industry professionals, including visiting speakers and practitioners.
• We'll offer you opportunities for interdisciplinary work and collaboration.
• You'll benefit from our strong industry links with local and regional arts, culture and trade organisations, studios, galleries, publishers, manufacturers and companies specialising in creative art and design practice.
• Your final master’s degree title will reflect your specialist areas of practice (please note that the final award title will be selected in agreement with the University within the parameters specified in programme documentation). For example, your title might be something like MA Animation via Creative Practice, MA Dance via Creative Practice or MA Fashion Photography via Creative Practice.

There are over 2250 active games companies in the UK, with over 95 in the Manchester area alone*. Our Games Art degree was designed after consultation with industry experts from a number of these companies and aims to prepare you for a career creating interactive worlds and charismatic characters for the games industry.

Taking an intensely practical approach that is designed to mimic the working environment found in the games industry, we’ll work to develop your understanding of the creative and technical possibilities of games art. Our studio-based course will guide you from the basics of digital art, through character and environment modelling, texturing, lighting, level design and concept art, to the latest technologies in traditional and handheld game art.

We share your passion for games and offer a supportive atmosphere where you can show your work and respond to critiques, which may come from staff, your peers or guest experts from industry. These sessions help you learn to develop your ideas and improve your presentation and communication skills ready for a career in this ever-growing industry.

*Ukie, June 2018, UK Games Map - http://ukie.org.uk/research/ accessed on 22 August 2019

Highlights

• Interdisciplinary projects with students from our other games courses give you opportunities to learn the vocabulary, production pipelines and work cultures of these disciplines along with valuable team working skills.
• We collaborate with games development companies on games usability testing, and offer you the opportunity to test these upcoming games before they go to market. Previous students have even had their names mentioned in the game credits.
• Our dedicated games labs feature high-specification hardware and industry-standard software, including Wacom Cintiq drawing screens, Pixologic Zbrush, Autodesk Maya, and Substance Painter/Designer.
• Our Game Jams are great opportunities to build your social network and practice your team working, problem solving and project management skills.
• In our portfolio modules, you can focus your project on the area of games art in which you wish to specialise, giving you the chance to create a large portfolio piece for your showreel.
• During your final year, you’ll work with students from our other games courses to produce a complete game demo that will be available for industry employers to view at the end-of-year degree show.

Key Features

• University of Bolton games graduates have been enjoying careers in the games industry for longer than most – we were one of the first UK universities to offer games courses.
• Our dedicated games tutors have a vast range of industry experience and an extensive network of contacts in the games industry. Members of our team have worked in AAA studios, run their own studios, authored books and are actively conducting research.
• Team working and collaboration are essential for games industry success, so we encourage you to work on games projects in interdisciplinary teams with students from our other games courses.
• We organise studio visits and field trips to games development companies, and will encourage and support you to undertake work experience and industrial placements with relevant studios.
• Industry experts from the leading games studios in the UK, along with Bolton graduates now successful in the sector, are regularly invited to give guest lectures on aspects of games development.
• We’ll help and support you to develop a portfolio of work that demonstrates your skills in readiness to impress potential employers.

Aligned to the Final Year ACCA programme, our MSc in Accountancy and Financial Management is designed to support your career development in business, accounting and financial management roles. It offers the finance, accountancy and broader management knowledge that can be central to success in many private and public sector industries.

Our dedicated, highly qualified and experienced team will lead you in an exploration of the principles and practice of financial management and accounting, the context in which they operate, and how they are managed. We’ll support you to learn the applied skills involved in financial reporting and financial management, as well as wider management issues such as corporate and social responsibility, business ethics, risk and business strategy, financial performance, and taxation/auditing.

You’ll be encouraged to explore research methods, giving you the chance to gain an understanding of a range of research tools and analytical techniques. This knowledge will be of value when you undertake your Master’s dissertation – carrying out a substantial piece of research on an accountancy or financial management issue will enhance your critical and investigative skills, and could benefit your professional practice, too.

Highlights

• You’ll have the opportunity to focus on the global competitive environment, with topics including performance management, ethics, social responsibility, and strategic management accounting.
• Students with a good honours degree in business or accountancy can enrol in optional modules that could enhance your employment prospects.
• You’ll be encouraged to develop a critical awareness of the principles and techniques needed for effective financial decision making.
• Your studies will provide you with the opportunity to evaluate existing empirical research, evaluate and apply theoretical concepts, and think critically and creatively.

Key Features

• Our small class sizes – up to a maximum of around 20 students – give you the chance to benefit from direct and personal guidance from our experienced teaching staff.
• By learning from case studies, and being encouraged to use mathematical and statistical techniques to solve business and accountancy problems, you could benefit in professional situations.
• All our tutors have a masters, PhD or professional accountancy qualifications, as well as considerable teaching and professional experience.

Business management qualifications open doors and are considered essential whether you are looking to pursue a career in business, or achieve higher levels of responsibility in your current work. We’ll support you to enhance your existing Foundation Degree or HND-level knowledge and skills, ready to achieve the status of BSc (Hons) Business Management (Top-up) graduate. You can study advanced aspects of business and management, enhance your professional skills, and boost your employability.

Building on your prior studies, we’ll guide you as you gain knowledge of strategic management, and develop critical inquiry and research skills that support your work and enhance its quality. This flexible Honours-level programme offers a wide choice of modules drawn from our Law, Enterprise, Finance, Supply Chain Management, People Management, Marketing or Retail specialisms, so you’ll have the opportunity to ‘zoom in’ on aspects of the subject you have personal interest and strengths in, or that support your career or further study goals. As a graduate, you’ll also receive the CMI Level 5 Award in Leadership and Management, and some of the modules you choose may offer exemptions from further professional qualifications from institutes such as ACCA and CIM.

Developing your employability is a key focus of this dynamic and flexible programme. Real-life case studies, guest speakers and industry visits are designed to help you to understand the business environment and the needs of employers in local, national and international contexts.

We also aim to help you develop lifelong learning skills so that you can take ownership of your professional development for the future, maximising your potential for success.

Highlights

• The Institute of Management Greater Manchester – and the wider University – provides a warm and friendly environment for your studies, with relatively small class sizes, purpose-built teaching facilities, and excellent student support and library services.
• On successful completion of this dual award course you’ll receive both an academic degree and a professionally-recognised management qualification – the CMI Level 5 Award in Leadership and Management. You don’t need to take extra exams or coursework to achieve the Award – we combine our degree module and CMI assessments streamlining your route to both qualifications.
• We’ll introduce you to your course and new study environment through a bespoke induction programme focused on helping you transition smoothly and effectively to Honours-level study.
• Face-to-face sessions and one-to-one support is offered by our team of highly experienced and enthusiastic lecturers who have worked in a wide range of businesses ranging from multinational organisation to SMEs.
• The University offers excellent 24/7 library and IT facilities, WiFi, and well-appointed learning areas.

Key Features

• This course is offered within our vibrant Institute of Management environment in Bolton town centre.
• We use small group and tutorial teaching, so you have the opportunity to benefit from the excellent support offered by our teaching staff.
• We regularly invite guest speakers who hold senior positions in industry and practice, enabling you to benefit from their knowledge and advice.
• Course materials are available online, allowing you to prepare work at home and make the most of the highly interactive in-class tuition.
• Contemporary research findings are woven into our teaching. We offer a robust academic underpinning to your studies of business management.
• Our dedicated team will support you as you develop critical thinking and research skills and apply these during your final year dissertation or work-based project (if you’re in suitable employment).

If you’ve already successfully completed the University of Bolton’s Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher and Professional Education (or an equivalent 60 credit programme), and are currently employed in one or both of these fields, then this master’s course is ideal. With modules specifically designed for ambitious educationalists, you can access the knowledge required to achieve higher levels of responsibility and greater satisfaction in your work.

We aim to help you develop an enhanced and critical awareness of current key issues in the higher and professional education sector, as well as your knowledge and understanding of the principles and theories that underpin best practice in education. As well as reflecting on your own professional practice, we’ll encourage and guide you in formulating creative solutions to complex educational problems.

Our highly experienced and research active team will support you as you develop critical thinking and research evaluation skills and apply these during your independent master’s-level project. You’ll also have the chance to develop enhanced key skills in line with your personal and professional development needs; for instance, team working and leadership, problem solving, autonomy and professional accountability.

Highlights

• The course is designed to help you develop an enhanced and critical understanding of the local and national context and trends across the UK higher education and professional education sector.
• By committing to ongoing critical reflection, evaluation and action, you could develop master’s-level scholarship and research-informed practice.
• Intensive use of learning technologies and multimedia resources, such as virtual learning environments and eLearning tools, enhance your ICT skills and raise your awareness of resources from across the educational spectrum.
• We promote research and critical enquiry helping you learn to make sound, evidence-based independent judgements.
• We’ll support you as you learn to critically reflect on and evaluate your own teaching, mentoring and supervision skills, and develop innovative solutions for improvement considering national and local contextual influences.

Key Features

• You’ll have the chance to evaluate current developments and up-to-date research in teaching and learning in higher education and the health sector, as well as your own professional practice.
• Our team of highly experienced, enthusiastic and dedicated experts offer face-to-face and blended sessions as well as one-to-one support.
• Our academic team is actively involved in educational research, helping you to explore issues from a robust research-informed knowledge base.
• We’ll support you to develop critical thinking and research evaluation skills and apply these during your independent master’s-level project.
• Our well-stocked library offers a comprehensive selection of relevant texts and access to an extensive online database of multimedia sources including eJournals, podcasts, vodcasts and eBooks.

Social work is a varied and rewarding profession centred on people. It offers careers working with children, young people and adults, supporting families, care leavers and older people, as well as those with mental health issues, learning difficulties or physical disabilities. As a social worker, you’ll work in multidisciplinary environments alongside professionals from other agencies, such as housing services, the police and health and social care teams, to empower individuals, families and communities within society.

Our HCPC-approved BA (Hons) Social Work focuses on helping you learn to use your professional judgement and build relationships, both with the individuals and communities you serve as well as with colleagues from other professions and services. Our passionate and knowledgeable staff will support you to develop the sound knowledge of social work theory, models, legislation, policy, ethics and interventions that will underpin your professional decision-making. We’ll cover areas such as the impact of injustice, demography, and social inequality, as well as safeguarding and the signs of harm, abuse, neglect and exploitation. We’ll guide you as you gain key skills, values and behaviours including professional curiosity, inter-personal and communication skills, initiative, leadership, research and critical reflection, partnership working, self-care and resilience, record keeping, and workload management.

Our focus is on preparing you to become a confident, highly competent, compassionate and professional social worker. On successful completion of this qualification, you’ll be able to use your professional expertise to work, assess, plan, implement, evaluate and intervene putting the needs of people first, and ensuring their voice is central to decision making. You’ll be ready to maintain professional and ethical standards while supporting positive change in people's lives in order to improve their wellbeing and independence.

Highlights

• The University of Bolton’s BA (Hons) Social Work is approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). On successful completion of this programme, you’ll be eligible to apply for registration with the HCPC as a Social Worker.
• You’ll gain first-hand work experience and have the opportunity to develop an invaluable network of professional contacts during your two work placements. You’ll undertake a second-year placement of 70 days and a final year placement of 100 days. Placements are available in a diverse range of social work areas, helping to prepare you for the changing environments you’ll encounter during your career.
• We offer 30 skills development days that focus on helping you learn specific skills, such as interviewing families, communicating with children, family group conferencing, solution-focused approaches, ‘clarifying, probing and challenging’, resilience for practitioners, case recording and giving evidence in court.
• We’ll help you develop an awareness and appreciation for differing cultural values and behaviours, the factors that influence our journeys from pre-birth through to death, and the effects of age, sexuality, gender identity and expression, capacity, learning ability and physical ability. You’ll also be encouraged to recognise how your own values and experience influence the judgements you make.
• Our professional expert academic tutors come from a wide range of professional and academic backgrounds, including social work and a number of allied health and social care professions. They weave essential knowledge of inter-professional and multi-agency working into their delivery of the theory elements of the course, helping prepare you to work effectively with colleagues from a variety of other professions and agencies.

Key Features

• Our programme offers 200 days of practice-based learning opportunities. We’ll arrange two work placements for you totalling 170 days, and you’ll benefit from an additional 30 skills development days that take place on campus.
• Throughout the course, specialists in the field of social work, other key allied health and social care practitioners, senior managers and policy makers will be invited to join us as guest speakers. You can also expect to meet service users and carers who have direct experience of services and who can offer their unique and valuable perspectives on the role of social workers in the community.
• Our dedicated team will guide you as you develop critical thinking and research evaluation skills and apply these during your honours-level project. This experience will support your on-going professional development in future and help you evaluate evidence to inform your practice and decision-making in the field.
• Social work can be very demanding and carries a lot of responsibility so we’ll support you to learn strategies and techniques that can help you to build your professional and emotional resilience and successfully manage the situations you face.
• On successful completion of this programme, you’ll be awarded a BA (Hons) in Social Work from the University of Bolton.

Professional recognition

• This programme is approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
• On successful completion of the programme, you’ll be able to demonstrate that you meet the standards of proficiency required by the Health and Care Professions Council and professional capabilities for qualifying social workers. You’ll be eligible to apply for registration with the HCPC as a Social Worker.

Business management qualifications open doors and are considered essential whether you’re looking to pursue a career in business, or achieve higher levels of responsibility in your current work. We’ll support you to enhance your existing Foundation Degree or HND-level knowledge and skills, ready to achieve the status of BSc (Hons) Business Management (People Management) Top-up graduate. You can study advanced aspects of business, management and leadership, enhance your professional skills, and boost your employability.

Building on your prior studies, we’ll guide you as you explore advanced topics such as international human resource management, learning and development, and the employment relationship. This Honours-level programme will also support you to gain knowledge of strategic management, and develop critical inquiry and research skills to improve your work and enhance its quality. As a graduate, you’ll also receive the CMI Level 5 Award in Leadership and Management, helping you stand out to employers.

Developing your employability is a key focus of this dynamic and flexible programme. Real-life case studies, guest speakers and industry visits are designed to help you to understand the business environment and the needs of employers in local, national and international contexts. We’ll support you to develop sought-after skills such as communication, data analysis, time management, team working and problem solving.

We also aim to help you develop lifelong learning skills so that you can take ownership of your professional development for the future, maximising your potential for success.

Highlights

• The Institute of Management Greater Manchester – and the wider University – provide a warm and friendly environment for your studies, with relatively small class sizes, purpose-built teaching facilities, and excellent student support and library services.
• On successful completion of this dual award course you’ll receive both an academic degree and a professionally-recognised management qualification – the CMI Level 5 Award in Leadership and Management. You don’t need to take extra exams or coursework to achieve the Award – we combine our degree module and CMI assessments streamlining your route to both qualifications.
• This course is part of our Business Management suite of degrees. At Honours level, depending on your prior studies, you can follow this specialist pathway in People Management, choose the core Business Management route, or select one of our other specialist pathways in Enterprise, Law, Supply Chain, Finance, Marketing or Retail.
• Face-to-face sessions and one-to-one support is offered by our team of highly experienced and enthusiastic lecturers who have worked in a wide range of businesses ranging from multinational organisation to SMEs.
• We’ll introduce you to your course and new study environment through a bespoke induction programme focused on helping you transition smoothly and effectively to Honours-level study.

Key Features

• This course is offered within our vibrant Institute of Management environment in Bolton town centre.
• We use small group and tutorial teaching, so you have the opportunity to benefit from the excellent support offered by our teaching staff.
• We regularly invite guest speakers who hold senior positions in industry and practice, enabling you to benefit from their knowledge and advice.
• Course materials are available online, allowing you to prepare work at home and make the most of the highly interactive in-class tuition.
• Contemporary research findings are woven into our teaching. We offer a robust academic underpinning to your studies of business management.
• Our dedicated team will support you as you develop critical thinking and research skills and apply these during your final year dissertation or work-based project (if you’re in suitable employment).

Professional recognition
Graduates of our BSc (Hons) Business Management (People Management) Top-up course will receive the Level 5 Award in Leadership and Management from the CMI (Chartered Management Institute).

Whatever sector you currently work in, this MBA is a full-time career development programme designed to help you develop the strategic thinking skills needed in today’s global economy.

The course covers vital skills and knowledge that can be applied in almost any organisation, such as developing awareness of management and leadership practices, developing creative and systematic approaches to underlying business issues, and understanding how business and management practices can be improved.

Over the course of one year, the programme seeks to cultivate key intellectual capabilities of research, critique, synthesis and innovation, culminating in a Master’s level dissertation.

We aim to optimise learning by employing a variety of teaching methods, including lectures, workshops, group tutorials, individual tuition and guest speakers. By tutoring you in strategic thinking skills, the course will give you the opportunity to develop the sought-after analytical and critical competencies that prestigious employers in today’s global economy value so highly.

Highlights

• This MBA course offers you the chance to join a well-established postgraduate community and study alongside fellow professionals aiming for a senior career in management.
• Teaching and supervision is delivered by a dedicated team of experienced and well-qualified staff drawn from business and academia.
• The University’s excellent libraries, 24/7 IT facilities, WiFi and learning areas are freely available for your use.
• You’ll be given access to a research and study skills module which will assist in your studies.
• You’ll have opportunities to work with experienced academics to undertake your own research and develop your own areas of expertise.
• We offer opportunities for you to engage directly with local and regional organisations, many with internationally significant presence, as part of the learning process.

Key Features

• This course aims to develop your critical knowledge of organisations, their management and the complex business issues they face.
• You’ll have the chance to apply research and analysis skills, culminating in a Master’s level dissertation.
• A Research and Study Skills module is available to all students on the full-time MBA programme. This module is designed to provide a strong base upon which to develop the academic skills required for study.
• Teaching is conducted by a highly-dedicated team, with specialist knowledge in a wide range of subject areas and close links to business and industry.
• Course materials are available online, allowing you to prepare work at home and ensuring in-class learning is highly interactive.

Professional recognition

• After successfully completing your MBA programme you may apply for membership of the Chartered Management Institute. Please note that terms and conditions apply. More details are available from http://www.managers.org.uk/

Congratulations. You’re considering a career in the world’s most in-demand profession*. Concerned with the building and maintenance of software systems and other computer-based solutions, software engineering is a truly global activity. By examining all elements of the process – from initial understanding of the problem to be solved, through analysis, design, and development, to testing, documentation and maintenance – this degree offers you a focused education in software engineering, ready to impress potential employers.

Our dedicated staff team offers a balance of academic rigour, industrial experience and advanced technical expertise. We will support you to explore the underlying principles of software engineering, while helping you gain knowledge and practical experience of the latest technologies. You will be encouraged to appreciate both the technical and human aspects involved in areas such as the lifecycle of software systems, software design, systems analysis, programming, database specification and design, and system security.

In addition to technical knowledge and expertise, you will have opportunities to gain experience in team working, communication and presentation, problem solving and time management. Our focus is on helping you develop industry-relevant knowledge and skills, so that you are well prepared for a career in software engineering.

Highlights

• Our dedicated staff team have a wide range of professional experience, industry knowledge, technical expertise and academic credentials, offering you a variety of perspectives and broadening your horizons.
• We prefer to keep lecture and practical classes relatively small, so that you have plenty of opportunities to us ask questions and get help, as well as benefit from the ideas and support offered by your classmates.
• We have well-established links with the software engineering industry, and continually monitor and update the course to make sure the content is industry-relevant and introduces you to the latest thinking and innovations.
• We are committed to helping you develop your employability and career network. You will be encouraged to attend guest lectures that enhance your learning, help you make contacts in the industry and contribute to your professional development.
• By designing the course assignments and projects so that they mimic industry pipelines and standards, we aim to give you a real feel for a career in software engineering.

Key Features

• We offer a warm and friendly environment for your studies, with relatively small class sizes, purpose-built teaching facilities, and excellent student support and library services.
• We want to work with you as an individual, giving you access to the help and support you need to succeed.
• Our dedicated IT suites feature high-specification hardware and industry-standard software.
• Many of our computing facilities can be accessed across the internet, allowing you to work on your assignments whenever and wherever you choose.
• We will help and support you to develop a portfolio of work that demonstrates your skills in readiness to impress potential employers.