The Bridge Case Studies Scheme

A professional development opportunity for students, a key resource for staff

The Bridge are a team of Knowledge Exchange (KE) specialists delivering and supporting KE activities and projects across the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business at the University of Plymouth. As part of their efforts to showcase the fantastic projects happening across the Faculty, the team created The Case Studies Scheme, a collaborative student Knowledge Exchange initiative.
Centred around a team of student writers, the scheme has produced and published over 20 case studies for the University’s website, platforming the innovative collaborations happening between the Faculty and University partners, while also promoting and building the talent and skill of the students.

It developed from our initial need to find a way to communicate the great work that we do, right the way through to creating a scheme that’s upskilling our students, improving their graduate outcomes, and providing a much-needed resource to the faculty and the team."

Katie Stote, Project Officer at the University of Plymouth.

What has the Case Studies Scheme achieved?
  • Paid and meaningful professional experiences for students.
  • Over 20 case studies published on the University’s web pages.
  • Utilized and developed the skill, knowledge and talent of University of Plymouth students.
  • Supported students into graduate-level roles upon graduation.
English writing 

Student development

The scheme was designed to work around each writer’s studies, providing support and flexible deadlines to ensure that students can thrive in both their academic and professional work. Through the scheme, students gain experience in interviewing internal staff and external partners, translating complex copy into digestible content and managing multiple projects and timelines, providing them with a rich skillset to draw on in future roles.
Olivia Templeton, a creative writing PhD student, studies the changing state of crime fiction and the effect of advancing technology on themes of gender policing and vigilantism. Through the case studies she has written, Olivia has been able to explore new industries and specialisms.
"I find my case studies really interesting because you get to learn so much about all these different types of projects that are going on. But you especially learn about why people are doing these projects, they all have a specific reason why they have started whatever the project is, and it is usually quite meaningful." – Olivia Templeton, case study writer.

Keiran Potter, a previous University of Plymouth creative writing masters student, now works as a Content Manager at MAVERRIK. During his time on the masters program, Keiran wrote a number of fantastic case studies including one exploring the student-led project 'Unmissable Food Organization', designed to battle holiday hunger in school-age children. For Keiran, the skills he developed through his time on the scheme, and the experiences it has opened up, have enabled him to demonstrate a new level of professionalism.
“I’ve developed in my communication and professionalism, kind of like being a professional journalist. I am able to interview, ask leading questions that follow on from other questions, and then build a narrative out for an article, because you can’t just copy and paste what someone said into a document.” – Keiran Potter, previous case study writer.
 

Scheme success

The case studies scheme has been successful for both The Bridge and the students involved. For the student writers, it provides an opportunity to develop their creative skillset, apply their industry knowledge when conducting formal interviews and build their social mobility by making key connections with university partners.
For the Bridge team, the scheme has helped attain a much-needed resource for promoting the fantastic work happening on knowledge exchange projects such as this, while also improving graduate outcomes and supporting future investments in student knowledge exchange.

The student case study scheme is a powerful embodiment of the valuable skills are that our students are gaining here at University, and this is clearly evident in the quality of their work and the professional, effective and persuasive copy they produce."

Rupert Lorraine, Director of The Bridge.

This case study was written by Michaela Moclair, a PhD student from the University of Plymouth. Connect with Michaela on LinkedIn.