Extracurricular Course Syllabus

Personal and professional development

Course type

Extracurricular activity

ECTS

4 ECTS credit points

Study programme

For earning ECTS credits in first- and second-cycle study programmes.

Prerequisits

 Enrollment in the first or second degree program at the University of Ljubljana. The extracurricular activity is intended for students of all members of the University of Ljubljana.

Learning and teaching methods
  • Lectures: 30 hours.
  • Tutorial: 30 hours.
  • Individual work: 60 hours.
Assessment The course is assessed with the mark passed/failed. For a successfully completed course, a student:
• Participates in direct contact hours (75% attendance required for lectures and tutorials).
• Completes ongoing assignments in the form of individual and / or group assignments (solving assignments and other tasks and written and / or oral reporting). Attendance at lectures and tutorials to the extent of 75% is a prerequisite for the final assessment of assignments.

 

Content (Syllabus outline)  

1. The concept of career: definition, meaning and theoretical approaches to career - career as personal and professional development; different career paths and their individual and contextual factors.

2. Lifelong career development: dispositional and developmental psychological theories; career motivation model: career identity, career insight (motives, values, goals, interests), career persistence; career development planning and evaluation. 

3. Occupational and organizational aspects of career development: occupational culture, occupational identity, occupational socialization; organizational socialization (the role of the individual and the organization in successful adaptation to the work environment): finding a potential employer, first meeting and skills of successful adaptation. 

4. Attitudes towards work and the work environment: commitment, engagement, job satisfaction, workrelated well-being, work-life balance; key contextual (social and organizational) and individual factors. 

5. Communication in the work and business environment: basics of communication, skills and competences for communication that offers respect, trust and support (transmitting of empathy, the process of building trust in the work relationship, listening, asking questions, using silence, giving instructions and commands). 

6. Cooperation and teamwork: relationships with others (supervisor, co-workers, clients/customers or the "third" persons),  teamwork, identification of potentially conflict situations, conflict resolution. 

7. Leadership as a process of social influence: key contemporary theories and approaches, with a focus on behavioural leadership theories that identify effective leadership behaviours and skills. Students' engagement in events organised by the Centre for personal and professional development that strengthen competencies 5.0.

Objectives and competences

Students learn the key factors of career development, from the perspective of the individual, society, the specific factors of the occupation and the organization. They learn the importance of personal and professional development for individual development and well-being. They acquire basic theoretical knowledge and practical skills for gaining career insight, identifying individual factors of career persistence, skills for planning career development and self-assessment in this process. They learn about the role of communication in establishing well-being in work relationships and become aware to some extent of their own reactions in relation to others in different (work) situations. They learn about themselves in a leadership role, in the role of a coworker and customers or users. During lectures and individual study of the literature, students acquire selected theoretical basics; during tutorials, they perform guided activities to develop selfawareness in the context of theoretical concepts, train the skills of reflection and self-reflection, as well as the skills of communication and cooperation in the work context. 
Intended learning outcomes  

Knowledge and understanding: Students acquire basic knowledge of the course and factors of individual career development and related individual development, knowledge of planning and evaluating individual career development, knowledge of factors at the social, occupational and organizational levels that (co)influence individual career development, basic knowledge and skills of communication, building and developing interpersonal relationships, teamwork and leadership in the work environment. The course sensitizes and acquires basic skills of reflection and self-reflection, setting and evaluating career goals, according to the work context, searching for information, receiving and giving feedback, basic skills of building communication and relationships with others in the work environment. The course provides basic knowledge for further development of these skills. Application of theoretical knowledge to practical examples, application of skills and methods to develop career paths and professional roles; application of communication techniques to build and develop relationships and leadership in the work environment. Reflection on different career paths, (co)influencing factors and own role in career development, well-being at work and wellbeing of others in work relationships.

Literature
  • Selected chapters from: Landy, F. J. in Conte, J. M. (2007). Work in the 21st Century. An Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology (2. izd.). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. 
  • Sangster, C. (2017). Planning and organizing personal and professional development. Taylor & Francis. 
  • Selected professional and scientific articles;
  • Materials from lectures and tutorials.

Notes

The courses are financed by the University of Ljubljana and free of charge for students of the University of Ljubljana.
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