Global Professional Award
At Huddersfield, we offer the Global Professional Award (GPA) alongside all our undergraduate degrees* so that you gain valuable skills and attributes that we know employers are looking for.
The Award has three areas of focus:
- Employability and Enterprise – Understanding your own aspirations and ambitions and how to turn these into a reality is a powerful tool when it comes to getting a job after you graduate. The Award takes you through proven exercises to boost your knowledge.
- Wellbeing – Going to university can be a transformative experience, but it can also be a little scary. The Award gives you the time and support to reflect and transform, from meeting and developing relationships with new people to mental strength and resilience.
- Global Citizenship Skills – The modern, global world may seem a little daunting. The Award will give you new viewpoints to consider and perhaps challenge your current perceptions of the world and how you can have an impact in the future.
Completing the Award will support you to transform into a highly employable graduate who is:
- Self-motivated
- Enterprising
- Resilient
- Able to collaborate with others
- A confident leader
- Globally and socially aware
The Award is accredited by the Chartered Management Institute (Level 5) meaning you’ll graduate from the University of Huddersfield with a recognised management qualification in addition to your degree which may help to set you apart from other graduates.
How do I complete the Award?
We make it as simple as possible. You’ll complete the Award through online sessions and activities. This will take approximately 1 hour per week, so you’ll still have plenty of time to focus on your degree and your social life. If you’re really keen, you can also get involved in extra activities through the Students’ Union.
You’ll be supported to complete the Award by staff who are specialists in the three areas of Enterprise and Employability, Wellbeing and Citizenship, plus the lecturers on your course will help you to understand how you can get involved.
*full-time, undergraduate first degrees with a minimum duration of three years. This does not include postgraduate, foundation, top-up, accelerated or apprenticeship degrees.
A testimonial by Dr Robert Allan
In this video Dr Robert Allan, from the School of Applied Sciences, shares his experience of the Global Professional Award. His students took part in the award last year and have reported that they "feel much more confident about what employers need".