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Enhance your learning experience

Tanja Holc has just finished year 1 of her MPhys Astrophysics degree.  During the summer she completed a number of personal development courses, and used these to earn credits through the University’s Student-Led, Individually-Centred Courses (SLICC). Find out more about this scheme, and about the skills and techniques Tanja developed.


Online summer learning

This summer, I wanted to work on my self-confidence, self-awareness, and skills like time-management, to use in my future years at university and beyond. To do this, I explored several areas of psychology, and enrolled in three short online courses: ‘The Science of Well-Being’ and ‘Learning How to Learn’ on Coursera, and ‘Overcoming Imposter Syndrome’ on FutureLearn. This enabled me to examine my own experiences with procrastination and feelings of inadequacy, they challenged many of my beliefs, and provided me with techniques I can implement to improve the quality of my everyday experiences.

I gathered these in a booklet: Fulfilling life booklet

University individually created course

If you are a first or second year University of Edinburgh student, and decide to use online courses as a basis for an independent summer research project like I did, you can turn this into a great learning experience by applying for a SLICC – a Student-Led, Individually-Created Course. SLICCs are a way for students to earn 20 credits over the summer.

Student-Led, Individually-Created Courses

Whether it is an independent research project or an internship, and whether the topic is connected to your field of study or not, undertaking a SLICC is bound to enhance your learning experience, as it encourages you to actively reflect on your progress throughout. Your reflective reports are assessed, and upon successful completion, you are awarded credits that you can use as you like.

Reflection

My SLICC experience has been extremely valuable for raising my self-awareness, and I highly encourage eligible students to take part. I also recommend looking at the University’s reflection toolkit if you want to learn strategies to help you attain a clearer overview of your personal and professional development.

Reflection toolkit

Hopefully, the information in the booklet I designed as part of my SLICC can help you tackle stress and feelings of inadequacy successfully, and become happier and more efficient in your studies.

Further resources

Coursera

FutureLearn

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