My Competence Portfolio: Reflection strengthens attachment to one’s studies

All Bachelor programmes (except Pharmacy) are involved in the start-up, which kicked off in autumn 2022, and workshops are planned for first-semester students to introduce them to the tool.

The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology held its first workshop on My Competence Portfolio for students on 7 November 2022. The agenda of the workshop included:

1. Introduction to the My Competence Portfolio tool
2. What are skills and how do you take charge of them?
3. Exercise: Focus on academic skills from the first semester
4. Exercise: Spot your personal skills/strengths
5. Exercise: Get ahead in the second semester

– The enthusiasm among the students after the workshop was unmistakable, says Specialist Consultant Lise Junker Nielsen when asked about her impressions of the day’s event:

– It took some time to get the students talking about themselves and their strengths, but once the lid was off, there was a pretty strong consensus that it was rewarding on many fronts. For example, they had to share a strength story with their study group, which gave them valuable insight into themselves and one another.

Vice Dean Poul Nielsen explains why My Competence Portfolio is an important step for students:

– Competence awareness is one of the cornerstones of the faculty’s educational strategy, because it is crucial for students to be able to translate their knowledge from their studies into the real world.

– We chose to kick off with the two categories that we believed students could relate to most easily. For many students, it was something of an eye-opener: ‘I know and can do so much already!’ And that very feeling was one of the aims of the workshop. I’m very much looking forward to the rest of the process, and I’m looking forward to reflecting on even more with the students at BMB, says Lise Junker Nielsen.

My Competence Portfolio initiatives are implemented in different ways from one programme to another and are organised according to the needs and challenges of the specific programme.

– I’m delighted the departments have got off to a good start with My Competence Portfolio, and I think it’s crucial that the tool is adapted to the reality of each programme. I would like to thank everyone involved for their hard work. I know that a lot of work always goes into developing something completely new, Poul Nielsen says.

The other departments have scheduled their first workshop during November, and the plan is to hold a second workshop in the spring for the same students. How this will proceed is yet to be determined. The idea is to roll out My Competence Portfolio in workshops for first-semester students. Later in their studies, they will do more self-reflection using itslearning.

– My Competence Portfolio helps students become more aware of their skills during their studies. We hope this will boost their motivation and make them feel more connected to their subject, which, in turn, will lead to fewer dropouts, Poul Nielsen concludes.

My Competence Portfolio is coordinated by Lise Junker Nielsen for the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Jane Morthorst for the Biology, Michael Petersen for Chemistry, Louise Kindt for Physics, Jakob Lykke Andersen for Computer science, and Benjamin Jäger for Mathematics. Linette Sønderby and Anja Soto from SDU RIO have been a great help in organising the workshops and have had a pivotal role in developing My Competence Portfolio.