ARU Certificate for Professional Development

ARU Certificate for Professional Development (ARUCPD) is a unique, optional course, that you study alongside your degree. But why take on extra work on top of your normal degree?

Offered exclusively to students in the Faculty of Business and Law in Cambridge and Chelmsford (current students can find information on Canvas), ARUCPD can help you be work-ready with skills employers seek when you graduate. You'll add invaluable benefit to your CV and will be able to demonstrate the knowledge and skills you've gained during your degree through ARUCPD.

All ARUCPD modules you complete will appear on your transcript, making you stand out from the competition when you graduate.

94% of ARUCPD students strongly agree that their module brought value to their CV and helped improve their career prospects!

ARUCPD is designed to not only enhance your employability but also creates opportunities to work with students and staff outside of your chosen course of study; to broaden your knowledge and attend fantastic events.

It's a great conversation starter with potential employers and will help you showcase your critical reasoning and leadership skills, highlight the achievements you've made or projects you've completed as part of your ARUCPD modules, and articulate how you've managed your time and workload whilst also succeeding in your main degree.

ARUCPD modules are not linked to your degree courses and can be chosen depending on what you feel would be most beneficial for your personal and professional development, or most interesting and fun. Taking the time for co-curricular study and activities like ARUCPD helps you to:

  • gain essential work-ready skills; enhance existing competencies and have a chance to practise these.
  • improve employability when you graduate and showcase your achievements to employers
  • earn 15 additional credits on completing each ARUCPD module. If you complete four modules (60 credits) during your time at ARU, you'll receive a standalone ARUCPD certificate in addition to your main degree transcript
  • make new networks and connections with fellow students, staff and external guests
  • work within a multi-cultural community of individuals with different working styles and meet people from different modules and courses
  • increase your knowledge outside your core degree subject and take part in modules you're really interested in
  • have fun participating in assessments and practical exercises
  • improve on your leadership, teamworking, agility and adaptability, self-motivation and time management (these are the skills employers are increasingly looking for, according to the Chartered Management Institute)
  • gain access to ARUCPD events and opportunities
  • develop skills to not just get the job but to be ready in the workplace
  • stand out from the competition when you graduate!

Plus, ARUCPD is free is if you're studying with us in the Faculty of Business and Law. For each ARUCPD module you pass, you'll be awarded 15 additional credits which then appear on your final degree transcript to help support your employability narrative.

When you pass four modules (i.e. 60 credits), you'll receive a standalone ARUCPD certificate in addition to your degree certificate and transcript.

More important than any credits or certificates, you'll get the chance to learn and practise things like project management and working in teams, pitching, negotiating, legal argument, social media marketing and more - those on-the-job skills that you can use when you start your graduate career!

All modules are as flexible as possible to fit around your work and studies. The modules are split into three categories, to help you choose a module depending on your learning style and commitments: tutor-led, student-led or flexible/independent learning.

All modules are equally popular and 100% of students are satisfied with the quality of knowledge gained.

What can you study?

Here are some examples of the modules you can choose from:

  • Become a Microsoft Digital Specialist - become proficient in using essential MS Office tools: MS Word and Excel. IT literacy and experience of using MS Office are a requirement for almost 100% of jobs, so this is a great one for your transcript.
  • Mooting - develop your legal research, oral argument, public speaking and presenting skills, with the chance to enter national competitions
  • Negotiation - enhance your existing abilities as a negotiator, improving your proficiency in a range of general, specific and professional negotiation skills
  • Enterprise Challenge - work with other students as a board of directors and compete in a national competition to showcase and enhance your business skills
  • Investment Fundamentals - improve your analytical skills to better understand the stock markets and investing and technical skills such as using Yahoo Finance, Bloomberg, Excel and PowerPoint/Prezi/Canva. You will also enhance your transferable skills including teamwork, presentation pitching and critical thinking
  • Introduction to Sage Business Cloud Accounting - use Sage Learning portal to master Sage Business Cloud Accounting software to understand how bookkeeping and accounting work in a business environment. You'll have the chance to use the software for free and learn to analyse financial transactions, produce reports and run an example company's accounts
  • Project Leadership and Development - lead in the design, development and delivery of key strategic projects that support students, increase engagement, improve learning experience or provide extra-curricular opportunities for ARU and/or the Faculty of Business and Law
  • French for Business - a beginner level module that will teach you to use French language in a variety of different work and business situations, equipping you with the language and skills needed to communicate effectively at an elementary level. It provides an excellent basis on which to improve and build your language skills in the future, as well as an insight into French work and business practices.
  • Mental Agility, Flexibility and Adaptability - start your self-awareness journey and reflect on various aspects of your mental toughness, including life control, emotional control, goal setting ability, interpersonal confidence and challenge levels. You'll also have the opportunity to enhance your critical thinking and analytical skills by working in teams on case study analysis and engaging in interactive discussions. We'll also provide you with access to the mental toughness questionnaire that will support your professional development and career planning
  • Legal Skills in Practice - volunteer at our award-winning Law Clinic and gain essential legal skills
  • Driving Business Success through Product Management - gain essential knowledge related to successful and strategic product management in any business. You'll cover how products are managed from planning to development through to launch and will have the opportunity to investigate market insights and unpack commonly used frameworks by applying them to real-world scenarios
  • Digital Fundamentals and Emerging Technologies - cover the foundation for understanding the drivers of and critical technologies in the economy; and use practical approaches for implementing these concepts in both operational and leadership contexts. You'll learn about the digital economy and the fourth industrial revolution, AI and automation, agile working, cloud computing, cyber security and data analytics
  • Sustainable Development Goals in Action - learn how you can take action to address the challenges of climate change and nature loss and create a fairer and more prosperous society for everyone. Employers need graduates who are 'future thinking' and have a positive mindset which can take advantage of opportunities this future can provide. 
  • Become a Social Media Marketing Professional - learn the basics of social media marketing and practise running your own social media campaign. Social media is (literally) the most influential and important virtual space - not only for networking but also for digitally advertising your brand, product, events and even yourself
  • Project Management Fundamentals - look at the basics of project management and develop your understanding and ability to coordinate and lead projects from start to finish in an efficient and effective way
  • Systems Thinking Skills for Leadership and Management - this module will help you develop a new way of thinking - systems thing, one of the key management competencies for the 21st century. We live in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous times (VUCA) and the pace of change in our world increases from day to day. Issues we face in our professional and personal lives are becoming more and more complex and systems thinking is the only way to deal with them efficiently.
  • Next Generation Entrepreneurs - learn everything you need to support your entrepreneurial aspirations, from understanding the responsibilities of entrepreneurship to figuring out the operational aspects of your future business and then put your knowledge into practice by pitching your business idea!
  • Powerful Pitching - learn ideation, value creation, creativity and teamwork and put your pitching skills into practice
  • Additional Credit for Professional Development - build knowledge outside of your course by taking an academic subject from a different degree with the Faculty of Business and Law
  • Representation in Higher Education - champion the views and interests of your fellow students as an amazing student rep, leading communications and change in your academic journey

All modules are subject to availability and some may not be available in certain trimesters.

Got a few questions?

Take a look at our frequently asked questions or you can get in touch with us at [email protected]

Current students can also find more information on the FBL Reception Desk Canvas site.