This module will enable you to learn a set of important skills and competencies needed to progress to level 4 of an undergraduate degree. On the successful completion of this module, you will have developed, as a minimum, the literacies expected of an undergraduate student. These literacies include Independent Learning, Digital, Academic, Information, Creative, Social, Emotional and Assessment. The module will consist of several ‘taster’ subject specialist sessions early in trimester 1 (for Business & Law, Engineering & Computing, Built & Natural environment, Health, and Science), as well as sessions focused on employability, professional bodies/membership, and career pathways. The module assessments will include individual and group projects, which will enable you to apply the knowledge and skills you have gained during your first year of study. You also will be encouraged to reflect on your own learning and development throughout the module.
View the full module definitionThis module is an introduction to key contemporary issues and global challenges affecting multiple disciplines - Business, Science, Engineering, Computing, Health and Social Care. You will engage in interdisciplinary thinking and working to develop a deeper understanding of the current global issues that impact your discipline, other sectors in society and your future career path. The module will provide you with real-world context and insights from industry professionals and academics, allowing you to develop your academic foundations as you analyse and propose solutions to real-world challenges. The module assessments enable you to develop your research, problem solving and critical thinking skills through in-depth study, as well as be able to communicate your findings effectively using both traditional and creative media formats.
This module will help you develop additional critical knowledge, skills and competencies that will prepare you for progression to undergraduate study on our portfolio of extended degree programmes. The module will give you the opportunity to focus on an area most relevant to your chosen course and investigate a topic that interests you the most. There will be specific lectures, workshops and tutorials covering the approaches, skills and competencies required for project-based learning, you will also be participating in regular group supervision sessions with a relevant member of staff for your topic. You will be encouraged to be creative with the outputs presented – both “in writing” and “in person” using graphics, audio, video etc. to bring your topic to life. You will be encouraged to reflect on your own learning and development throughout the module.
View the full module definitionEntering third level education is exciting; but it can also be a daunting experience. At ARU, we want all students to make the most of the opportunities Higher Education provides, so they reach their potential, become lifelong learners and find fulfilling careers. However, we appreciate that the shift from secondary education, or a return to formal education is, in itself, quite a journey. This module is designed to ease that transition. You will be enrolled on it as soon as you receive an offer from ARU so you can begin to learn about university life before your course starts. Through Into ARU, you will explore a virtual land modelled around ARU values: Courage, Innovation, Community, Integrity, Responsibility, and Ambition. This innovative module is designed as a game, where students collect knowledge and various complete mini tasks. You will proceed at your own pace, though we expect all students to have completed their Into ARU exploration by week 6. Students who, for whatever reason, are unable to complete by that date, will be signposted to existing services so that we can be confident that they are supported.
View the full module definitionThis module introduces the core principles of financial analysis and management within a business context. You will gain a practical understanding of financial reporting and management accounting, learning how to interpret financial statements and assess business performance. The module also develops your ability to analyse and present financial data using Microsoft Excel, supporting informed decision-making through evidence-based analysis. Key concepts are explored from both a theoretical and applied perspective, with a strong focus on the development of analytical, digital, and employability skills.
View the full module definitionThis module presents a fusion between the philosophies which underlie marketing, with a strong emphasis of integrating digital and traditional concepts and the real life application of marketing across a variety of sectoral contexts. You'll examine the core marketing concept of customer value and the interplay between marketing and sustainability and the ethical challenges and critiques of modern marketing. You'll gain a wide range of knowledge across a breadth of sectors and be able to adapt these to whatever career or future research you choose. On completion of the module you'll have not only a solid grounding in marketing philosophies and theories but also a critical view of marketing, based around the realisation of the reality of modern digital marketing operations and management in a context of increasing global economic challenges, but also within a context where the customer profile is shifting to become increasingly demanding, critical and questioning of the motivations and ethics behind the marketers activities.
View the full module definitionYou'll explore the factors that affect business, from a mostly external perspective, including elements of globalisation and international business and the fundamental skills needed in the world of business. Political, Economics, Social, Legal, Ecological and Technological factors will be examined in the macro business environment and how these interact in a competitive environment with globalisation, technological and social change to create complex strategic options for organisations. You will also explore in some detail the concept of sustainability and introductory economics.
View the full module definitionYou'll be introduced to a range of organisational behaviour issues that you may encounter in your career and be provided with evidence-informed analyses of ways in which culture, leadership, structure and motivation affect workers and workplaces. This foundation enables you to analyse the human side of management and diagnose problems affecting organisations both independently and as part of a group. You'll have the opportunity to take managerial, critical, symbolic-interactivist and feminist perspectives to business issues and organisational behaviour related theories, models and concepts to build your social capital and critical analytical skills. Specifically, we will equip you with the knowledge and human capitals to understand how people and organisations function in individual, group and organisational levels based on the latest academic evidence on topics such as motivation, leadership, teams, organisational structure and culture. Finally, we aim to inspire you to value and continuously use the best available academic evidence on effective management of people and organisations throughout your career.
View the full module definitionAs an introduction to a broad range of civil legal issues, you'll get an insight and appreciation of the various ways in which the law impacts on the world of commerce and our everyday life. The module provides a foundation across a broad range of fundamental legal principles and concepts of the English Legal System. The rights and obligations of legal entities/individuals under the Law of Contract and the Law of Tort will also be examined.
View the full module definitionEntrepreneurs are people who identify and exploit opportunities for new products, marketing or processes to generate economic and social value. Entrepreneurship is not just about new venture creation, it involves using creative or innovative ideas to recognise and develop solutions. You’ll work as part of a team over 3 rounds of activity (such as gamification, experiential learning and simulation) to focus on the identification of an opportunity, the creation of a product or service and pitching a concept to work as part of the team to develop your skills and collaborate with organisations and guest speakers.
Project Management is a key skill for any future professional. This module focuses on providing a sound basis for managing or working on project outcomes, cost and time. This module covers: Project Management Body of Knowledge; the importance of stakeholder and risk management; scheduling and costing; monitoring and controlling techniques, time management and resource optimisation; improving the success of projects; and the principles of agile project management.
Ruskin Modules are a great opportunity to explore challenges and ideas outside your area of study. Working with students from a range of courses, you'll be supported to create meaningful connections across disciplines, and apply new knowledge to tackle complex problems and key challenges. Ruskin Modules are designed to grow your confidence, realise your potential and help you prepare for the world of work.
Explore entrepreneurial thinking by transforming raw ideas into real, testable prototypes. Through an iterative, hands-on process, you’ll develop, test, and refine your concepts – learning as much from what doesn’t work as from what does. Practical engagement is central to this module. You'll take part in immersive experiences such as an AI-driven hackathons, where you'll collaborate intensively to generate and visualise entrepreneurial solutions. Guest speakers, including practicing entrepreneurs and innovators, will enrich your learning with live demonstrations of tools such as process maps, wireframes, and user stories. You'll also the opportunity to visit leading innovation hubs, including the Cambridge Science Park, Arise Chelmsford, and Alia Business Centre. These visits offer direct interaction with industry professionals and entrepreneurs, providing insights into design and manufacturing processes such as 3D printing, app development, and injection moulding. Your journey will culminate in the development of a working prototype, accompanied by a professional portfolio. This final artefact will not only showcase your entrepreneurial mindset but also serve as an asset for future employment or venture creation.
View the full module definitionYou'll develop core marketing principles in a retail and experiential context and specialist knowledge of the retail and experience industry, such as museums, galleries, and physical visitor experiences, all from a marketing perspective. You'll explore retail and experiential marketing's key issues such as retail mixes and strategies, the 'retail product', experiential elements of customer satisfaction, digital retailing, behaviour research and supply chain management and retail performance. You'll look at the synergy between retail marketing and the marketing of experiences focusing on the services area of marketing. The sustainable and ethical issues of retail and experience operations are considered including the growth of consumerism, use of consumer data, environmental impact and consumer attitudes to debt.
This module will give you a sound understanding of the knowledge, skills and behaviours required by human resources (HR) professionals, whether in a generalist or specialist role as described in the CIPD HR Profession Map (HRPM). You’ll embrace the ‘thinking performer’ perspective and cover the competencies needed by HR professionals when collaborating and working with others and functioning efficiently and effectively in an organisational context. You'll assess your own strengths and identify a continuing professional development plan, based on the capabilities required for ethical, business-focused and interpersonal professional conduct, exploring and recognising the strategic importance of the effective management of the human resource and people management and progresses a critical appreciation of the role of HR. You’ll explore and recognise the strategic importance of effective HR management and using work-based research and good practice, critically evaluate the role of HR in formulating strategies to prepare business cases and present viable and realistic improvement which shows an appreciation for issues identified in your research.
From creativity comes ideas, different ways of doing things that could transform an organisation, industry, practice, consumer’s lives, the world… This module uses the concept of playfulness to lead to creativity and the chance to identify an opportunity. A variety of ideation techniques will help you develop ideas and subsequent business models. From a blank page, you'll be drawn through the creative process of ideation, risk, failure and revision to develop innovative solutions with the chance to consult with a range of stakeholders in our community to improve your idea, ready for testing. You'll develop entrepreneurial skills that may be used to start a business or bring innovative thinking to solving problems or exploring new opportunities in an existing business. You'll be exposed to a variety of creative processes and have the chance to explore your own ideas or work with local entrepreneurs throughout the ideation process. The first idea is not always the best idea so assessment on this module explores the concept of making continual improvements and evolving a concept through following the ideation process and reflecting on progress.
You'll explore consumer behaviour but not only the what and how we buy, you'll be getting deeper into how marketers tailor their offer to consumer demands and market trends, how consumer behaviour is influenced by new products and services, the marketing mix and its design and implementation. The psychological and sociological models and theories and emerging consumer psychology research will be illustrated with practical examples of the day to day marketing activities of product and service providers. You'll work in teams, following market research techniques, to develop your skills and entrepreneurial awareness. By analysing your research, you will propose a business case for a new market offering, after identifying a need within a consumer group. How you use marketing techniques to convey this offering and the value to the target consumer, how this would affect their decision making and behaviour as well as motivate them to purchase will form the basis of your individual assignment. On completion you will have gained technical and professional marketing skills to be able to identify opportunities and the transferable skills to be able to creatively and innovatively develop appropriate and entrepreneurial business cases.
You'll have the opportunity to bring together your learning on live brief assessments and be part of an interdisciplinary team addressing a current issue in business. You'll be presented with a current business issue and be required to research, analyse and evaluate the issue effectively as a team. You'll act as the expert in your field of study to bring the perspective of that specialty to a complex business problem. You'll identify the key problems and issues, conduct literature reviews, evaluate information, investigate and adopt suitable development methodologies, determine solutions, process data, critically appraise and present the findings of your project using a variety of media. You'll create a poster presentation on your project for your team to display, and answer questions on, to an audience of academics and employers at a poster presentation event. You'll write a group business report on the outcomes of your project, evidencing your recommendations alongside an individual piece of reflective work on how you approached the issue, worked successfully as a team member, conducted robust business research and developed sound conclusions and recommendations.
In this module, you’ll build your knowledge and skills as you navigate the complexities of international business strategy in dynamic and competitive global environments. It emphasises the importance of business analytics and strategic frameworks in decision-making, fostering innovation, and addressing sustainability challenges across borders.The module is designed to develop your entrepreneurial mindset by encouraging creativity, opportunity identification, and risk assessment in global contexts. It integrates a focus on international innovation and management, enabling you to understand how to drive innovation across borders and manage diverse teams effectively. Additionally, the module enhances employability skills, including strategic thinking, leadership, teamwork, and cross-cultural communication. You’ll learn to apply theories and frameworks to practical business scenarios, with a strong emphasis on sustainability and adaptability in volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environments.
View the full module definitionYou'll develop understanding of the shift towards more environmentally, socially and economically responsible business practice and in particular focus on the drivers behind this shift; including an understanding of the sustainable development goals and growing business arguments for including a consideration of sustainability in all business and management practice. The module promotes a personal approach to the issues of sustainability and personal and social responsibility. The module includes an authentic assessment where you'll be diagnosing, designing and evaluating an environmental management plan for your households or organisations, while reflecting on your personal responsibility and ethical behaviour. You'll pay special attention to questioning the different responses of business in relation to social responsibility and sustainable management.
People represent a key source of sustainable competitive advantage for most organisations. Employment law continues to expand both in terms of volume and complexity and the amount of regulation covering the employment relationship and the workplace has grown substantially in recent years. You'll gain a comprehensive understanding of employment law and employment relations in terms of theory, debates and practices in national and international settings and from a theoretical and behavioural competency perspective. Your knowledge, understanding and skills will let you brief and support organisations on the consequences of current and future developments in employment law/relations and give up-to-date, timely and accurate advice concerning the practical application of key legal principles of UK employment law. This will relate both to collective and individual employment relations and the actions of employers, employees and their respective organisations, whilst offering support and advice to management regarding best practice. Throughout the module you'll reflect critically on theory and practice and take into consideration both legal and ethical issues.
View the full module definitionFrom ideation, to prototype and testing, this module is about looking back on experiences and learning from them. An entrepreneur must be resilient, to keep going, and keep trying despite mistakes, lack of funds, or opportunities. You'll look at theories of reflection, and is analytical and theoretical in its approach. We look at the numbers and analysis to work out the next steps, reflecting on previous learning on the course. You'll build your social networks and capital, learn to pitch, find out how to apply for grants and write a successful bid and speak to entrepreneurs to find out what made them successful. We link to the patchwork framework and the entrepreneurial toolkit to help you to pull on your personal resources and we consider diversity and entrepreneurship as you prepare for self-employment or taking your entrepreneurial skills into the workplace. You'll be invited to explore different types of entrepreneurs and reflect on your own skills, knowledge and behaviours. The assessment will be scenario-based critically analysing the resources that can be used to overcome specific issues affecting the entrepreneur.
View the full module definitionThis module is designed to give you an overall understanding of marketing communications and the part that it plays in marketing and in business success. You'll explore the role of communications and the integrated nature of modern advertising campaigns, the tools and techniques used in marketing communications, both online and offline whilst looking into how and why each tool is used. You'll analyse the advantages and disadvantages of each, illustrating how the tools interact with the other elements of the marketing mix and how they must all integrate to achieve vital synergy. The promotional planning process at the strategic, tactical and operational levels is identified and examined and applied. You'll gain the knowledge and skills which will enable you to pursue a career in the marketing industry and in particular marketing communications in either a company or agency. The assessment requires you to develop and demonstrate your theoretical knowledge, as well as to develop your skills in the application of this theory in the creation of marketing communications and the appropriate media formats. Your brief will be to develop your advertising campaign – live where possible - which you will present to a panel of experts (from the company when live). You can then take this feedback to reflect upon and improve your communications plan where necessary for the report submission. Working in a team, you'll develop your skills and marketing knowledge, whilst exploring cultural trends, entrepreneurial opportunities and reflect on your own pitch and performance to develop a positive, creative experience.
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