This page explains the Aspiration and Personal Development attribute and provides questions to help you start thinking about what this mindset means for you and how it can be strengthened.
University of Edinburgh graduates draw on their initiative and experience to expand and fulfil their potential. Making the most of a confident and reflective approach, they take personal responsibility for pursuing their goals and opportunities to grow.
Mindsets can evolve and change with time and experiences, and are shaped by our individual values. They are our usual ways of thinking about something and our attitudes towards it – here our attitude towards our own goals and development.
It takes both staff support and student initiative to develop graduate attributes. Students should seek out ways to understand and enhance their attitude towards their own goals and development, and grasp opportunities to develop themselves and grow. Staff should help and support students to understand their personal responsibility, to expand and fulfil their potential and to find opportunities for development and growth.
Students should reflect on:
Staff should reflect on:
What is your current mindset in this area? Are these attitudes well-established or still evolving? How important is this area to you?
What is your own mindset in this area? How does it relate to your main job(s) and role(s)?
What impact does this mindset have? How does it influence your actions and behaviour?
What does this mindset mean within your discipline?
What experiences have contributed to developing your mindset?
What does this mindset mean to your students, inside and outside their degree?
What experiences will help further explore, refine, and strengthen your mindset?
How can you help your students to develop this mindset during their time with you?
