This page provides the full explanation of Personal and Intellectual Autonomy and examples of skills that are related to the attribute.
University of Edinburgh graduates use their personal and intellectual autonomy to critically evaluate ideas, evidence and experiences from an open-minded and reasoned perspective.
Below are some examples of skills and abilities that contribute to a student's overall skills in Personal and Intellectual Autonomy. Skills and abilities in this area vary from individual to individual, from discipline to discipline and from situation to situation. It is important to recognise what skills are relevant and how these skills need to be adapted for the situation in which they will be used.
Staff should be helping, supporting and encouraging students to learn about and develop these skills. Students need to reflect on what skills they have, what skills they need and how these can be developed, and then seeking out relevant opportunities to strengthen and develop these skills.
Example skills
Key aspects include:
Ethics and social responsibility
develop reflective awareness of ethical dimensions, and responsibilities to others, in work and everyday life
recognise and address ethical dilemmas, social responsibility and sustainability issues, applying ethical and their own/organisational values to situations and choices
Self-awareness and reflection
be critically self-aware, self-reflective and self-manage in order to fully maximise potential
develop personal resilience
learn how to deal with setbacks and failures and learn and develop from these
establish personal vision and goals
seek and value open feedback to help self-awareness
Independent learning and development
the importance of the development of lifelong learning skills as part of continuing personal and professional development
to think independently, exercise personal judgment and take initiatives
the ability to succeed in a rapidly changing environment
the importance of learning to learn
Creativity and inventive thinking
thinking creatively and managing the creative process in oneself and in others
think outside the box
being adaptable, and learn how to manage complexity and self-direction
being curious, creative, and taking risks
developing higher-order thinking and sound reasoning
Decision making
being able to make, implement and review decisions based on appropriate techniques
analysing facts and situations and applying creative and inventive thinking to develop the appropriate solutions
collaborating and debating effectively to test, modify and strengthen one's own views
