MSc Learning and Development

This module is an integrated and holistic part of the first year of the programme and seeks to facilitate personal and professional growth, acting as a catalyst for reflection on learning from other first year modules and the wider aspects of the programme.

This module aims to explore the concept of senior professional practice through a personal, professional and organisational lens. Learners will be introduced to, and draw upon, theoretical perspectives to illustrate the complexity of leadership within different sectors. As a result, learners will locate and challenge both personal and professional constructs of a senior people professional and their own identity.

Learners will critically investigate the developments in ethical leadership, management and practice in a continuously evolving business context. Learners will critique a wide range of literature which explores the future world of work which includes the advancement in technology, sociodemographic changes, political and economic impact and influences and evolving employment legislation. Learners will also explore the role of values, behaviours and organisational citizenship and how this can drive business effectiveness and performance.

This module will introduce learners to contemporary changes in the world of work by interrogating how interventions have changed the meaning of work, what new forms of work and employment relations have emerged, and the economic, social and ethical implications. In doing so, learners will also have an opportunity to consider financial aspects of the world of work from an organisational position.

The module aims to explores how people professionals create value and deliver outcomes for organisations and employees, and how contributing to the achievement of business objectives improves performance and enhances the employee experience.

This is a year long module designed to allow learners to develop learner skills to research a real-life workplace problem whilst gathering appropriate evidence. Learners will learn the research process through participating in workshops and conducting online exercises.  Learners will work on a real research problem that will develop their skills in designing and implementing quantitative and qualitative research projects. During this module, a systematic knowledge of change management will be deployed to allow learners to consider organisational change.  In addition, the module prepares learners for professional enquiry, by enabling them to independently conduct a research project utilising quantitative and/or qualitative methods. When considering future practice, learners will be encouraged to reflect on planning for sustainability. 

This module aims to support the development of skills and knowledge to understand the theory and application of learning design to meet the needs of organisations. Learners will be introduced to a range of learning design theories as well as developing coaching and mentoring skills which can be applied to drive an appropriate learning and development strategy and culture to enhance organisational capability.

This a specialist module for the Learning and Development pathway. The module will include consideration of sustainability, safety and wellbeing. 

This module aims to explore the knowledge, behaviour and skills needed to develop and conduct a learning and development needs assessment and analysis within a professional setting. In addtion, learners will be challenged to design effective dissemination techniques appropriate to their organisation which will include analysing, interpreting and communicating the results. Theories and models will be utilised to connect to effective principles for practice. 

This is a specialist module on the Learning and Development pathway that has a strong focus on the theoretical approaches and tools to inform learning and training needs evaluation processes. 

This module allows learners to critically explore a variety of learning and pedagogical approaches in order to equip them for a leadership role within Learning & Development. Furthermore, techniques and tools for evaluation will be critically appraised and learners will select appropriate approaches according to context. 

This is a specialist module on the programme for the Learning and Development pathway and builds upon previous learning, analysing and evaluating learning delivery to provide solutions to meet organisational development needs.   

Based on the research proposal submitted for the applied business research module, the first element of this module focusses on developing ability to produce a literature review that critically analyses key publications and other evidence to underpin the research questions.  This is followed by the professional inquiry which enables a systematic approach to define, design and undertake a business approach project in people management/organisational development/learning and development practice.   This module addresses the significance of capturing robust quantitative and qualitative evidence to inform meaningful insight to influence critical thinking.  It focusses on analysing evidence through an ethical lens to improve decision-making and how measuring the impact of practice is essential in creating value.