Report on academic personal & professional development

List of figures

Figure 1: A representation of an action plan on academic skills 8

Introduction

I am from Saudi Arabia, one of the richest countries in the world but very poor in education. On realizing its low potential in education, the Saudi Arabian government in collaboration with the ministry of education developed an education policy. The main objective of the proposed education policy was to promote education to all in order for the country to meet its economic, religious and social needs, and eliminate high literacy rates present among Saudi adults (Alkhazim, 2013). In addition, the Saudi King developed a program that sponsored Saudi students who recorded high performances and willing to study overseas in any of these countries; United States (U. S.), United Kingdom (U. K.) Australia, and Canada. I personally chose to apply for my king’s Studying Program in United Kingdom.
I am a humble person with high creativity nature and likes thinking outside the box. My objective in life is to pursue a career that will enable me achieve highest levels of productivity as an individual, and fully maximize the knowledge I acquire to exploit fully my talents and potential. I am always focused in my life dreams and reacts very fast when called upon to perform a task because I believe it is the only way to achieve success. In my studies, I have always loved to be as close as possible to my family since it gives me hope and desire to achieve my goals. To achieve my life goals, I need to conduct many researchers and write many reports in order to gain the knowledge needed in my field of study. I chose U. K. because it meets all my study expectations and I will have an opportunity to apply my lifestyle. Moreover, I require a degree in order to become a respected person in the society and encourage other Saudi people to specialize in education.

Skills evaluation

Skills and human capital form the two main factors that determine the economic prosperity and social well being of an individual in the twenty first century. Individual and societal progress in the contemporary knowledge-intensive society and economies is widely driven by new technological advances; however they are all achieved through skills acquired in education (Dill and Van, 2010). In order to achieve my goals, I am supposed to pass through the higher education learning and possess skills that will enable me acquire a better paying job.

Higher Education (HE) learning

Higher education forms a critical factor of innovation and capital development and plays an essential role in the success and acquirement of knowledge (Teichler, 2012). Students have an option of continuing their education to higher levels or just become comfortable with formal learning. HE is provided in universities, colleges, seminaries and academies. A person who goes through university education acquires a degree in higher learning (Chan, Brown & Ludlow, 2014). Cleveand noted the conflict of higher learning whereby employers want to train students for their first job after university whole the education rules require a student to learn for 50 years to gain self-fulfillment. The trouble, however arises because the student wants both. This creates a collision between each student’s short-term and long-term goals in the areas of training and education. As such, higher education is necessary in order to acquire both survival skills and also gain professional skills. In addition, higher education has become more popular in national agendas and most countries have made various reforms in the education sector (OECD, 2012).

Employability

The main reason for studying, either acquiring a formal education or higher education, is to become employed. Employment has become a very challenging element because most people find it hard to acquire an employment opportunity even with the highest level of education. In order to ensure I successfully finish my HE and get a better place to practice my expertise, I require to posses some skills.
In order to be successful in higher learning and acquire a better employment, the following skills are required. These are communication, performance, creativity, and problem solving (Burns & Sinfield, 2012). Firstly, excellent communication skills are essential for an individual to pass in education and secure an employment. Communication enable a person share his knowledge and also, demonstrates one’s weaknesses. In addition, communication in class makes a student relate well with a lecturer and avoid barriers that might hinder him/her from passing. Secondly, to pursue in higher education and get an employment requires a performing individual. Good performance makes a person pursue his or her learning without any challenges. Moreover, employers look for a performing employee who has the capability of improving an organization. Finally, one should have quality problem solving skills and creativity. A person in higher education should have the capacity to get solution to any problem faced with irrespective of its nature. This skill also enables a person solve problems in workplaces once employed. An employer would like an employee who has solution to every problem in the company.

Self-evaluation

Positives
I am proud of myself because posses almost all the needed skills to succeed in higher education and secure a better job. I have excellent communication skills which I learned when I was a young person. My parents used to challenge me to present a speech before the elders. Secondly, I am a good performer. Throughout my formal education I have been achieving higher grades, and also received several awards being in the first position. I used to pass my exams with exceptional marks that made my tutors recommend me for a scholarship. I am also very creative when needs arise. I used to invent many projects during our science congress competitions in high school.

Negatives

Even if I posses quality communication skills, I get bored when someone brings an argument. I am poor in arguing even when I know I am right, I just quit. Secondly, I am slow in making decisions and always find myself unable to solve problems requiring immediate attention. I become nervous when faced with a challenge.
In order to improve on my short comings, I need to become more relaxed and dedicate more time in my higher education learning in order acquire the missing skills. In addition, I need to learn how to solve problems fast by trying online quizzes and attending discussion forums in the university. The few negative skills I posses have the potential of affecting my higher education learning and eventually ruin my dream of acquiring the best job in my career.

Action plan

As discussed in the self-evaluation section above, I require taking serious action in order to acquire and improve on the academic skills and personal/professional skills missing.

Academic skills

Excelling in any learning institution requires a learner to have quality academic skills (Green, 2010). The figure below helps in guiding me on how to plan on how to acquire and improve the missing skills.
Figure 1: A representation of an action plan on academic skills

Professional/personal skills

According to Andrews & Russell (2012), the first step in planning a personal skill improvement plan is identifying personal strengths and weaknesses. An individual requires being actively involved in a life circle of self evaluation, reflection, and target setting. As discussed in section 2 above, I mentioned my strengths and weaknesses and I can now come up with an action plan. My worst weakness is the inability to make quick decisions, which has the capacity of making my employer lose hope in me. Presently, organizations are run by people who are swift in all operations because of the high rate of competition. As a person with well set goals and objectives of leading a big organization, I require to improve on my decision making skills in order to tackle issues presented by my employees. The best action plan to follow on this skill is registering for management classes where I will be attending during my free time. The lessons I will learn will assist me in managing both my personal and professional life by having quick decision making and fast problem solving skills.
3 assignments
Assignment #1: S. A. D (System analysis and Design)

Assignment #2: Visual programming final assignment

Assignment #3: CAN (Computer & Network architecture)
Action Plan:
The following assignment is very demanding and the lecturer requires it at the end of the course. The following action plan will be adopted:

Step 1: Write the assignment down clearly and accurately at the time it is given recording the following:

– Expectations
– Assignment details

Step 2: Estimate the amount of time needed to complete each assignment.

Step 3: Decide on the amount of time available for homework after class work each day
Step 4: give assignments with earliest deadline first priority
Step 5: Breakdown each homework time
Step 6: Stick with the schedule
Finally, I will conduct a self assessment to determine my ability to follow the proposed action plan. Appendix I shows skills action plan showing my strength, what I need to work on, and how I will measure my achievements. Appendix II is a Gantt chart representing the action plan on how to work on the assignments.

Applications

The application of the skills learned in this subject can be applied in any the following three topics.
In my part, I handled the topic on presentation skills
Presentation Skills
On this topic, the person presenting a topic needs to understand the main aim of presentation. A perfect presentation should inform, inspire, instruct and entertain viewers. The most important successful skill presented on this topic is communication skills. A person making any presentation must have quality communication skills. Effective communication allows flow of information and ideas from one person to another by use of gestures, smiles, and body movements (Worth, 2009). In addition, to make a good presentation one requires making notes of the important facts about the topic of discussion and memorizes them. Here the skill of memory keeping comes in. A university presentation must be brief and to the point. A person presenting a topic should be fully prepared to give proper explanation and answer any question that comes from the audience.

Lessons learned

Conclusion
The following discussion has given me an insight on how to become successful in life and achieve my goals. Firstly, I have gained more knowledge on requirements for a person to pursue higher education learning. The above skills and qualities will make me perform well in my university education and attain the grades I desired. Moreover, these skills will assist me when I acquire a place in a company because I will be in a position to please my employers with good professional skills.

References

Alkhazim, M. A. (2013). “ Higher Education in Saudi Arabia: Challenges, Solutions, and
Opportunities Missed”, Higher Education Policy, 16(4), 479-486.
Andrews, G., & Russell, M. (2012). “ Employability skills development: strategy, evaluation and
Impact”, Higher Education, Skills and Work-based Learning, 2(1), 33-44.
Burns, T., & Sinfield, S. (2012). Essential study skills: the complete guide to success at university (3rd ed.). Los Angeles: SAGE.
Chan, R., Brown, G. T., & Ludlow, L. (2014). What is the purpose of higher education? Philadelphia, PA: April 5, 2014.
Dill, D. and F. Van Vught (eds). (2010). National Innovation and the Academic Research
Enterprise; Public Policy in Global Perspective. Johns Hopkins University Press,
Baltimore.
Green, T. B. (2010). “ Back to School With a Plan of Action: Are You Ready?.” NASN School ,
25(5), 199-199.
OECD. (2012). Tertiary Education for the Knowledge Society. OECD Publishing, Paris.
Retrieved from:
www. oecd. org/edu/tertiary/review
Teichler, U. (2012). “ Higher Education and Employment: Changing Conditions For Diversified
Structures Of Higher Education,” Higher Education in Europe, 19(4), 51-59.
Worth, R. (2009). Communication skills (3rd ed.). New York: Ferguson.
Appendices
Appendix I: Skills Action Plan
Appendix II: sample action plan