It is well said that ‘the university experience is not just about subject knowledge, but also about developing skills that will equip you for your future life’. In order to develop these skills your participation as a student is a must. Both within the curriculum, in the context of your subject, and through extra-curricular activities and events you'll develop these skills .
Developing life skills at the university is not about just employability but more about developing a holistic student experience and also about making the most of your time at the university. Developing life skills needed to be involved in university life and feeling a sense of belonging within the university community will equip you for your lifelong personal and career journey
At university during your studies you will meet a variety of people, make new friends and learn to get along with people of different backgrounds. Without proper people skills it is impossible to graduate from university. During your course you will also interact with lecturers, tutors and university staff almost daily. The things that will help you develop proper people skills is by making the most of freshers week, joining a club or society at the university. These are some of the easy ways to quickly acquire skills in this area. At the university when you live a dorm life you will have to live with flatmates or housemates. Living with new people you have never met before you can learn a lot about bonding where you will learn to tolerate and compromise with other people. This alone will provide you with a wealth of people and social skills.
Living on your own, at the university, it could be your first time living away from home. It may be your first time that you have had to take responsibility for yourself and your own schedule. Getting used to this new lifestyle can pose a bit of a challenge. With no parents to wake you up or insist you to get out of bed; you will have to create your own schedule so that you can attend lectures and seminars on time at the university. Assuming that responsibility is another life lesson that university will teach you.
For anything and everything you will have to inculcate a ‘get up and go’ attitude. Since there is no one to monitor you, you will have a lot of university that is self directed, that is you will have to plan and organize your work all by yourself. You will have to pick up on management skills to juggle multiple projects and also manage deadlines, revising for exams and more. Along with academics you will have to find time for social engagements to maintain a proper balance at the university. For the first timers, self leadership can be quite tough, but as you progress through the years, things will start falling automatically into place and you will be gaining useful skills that you will take with you all the way through your working life.
This will be the biggest life skill you will learn at the university i.e to take care of yourself! It is about self-sufficiency, as a student living away from home you will have to take care of yourself, learn to cook, clean and do your own laundry. Along with domestic chores you will also have to learn to get around on your own and also learn to fund your new lifestyle. University life offers a unique opportunity to be independent. For some this can be difficult and need time to adjust while some take to it well.
Facing a number of hurdles is part and parcel of student life when at university. You will be facing academic, work related or personal hurdles as a student. Simple things like struggling with money, getting lower than expected marks can be your personal hurdle that you will have to overcome on your own. Resourcefulness and resilience are two excellent qualities that university life teaches you. Both of these qualities are valued highly by employers.
Concluding life at university, it provides many opportunities for you to work on and boost your self confidence. Things like working in groups, complete work placement and internship, host presentation etc. The social side of university life helps to bring you out of your shell and develop inner confidence more effectively.
