Regional Business Adviser
Channel: Centre for Academic Development, University of Aberdeen
Date: 2013-06-10

Dawn Shand discusses her views on the University of Aberdeen's Graduate Attributes. As a Regional Business Adviser with the Scottish Institute for Enterprise, she considers critical thinking and effective communication to be especially important for students setting up their own businesses.  She describes how developing these and other skills involved in enterprise and entrepreneurship can transfer into other areas of work.


University of Aberdeen's Graduate Attributes:
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/graduateattributes/

Bringing Graduate Attributes to Life:
https://www.abdn.ac.uk/bgatl/


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Transcript:
My name is Dawn Shand and I'm the Regional Business Adviser with SIE, that's the Scottish Institute for Enterprise.  SIE exists to help university students, specifically in Scotland, to set up in business. 
Actually, the students that I see are able to demonstrate in abundance those attributes which are largely grouped under critical thinking and effective communication, and they draw on the other areas too.  But it's this ability to problem solve, to analyse a situation, to identify opportunities along the way, and then start to make it happen, and communicate that to whoever you need to communicate that to.  To my mind, the students with those attributes are the ones who are going to find it easier to develop a business idea. Whether or not they develop that business idea in the longer term, it is my belief that they are the leaders of the future if they go into the world of employment.
If you're looking to develop a business, you can't be good at everything that is required to get that business up and running.  But what it allows you to do is to confront what you can do, and you may be pleasantly surprised, and things that you maybe aren't so good at.  And what we say to them is, you know, confront that, identify it, deal with it.  If for instance, you're really not comfortable with finance and accounting and so on, well, find somebody that can help with that side of your business.  And I think that in itself helps them identify and develop the transferable skills that they may have in the world of employment as well.
The world of enterprise, entrepreneurship, setting up in business and so on, is not so desperately different from the skills that you require in the world of employment. And I think students would be in a better place if they realised that.  I certainly see it with the students who do develop business ideas; they are more employable because they have so much more to evidence at interview situation.  They stand out from the crowd.
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The views and opinions expressed in this video are those of the persons appearing in the video and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the organization represented.