Abstract

Improving graduate outcomes in creative education requires collective reflection across curriculum, student support, data, and the realities of creative career pathways. This participatory workshop invites staff to explore how universities can better support positive and sustainable graduate outcomes for creative students. Building on Graduate Outcomes insights, participants will reflect on gaps in knowledge, barriers faced by graduates, and opportunities for change across curriculum and support provision. Through facilitated discussion and group activities, the session will generate practical ideas around employability, student trajectories, creative career sustainability, and institutional practice, encouraging collaboration between academic and professional services staff across UAL.

Session and activities

This session is the second of two linked sessions exploring Graduate Outcomes (GO) and creative education at UAL. While the first session introduces Graduate Outcomes, TEF, sector context, and UAL dashboards, this workshop shifts focus towards reflection, discussion, and practical exploration of how we can collectively support better graduate outcomes for creative students.

Creative graduates often navigate complex and non-linear career pathways that may include freelance work, portfolio careers, self-employment, further study, periods of instability, and evolving professional identities. These realities can challenge traditional definitions of graduate success and raise important questions about what students need from curriculum, support services, industry engagement, and institutional structures.

Building on insights from Graduate Outcomes data and participant experiences, this interactive workshop will invite attendees to explore key questions including:

• What do we currently know and not know about our graduates’ trajectories and experiences?
• What barriers or tensions exist for creative graduates in achieving sustainable careers?
• How might curriculum, pedagogy, industry engagement, or student support evolve to better enable positive graduate outcomes?
• How can Careers & Employability services and academic teams work more collaboratively?
• What would encourage graduates to engage more meaningfully with Graduate Outcomes surveys and institutional feedback processes?

The session will use facilitated group discussion and collaborative activities to encourage reflection, knowledge sharing, and practical idea generation across disciplines and professional contexts. Participants will have opportunities to share challenges, identify areas for development, and contribute perspectives on how UAL can better understand and support graduate success within the creative industries.

The workshop is aimed at academic, technical, and professional services staff interested in employability, curriculum enhancement, student experience, and graduate futures.