February 11, 2025, by brzha1

Get the most out of your year abroad with the NAA

By Amy Groves, undergraduate English and French student

I’m Amy, a third-year undergraduate student in English and French, currently doing a year abroad in Toulouse.

While in France, I have had a lot of free time to explore the country and immerse myself in the French language. However, I wanted to do something alongside my placement that would make me stand out to employers when it came to graduating and job searching. I started to think of what options there might be at the university – perhaps there was something online that I could do?

The Nottingham Advantage Award (NAA), is a scheme that both undergraduate and postgraduate UoN students can get involved in, essentially by picking up extra modules of their choice to develop transferable skills and in turn, their employability. And you don’t just have to do it in person; it can also be done online.

Before going abroad

I took my first NAA module, French Language Conversation Exchange, in my second year to improve my speaking skills before starting my year in France. Each UoN student was paired with a student from Université de Pau and would do weekly calls during which 30 minutes would be spent speaking English and 30 minutes speaking French.

This was highly beneficial in preparing me for my year abroad, giving me confidence for communicating with native French speakers. It also helped to develop a positive mindset so that making grammar mistakes did not reduce my self-esteem.

When I went to France

When I started my year abroad, I decided to take another NAA module called, A Window on the World: An Intercultural Journey from the Local to the Global. As a module on cultural awareness, it fitted perfectly alongside my placement in a foreign country and allowed me to reflect on the cross-cultural connections that I was strengthening.

The last NAA module that I participated in, Transitioning into the Workplace and Embracing Change, focused on developing an understanding of how the workplace functions. This allowed me to start actively thinking about my future career, considering not only my strengths and how I can make use of them, yet also my areas of improvement.

What did I learn?

Each module I took allowed me to develop transferable skills – organisation, time management and self-reflection to name a few – that will benefit me when I begin looking for work after my degree. I would highly recommend the NAA for students looking for something to make them a more employable candidate for graduate jobs.

How to choose your modules

Think about whether you want to do something that complements your degree and the skills you are developing, or whether you want to learn something entirely new.

Each module is described in detail online, with information on what each module entails as well as the skills you will develop, the term it takes place in and the method of delivery for the module (online or in-person).

In my case, I knew that I wanted to participate in modules that would strengthen skills I was already developing through my degree and which would prepare me for my placements in France. Therefore, language-related topics that focused on boosting communication were perfect choices for me.

Most importantly, make sure to choose a module that interests you – this is your chance to do something either related to your studies or far from it, so take your pick!

If you’d like to discover more about the Nottingham Advantage Award and the different modules on offer, take a look at our module catalogue to search and apply. If you have any questions, we’ll be happy to help!

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Google+
• Share on LinkedIn