It’s a common challenge for international students – you achieve a place at a UK or US university, only to arrive and find that you need to develop a whole new set of academic skills.
But what are those skills, exactly? INTO’s Lisa Crowhurst talks you through six of the main ones…
Lisa says: If you want to do well at a UK or US university, you’ll need a “toolbox” of academic skills. These will help you to get the most out of your classes and perform well in assignments – they’ll also be useful in your future career! Here are my top six:
1. Group discussion skills
At UK and US universities, you’ll be expected to contribute to group discussions in seminars and tutorials. So it’s important that you develop skills in speaking, listening, presenting ideas, and engaging with different viewpoints.
Career relevancy: By developing your group discussion skills, you’ll be more confident in professional meetings. You’ll know how to make your views heard while still respecting your colleagues’ opinions.
2. Critical thinking skills
Critical thinking is about developing your own opinions based on the facts presented. It’s about identifying an author’s purpose, considering the evidence, and reflecting on different perspectives.
Career relevancy: Critical thinking skills are very useful in the workplace. They can help you to make good decisions by evaluating information fairly and objectively.
3. Independent study skills
Independent study skills are about being able to organise, structure and manage your workload without supervision.
Career relevancy: Employers tend to value people who are able to work independently and manage their own time.
4. Teamwork skills
Team assignments are common in UK or US degree programmes. This is because working as part of a team helps you to develop your skills in communication, collaboration and cooperation.
Career relevancy: Most careers involve some form of teamwork or collaboration, so it’s important that you know how to work well with others.
5. Academic writing skills
Academic writing skills include analysing tasks, doing research, structuring ideas, presenting arguments, expressing yourself effectively, and avoiding plagiarism.
Career relevancy: When writing professional reports, it’s important that you’re able to present your ideas in a clear, structured way.
6. Referencing skills
Good referencing is about acknowledging your sources in a recognised academic style. It’s a key part of most assignments.
Career relevancy: Again, referencing is a useful skill to have when writing professional reports.
So, if you can develop these skills at university, you’ll find that they’ll be true assets in your future career too.
On INTO courses, you can learn the skills listed above and more. Find out about studying in the UK or US with INTO Higher.
Have you dropped by to chat to us on Facebook yet? We love it when you say “hello”!
About Deborah Martin
Hi, I’m Deborah and I’m Assistant Social Media Manager at INTO. I’m based in our Brighton HQ, where I look after our blog, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. I’ve lived in Thailand and Canada, and have travelled round the USA and South East Asia, so I enjoy writing for international audiences. I also like books, monkeys, ice cream, sparkly things and surprises.
