The Living CV project: a model of collaborative learning in third space

Abstract

The Living CV project is a collaborative initiative launched at a south coast university in the UK, which aims to help students develop their employability skills and evidence their learning outcomes. The project is delivered university-wide from a third space hub, where people from different disciplines and backgrounds come together to work on shared goals. It has therefore provided a way for colleagues across the university to collaborate within third space. In this study we focus on the role of the departmental Living CV Champions and their pivotal role in driving forward this third space project. These champions are situated across the university – in academic departments, in the university’s central Learning and Teaching service and in its career service – but all are working across boundaries and drawing collaborators into the third space of the project. We suggest that the Living CV Champions are also collaboration champions for the institution, in the way in which they support the development of staff networks and knowledge sharing, and therefore the collaborative capital of the institution as a whole. We find that third space projects such as the Living CV can contribute to the development of collaborative capital, act as a gateway for staff to wider communities of practice and build confidence for those engaged in them. In this case study we illustrate one route to achieving this, through a champions model which breaks down traditional academic silos and encourages wider collaboration.