Law finalist Ruth Mukasa has successfully completed the Warwick Skills Portfolio Award (WSPA) this year.

The WSPA scheme helps students to enhance their study skills and develop other skills that are not only valued by employers but also useful more broadly for students in their personal lives whilst studying at Warwick.

Jane Bryan who acts as the Law School WSPA coach, providing one to one feedback on the reflections of those students taking part told us, “WSPA is really useful and can all be done online at your own pace. It will help our students to see all the other opportunities available to them at Warwick beyond the Law School. I couldn’t recommend it enough.”

Ruth who is studying on our three year Law with Social Sciences degree decided to complete the award because she was looking for a program that would help her develop academically, but also professionally. The Warwick Skills Portfolio Award offered both, but also development in all areas of her life due to the diverse range of webinars and skills sessions offered.

She told us, “I would definitely recommend the Warwick Skills Portfolio Award to other students because the skills learnt from the programme can be applied to all areas of your life.

I understand that students can be quite busy and constantly on the move but WSPA is the perfect extra-curricular for this as it does not require too much time or work to complete. Yet there are multiple benefits to completing the programme. The award looks great on your CV, as it suggests a well-rounded candidate and the sense of achievement you feel after completing the programme is worth it. When you compare who you were before starting the programme to who you are and what you've learnt after it, you will be so proud of yourself.”

We asked Ruth a few questions to see what the WSPA is all about and how it will help students.

What did you like most about the WSPA?

My favourite part was the continuous reflections after the skills sessions. At first, I did find them quite annoying but then I realised the reflections helped me remain consistent in applying the lessons I learnt. Because of this I apply continuous reflection in all areas of my life and have become a lot more productive because of it. My WSPA coach Jane was also very supportive and helpful, and I realised that this helped me remain accountable.

What does it involve?

Completing the WSPA is very simple, which is one of the main reasons why I attended the program. You need to attend three skills sessions offered by the WSPA or any other programs that are recognised by WSPA and fill out 3 reflections for each skills session with 1-2 weeks in between. You will be assigned a WSPA coach to provide feedback on the reflections and ensure you're on track. Once those have been completed, there is a final reflection and once that has been approved by the WSPA coach, then the certificate is awarded.

How do you think it will help you in the future?

I am grateful for the lessons learnt from each skills session and the reflections completed for them, but for me the most important skill WSPA has helped me with is accountability. The reflections have taught me to constantly reflect on what I'm doing to see how I can work towards continuous improvement. That's not to say the skills sessions I attended didn't teach me anything valuable as I still apply the lessons I learnt from skills sessions daily. Overall, I think WSPA has helped me to become a more productive person, and I will carry on the skills of constant reflection and improvement, as well as the lessons learnt from the skills sessions in the future.

WSPA is still running and there are plenty of online workshops still available to help students gain this HEAR accredited recognition. Find out more about the scheme and get started: https://warwick.ac.uk/services/skills/awards/wspa/