Warwick Award help centre

The Warwick Award has been designed to help you showcase all of the skills you will build throughout your time here, and set you up for a fantastic start to life after graduation. By completing the Award you'll develop a range of core skills that employers have told us they want to see in new graduates, you'll learn how to reflect on those skills, and you'll build a bank of examples of how you've built those skills that you can use when applying for jobs.

The Warwick Award gives you the opportunity to develop vital skills that will improve your employability after graduation. The Award is open to all undergraduate and taught master’s programme students, and can be completed at a pace that suits you over the course of your degree. For undergraduates, it will appear on your Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) transcript, while postgraduates who complete the Award will be issued with a digital certificate signed by the Vice Chancellor.

The Award is based around 12 core employability skills that we’ve worked with a range of employers to identify as being crucial for your next steps after graduation. These skills are:

• Critical Thinking
• Problem Solving
• Self-Awareness
• Communication
• Teamwork
• Information Literacy
• Sustainability
• Ethical Values
• Digital Literacy
• Intercultural Awareness
• Organisational Awareness
• Professionalism

The Award recognises the transferable employability skills you will develop through completing academic modules, extra-curricular training courses and co-curricular activities you get involved with during your time at Warwick. It also highlights training and development opportunities so you can craft a range of skills to help set you up for a fantastic start to life after graduation. The Award can be personalised to allow you to choose activities based on your own interests and focus on the skills that matter the most to you and your future.

Find out more: watch the webinar

Want to know more? Watch this video recording of our webinar which gives an overview of the Warwick Award and the Gradintelligence platform:

Registration is easy to do via your Gradintelligence account.

Your official Gradintelligence account is created automatically for you shortly after you enrol on your course. You will have received an email from Gradintelligence to your University email address asking you to ‘activate’ your account. Once you have access to your Gradintelligence account you’ll easily be able to sign up to the Award.

If you experience any difficulties accessing the two-factor authentication code during your registration, please check your spam/junk mail folders. If that still does not resolve your problem then please email Gradintelligence's Helpdesk who will assist you directly.

First time using Gradintelligence at Warwick?

Activate your account using the link sent to your University email address (search Gradintelligence to find it). If you cannot find this, you can easily reset itLink opens in a new window.

Previously accessed your Higher Education Achievement Report or a digital Award Certificate?

Use the username and password for your account. If you need to reset it, you can do so via GradintelligenceLink opens in a new window.

Used Gradintelligence before at a different University?

If you have more than one Gradintelligence account you can ‘merge’ your accounts into one. Both accounts must be activated in order to merge them together.

Please follow the steps below to complete the merge:

1. Login to one of your accounts (this will become your primary account username and email address for all future access to Gradintelligence).
2. Click on ‘User Settings’, represented by a cog icon in the top right hand corner.
3. Under ‘General’ settings scroll down the page to a section titled ‘Merge Accounts’.
4. You will then be prompted to login to your second account. When you do so all your data will be merged into one account.
5. Once this process is completed you will be able to switch from one university to the other by selecting from a drop down menu in the banner at the top of your homepage.

If you experience any difficulties accessing the two-factor authentication code during your registration, please check your spam/junk mail folders in the first instance. If that still does not resolve your problem then please email Gradintelligence's Helpdesk who will assist you directly.

We recognise a broad range of University organised, student organised, or externally organised employability skills based activities, undertaken on/off campus where the 12 Core Employability Skills are developed.

Activities must include specific links to development of the 12 core skills and must include a reflective element to be eligible.

Activities usually need a significant length/depth of skills development to be eligible for the Award; usually this is a minimum of 5 hours in length, to be able to claim the minimum 1 Core Skills Point (CSP).

You can search the platform for all currently recognised activities that you are eligible for. If you have taken part in an activity of 5 hours or more that you think has developed employability skills please let us know. If you have undertaken a stand alone, one-off activity that you think has provided relevant skills development, you can use the ‘Make a Case for Recognition’ activity and we will assess its eligibility for CSP.

Alternatively, if it’s an activity lots of students have taken part in, let us know at Link opens in a new window and we can check if it meets the criteria and can be added to the Award.

We’ve designed the Award to be as broad and inclusive as possible. Sometimes there are activities that don’t meet our minimum requirements for inclusion. This is usually due to two things. First, there may be no way to verify how much time you spend on skills development in the experience, either because you have no evidence to provide or because there is no-one in an associated position of responsibility who can verify your involvement.

Second, the time spent on skills development in an experience might not be enough to be worth 1 Core Skills Point, which is normally worth around 5 hours of skills development. Anything under 5 hours long is likely to be excluded. There are some exceptions, such as our own Warwick Award induction pathway activities.

Core Skills Points (CSP) are awarded to each activity in the Warwick Award. The amount of CSP you can achieve from completing and reflecting on an activity depends on the length of activity and amount of skills development hours contained. 1 CSP equates to approximately 5 hours of skills development, however we also take into account the depth of skills development and quality of the reflection.

The CSPs you gain from activities accumulate. Once you gain a specific number of points (which varies per award stream), you will achieve a Warwick Award. You will be issued a Warwick accredited certificate and the award will display on your HEAR record.

You simply need to attend five (5) different events or activities that are included in the Warwick Award careers package - details of which are below - and then complete a reflection on what skills you've learnt on the Award platform.

You can earn a maximum of 1 Core Skills Point per academic year from careers activities.

We've split the different activities that count towards this package into four activity types: online activities, offline activities, employer events, and 1:1 activities. These types can then be further broken down into individual activities.

• Online activities: self-awareness Moodle course, ECareersGrad tool, Graduates First tool, cover letter and CV resources.
• Offline activities: overview workshops, practice workshops, assessment centre practice groups.
• Employer events: careers fairs, meeting with employers, networking events, meeting alumni.
• 1:1 activities: Cappfinity strengths, interview practice, discussing recorded interview or application tests.

Job search and initial careers support such as CV and cover letter checks, or help searching for work experience do not count because the appointments are too short and, on their own, their don't include enough skills development for the Warwick Award.

Some students are more deeply involved with out careers service - for example, writing blogs, creating vlogs, being part of an advisory group, offering mentoring, or various other careers advocacy or championing positions. These roles are likely to be considered as individual activities recognised by the Warwick Award - rather than as part of this package - and so will have their Core Skills Points value. Once these activities have been assessed and recognised on the Award, we will communicate directly to those students involved.

Finally, we've not included departmental events such as presentations, workshops, or in-module sessions as they are too varied from each other to be able to apply equally across all departments. Also, in the case of in-module sessions, they will also be recognised in the academic module part of the Award.

Please note, although also booked through myAdvantage, visa and immigration advice appointments are not part of the Warwick Award careers package.

We will work closely with the careers team to track attendance at events over the course of the year. Once you've attended the required number for this package, we will add it to your Warwick Award profile and you'll be prompted to complete a skills reflection to claim your Core Skills Point.

We have created a Self-Reflection toolkit. It explains what self-reflection and reflective practices are and offers some techniques you can use in your reflective practice. These should help you to answer our reflection questions effectively, as well as aid you in reflections for assessments, or following experiences where reflection is a valuable thing to do.

We suggest you spend the following time writing reflections:

• For 1-5 CSP activities, your reflections should take 5-10 minutes to answer the reflection questions.
• For 5-10 CSP activities, reflections should take 10-15 minutes.
• For 10-20 CSP activities, reflections should take 20 minutes.

On our Core Skills Framework, Self-Reflection, is the ability to perceive and evaluate your cognitive, emotional, and behavioural processes, and set actions for development. That means learning from experience and applying those lessons. Reflective practice is about turning self-reflection into an activity that can be carried out in a measured way, drawing on other Core Skills including Self Awareness and Critical Thinking, and contributing to your Professionalism as a key part of professional practice.

Reflection is valuable because it helps you learn from your experiences, learn about yourself in different situations and contexts, and draw conclusions about what you might do in similar future experiences.

Many of our reflection questions are designed to encourage you to write concise, positive examples of when you have used specific skills. These examples can then be reused for job applications and interviews. They will be saved on your Warwick Award profile for as long as you need them after you graduate.

This may depend on the activity, but usually you can do so once you have finished it or spent long enough doing it that you can give detailed examples of how you have practised and developed your skills during the experience.

In some cases, you might not be able to access the activity on Gradintelligence until you have completed it. In others, where you can register yourself for the activity, you can decide when to reflect and claim your points. For part-time work activities, for example, you might want to wait until you’ve done at least 100 hours because this will gain you the maximum possible 20 CSP. In some cases, like SSLC Representatives or Students Union executive roles, we expect you to wait until you’ve been in the role for two full terms.

We don’t want you to use ChatGPT or other online LLM-based tools to write your reflections. This is, very simply, because if you do this then you are not reflecting on your experiences. The whole process becomes pointless.

We don’t want you to write very much and it doesn’t have to be perfectly written. It just needs to be a reflection of your experiences: how you felt and what you learned or gained, from your point of view.

If we think you have not written your reflection yourself, we will ask you to do it again. Usually, the text produced by AI in response to our reflection questions seems superficially appropriate but does not meet our definition of ‘self-reflection’, and/or does not contain any specifics about the activity or the personal experience of it.

We suggest you spend the following time writing reflections:

• For 1-5 CSP activities, your reflections should take 5-10 minutes to answer the reflection questions.
• For 5-10 CSP activities, reflections should take 10-15 minutes.
• For 10-20 CSP activities, reflections should take 20 minutes.

It will take you longer to open your LLM tool of choice, enter our questions into it, read and refine the responses, or refine the outputs with more prompts, and then copy them into the reflection window, than it will to write it yourself.

You will find your accredited modules on your My Warwick Award page under ‘My Curriculum Award Activities’. This will list any modules you have completed that are recognised by the Award. You can also see the CSPs associated with each module. If you are unsure whether your module is recognised by the Award, you can search all recognised modules at the top of this page.

You will usually need to submit a short reflection on your skills development to claim the points for your accredited modules. These modules will be listed as ‘in progress’ under your curriculum activities and you will be prompted to ‘submit for Award recognition’. In some cases, you will already have reflected on your skills development as part of the module and your points will be automatically verified.

Developers read every reflection to check it meets the criteria. Some will require additional evidence to verify – refer to the activity instructions to check what you need to provide (verifications).

We cover a wide range of activities with specific criteria for verification which can affect the time taken for activities to be verified. We aim to have each activity verified as soon as possible. If you have questions about an individual activity contact us at skills@warwick.ac.ukLink opens in a new window. Note that during the summer break verification might take slightly longer because of staff annual leave.

There are many reasons why your activity may not have been verified such as insufficient evidence, missing reflection, or the skills developers may be waiting for external confirmation of your participation in the activity.

If you have individual queries about a specific activity, please get in touch with us at skills@warwick.ac.ukLink opens in a new window.

The Warwick Award Digital Certificates can be accessed via the Official Documents page from the Gradintelligence Homepage or the Student Wallet via the left-hand menu option. Please note that unlike your academic certificates, the Warwick Award certificate is only available in a digital format.

We've put together guidance on how to access your certificates and badges, as well as how to use them, on a separate page of this website.

Forage is a University of Warwick partner that works with hundreds of organisations and provides a digital work experience platform. With these virtual work experiences, you can complete real remote work experience placements with real companies. They’re a great way to learn about and try out entry-level positions in a range of organisations, as well as building skills too!

Find out more about Forage and virtual work experience: watch the webinar

You can claim points for serving on a student society executive here.

We require you to provide evidence that you held the executive committee or leadership role you are reflecting on, each time you submit to this activity. That evidence should be in the form of an email reference confirming you held the position and completed your duties, from either the current president of the society, or the societies executive team at the Students Union (at studentsactivities@warwicksu.com).

You can electronically share your official documents with any desired third party, such as future employers, through the Gradintelligence service. The procedure for sharing your document is as follows:

• Log into your accountLink opens in a new window.

• Access the ‘My Documents’ option from the homepage or your Wallet and click on the ‘Share’ icon of your chosen credential.

• Specify the details of your share request, enter the recipient’s information and email address, and click continue.

• On the next page, check your details are entered correctly, tick the box if you consent to your document being shared and click ‘Share Now’.

An e-mail, which includes a document access token, will be sent to the recipient’s email address so they can view your verified Warwick Award certificate.

You can include your Warwick Award in either the ‘experience’ or ‘education’ section of your CV. You should include the following details about the Award to assist the reader:

Name of the Award, the awarding body, and the year awarded.

Your award name will be one of the following and your awarding body is the University of Warwick – for example:

• Warwick Award (Gold) – minimum 300 hours of activity for undergraduate students.

• Warwick Award (Postgraduate) – minimum 100 hours of activity for master’s students.

It’s important to mention the number of hours of activity as this helps to convey the commitment that completing the Award required.

It's useful to briefly explain what you did to achieve the Warwick Award, such as ‘Awarded for volunteering, being a Departmental Student Representative, serving on the institutional teaching and learning review panels, and completing four extra online training courses’ or similar. 

You may wish to go into more detail about some of these aspects if they provide particularly strong evidence that you have demonstrated a skill which an employer is looking for.

You can access a wide range of resources to support you in writing a CV through our careers serviceLink opens in a new window. You can also book an Application Review AppointmentLink opens in a new window to help you write about your award in your CV.

Job interviews are another opportunity to sell yourself, and a great opportunity to discuss your Warwick Award accomplishments.

Select the skills development activities that you participated in that are most relevant to the specified job requirements to demonstrate your suitability for the role. Return to your portfolio of reflections and read through the evidence you have already produced through the Warwick Award to prepare, or expand or utilise these for interview examples.

You can find more information around how to prepare for interviews and create these stories via our Careers ServiceLink opens in a new window.

If you’d like to practise answering questions or talk with a member of the Careers Team about interviews, you can book a mock interview through the Careers Service's Guidance appointmentsLink opens in a new window. WBS students can access similar support via CareersPlus.

The Warwick Award requires you to reflect on and articulate how you’ve gained the Core Skills to gain Core Skills Points (CSP); an ability that is something employers ask through recruitment processes and staff professional development. Even if you do not achieve an Award, engaging in the Warwick Award programme at any level will provide you tangible evidence of skills development you can confidently share with employers.

Regardless of whether or not you have achieved an Award, every reflection you write is part of your portfolio of skills development evidence. Many reflections will even have requested that you share evidence within a structured framework (CARE/CAR/STARE), which are used in recruitment to help structure succinct responses.

You can access your reflections any time, even after you graduate and draw on these to support you when preparing for applications or interviews.

The HEAR is a fully verified, electronic document accessible via your Gradintel account that we issue to all undergraduate and postgraduate taught students. You can see it as a companion to your degree certificate, and it shows the full record of your Warwick experience – beyond just your academic studies.

Although its status changes to ‘final’ after your graduation, you can access your HEAR at any time from the second term in your first year with us, and continue to access it beyond graduation, for free, for as long as you need. This is so you can use it to identify any gaps in your skills – and address those gaps by working towards the Warwick Award – as well as help you secure internships and write applications for jobs.

Warwick Award Activities

The Warwick Award recognises a broad range of university organised and student organised/externally organised employability skills based activities, undertaken on/off campus where the 12 Core Employability Skills are developed.

Activities included must include specific links to development of the 12 core skills, and must include a reflective element to be eligible – sometimes this reflection is within the activity (eg academic modules or the Teamwork programme), other times an additional reflection will need to be completed to be validated and recognised for CSP.

HEAR (section 6.1: extra-curricular activities)

This section of the HEAR recognises various extra-curricular activities organised through Warwick, from ambassador roles to departmental prizes. These activities do not need to be tied to the employability core skills framework, unlike the Warwick Award. Undertaking a HEAR eligible activity itself, if eligible, will automatically be added to your HEAR. Students are not required to reflect on the activity or skills gained.

How do they relate to each other?

While some activities may be eligible for recognition through the Award and on your HEAR, not all HEAR eligible activities will be eligible for recognition through the Award, and not all Award eligible activities will be eligible to appear as a separate entry on your HEAR.

However, while your total CSPs achieved or individual activities completed through the award are not recorded on your HEAR, the achievement of a Warwick Award and the approximate hours of skills development associated with this award will appear on your HEAR automatically under section 6.1.

For more information on what activities are eligible for the Award, visit the 'What activities are recognised and why' question above. For more information on what activities are eligible for recognition through the HEAR, visit the HEAR webpagesLink opens in a new window.

The point of the HEAR is to capture everything you do at Warwick and therefore stand out from the crowd.

The power of your HEAR is in its detail; alongside being a place to officially record all of the extra-curricular activities you might be involved with and building skills from, it also offers much more depth to your academic achievements.

Instead of simply listing your subject and final classification – the information listed on your degree certificate – the HEAR incorporates the European Diploma Supplement and, as well as module marks, includes Warwick credits & ECTS credits, including assessments, such as timed examinations, presentations, and group work.

The HEAR is verified by our Academic Registrar and you can show it to potential employers so they can explore exactly what you might have to offer them.

The HEAR document consists of eight sections. After you graduate, your overall degree classification will also be clearly marked at the top of the document.

• Section 1: your name, date of birth, student number and HESA number.
• Section 2: the name of the qualification you’re studying for (displayed as ‘not yet awarded’ until you’ve graduated), the main fields of study, name of the awarding institution (that’s us) and the language in which your qualification was taught.
• Section 3: the level of the qualification linked to the relevant national qualifications framework. It also states the length of the programme and programme entry requirements or access.
• Section 4.1 includes the mode of attendance for each academic year you are here. When you are in attendance, this will show as “Full-time (or Part time) according to Funding Council definitions”. If you take a period of temporary withdrawal, this will be displayed as “Dormant previously full-time (or part time” for that academic year.
• Section 4.2 includes the programme requirements – it is the responsibility of the EPQ office to ensure this information is available, displayed and up-to-date.
• Section 4.3 starts with your programme’s start and end dates. This section then details all of the modules taken, agreed marks (including component assessment marks from 21/22 onwards), Warwick credits, ECTS credits and cumulative totals of each credit.
• Section 4.4 includes the grading scheme of degree classification (i.e. 1st class, 2:1 etc), although this isn’t a grading scheme for individual module marks.
• Section 4.5: until your degree is conferred and your HEAR is finalised, this will remain blank. Once your award is conferred and your HEAR is finalised, this will then display with their overall degree classification.
• Section 5: information on access to further study and professional status, if applicable.
• Section 6: additional information - this is where the HEAR comes into its own by including additional information to show a richer, verified picture of your achievement. That means a lot of your extra-curricular and other verified activities, such as the Warwick Award of course!
• Section 7: the date your qualification was awarded. Until your award is conferred and your HEAR is finalised, section 7.1 will display as “Not yet certified”. Once your award is conferred and your HEAR is finalised, this will then display with your conferral of award date. It will also include a signature from the individual official certifying the HEAR and the capacity of this individual. It also carries our official stamp or seal, which authenticates your HEAR. It’s worth noting that your HEAR is only officially verified in its digital form, not printed out.
• Section 8: a description of the relevant national HE system.

A full list of activities that are – and are not – accredited by the HEAR at Warwick can be found towards the bottom of the HEAR webpage.

If you are an undergraduate, the Warwick Award will appear on your HEAR.

As well being an incredibly useful tool for life after graduation, you can access your HEAR via your Gradintel account from the second term in your first year onwards. You can keep using it throughout your time here, and after graduation you can access it any time, for free, in perpetuity.

Some examples of how you might use your HEAR during your time as a student include:

• To support your engagement in opportunities beyond just your academic curriculum.
• As an aide memoire for when you’re making applications that may be needed before you graduate, e.g. for sandwich placements and internships; permanent employment; further study or training opportunities.

Head to the HEAR's web pages.