Co-Creation in Higher Education: a Pedagogic Approach for Developing Employability Skills

Abstract

This paper critically reflects on a student–staff co-creation initiative to enhance employability in the BSc (Hons) Public Health programme at the University of Greenwich. Held once annually in both 2024 and 2025 (and, now, from 2026, twice-yearly), the ‘Employability Gala’ is an extra-curricular event taking the form of an online webinar, with guest speakers from the public health sector. This study deals with the 2024 and 2025 galas, when fourteen undergraduate public health students and six members of staff were involved across both events. The primary purpose of the gala is to broaden students’ perspectives of the range of possible pathways and roles within public health. Implementing a co-creation approach to deliver each gala also seeks to support students’ professional skills development and enhance career readiness. Collaborating with students and industry professionals to co-design and co-deliver aspects of the curriculum supports the University’s strategy to create an inclusive and collaborative learning experience that develops competent and capable professionals.Adopting an autoethnographic approach, this paper reflects the lived experiences of two staff members and two students who participated in the 2024 and 2025 galas.