University Report: Personal Development Plan and Academic Skills

This report, prepared by a student, delves into the concept of personal and professional development, emphasizing the significance of goal setting and planning. It explores the value of short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals, providing personal examples for each. The report also discusses the importance of a Personal Development Plan (PDP) and includes a constructed example based on the student's identified goals. The content covers the definition of personal and professional development, the advantages of setting various types of goals, and the practical application of a PDP to enhance academic and career prospects. The report highlights how a PDP can guide individuals in making informed decisions, improving skills, and achieving long-term success in their chosen fields. The report also provides a clear understanding of how to create an effective PDP to improve skills and achieve goals in both academic and professional contexts, highlighting the importance of planning and dedication.

ACADEMIC SKILLS AND PDP

Contents
1. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................3
2. Define the concept of personal and professional development............................................3
3. Describe and discuss the value of short-term goals, identifying at least three personal
examples......................................................................................................................................4
4. Describe and discuss the value of medium-term goals, identifying at least three personal
examples......................................................................................................................................4
5. Describe and discuss the value of long-term goals, identifying at least three personal
examples......................................................................................................................................5
6. Describe and discuss the value of a Personal Development Plan and construct an example
using your identified goals...........................................................................................................6
7. CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

1. INTRODUCTION
Personal development planning is the process of creating an action plan based on
awareness, values, reflection, goal-setting and planning for personal development within the
context of a career, education, relationship or for self-improvement. This report contains
information such as concept behind the plan and development. Assessing the value of short term,
medium term and long term goals and the value of development plan with reflection (Mulherin,
Walter and Cox, 2018).
2. Define the concept of personal and professional development
The concept of personal as well as professional development stands for helping the
character of an individual as well as the company so that they can set goals in life and find a way
to achieve them. This form of development is beneficial for both the company as well as the
individual. The plan for the development involves thinking and planning for the career. This is
done in order to look for the talents and skills individual possess so that he or she can pass up
with better academics and in future may help the company to come up with a better strategy.
This plan also focuses on improving the skills and attributes that an individual possess so that
they can excel in their life by presenting those skills (Sallati, de Andrade Bertazzi and Schützer,
2019). There are different types of skills that can help them determine their path to their career
and setting up their goals. Even if there are a group of individuals in a company and all are
skilled but it is important to determine that in which areas they can be the most viable for the
company. The skills possessed by the individual can be either influencing, managing or to
inspire. In order to work towards a personal as well as professional development they need to
have skills of delegation as then only they will be successful. The concept of this plan helps an
individual to become a better student, leader, employee or colleague. This is done by the
individual by figuring out the ways through which they can evolve. This plan is considered to be
useful in many areas but mostly people dealing in the technical areas consider it. This plan if
done with the right skills and attributes can open huge amount of opportunities in the career or
college life of an individual and also they will have insights and prepared knowledge to work on
removing the challenges in their path so that they can reduce the flow of disruption (Pérez
Cavana and Lowe, 2018).

3. Describe and discuss the value of short-term goals, identifying at least three personal
examples
A short term goal is that goal which is supposed to be completed soon. The value of these
goals are determined to be high because they are considered and helped to claim chances that are
big. The focus of these goals is on doing something in near future which can be either today or in
a month. The value of this goal is high because it helps to finish up a goal in less amount of time.
Short term goals help an individual to manage their time. Many of them do not give them much
importance as they believe that they are for a short span of time but instead they help an
individual to look and focus on achievements that can make their career. For instance I needed to
decide and look for college which sounds and looks like a short term goal but instead my whole
career and future depended on it. In order to avoid any opportunity which could have changed
my or the future of any other individual at this stage would have been threatening and that is why
students consults with their teachers or mentors about this issue in order to seek guidance from
them and make the right decision. Another example is that after college applying for a job which
suits my skills and attributes is important. Applying for a job categorizes in short term goal but is
very vast which links it with long term goals. If individual applies for a wrong position his
performance will be not impressive which will result on the growth they will make on their
career. There are very short things that individuals needs to keep in mind such as be office on
time everyday so that it helps in making good impression in the company and helps an individual
to get a promotion or higher position easily. These short term goals help and individual get the
benefit of attaining long term success in their academics and career (McGill, Heikkila and
Lazarowicz, 2020).
4. Describe and discuss the value of medium-term goals, identifying at least three personal
examples.
This goal is nothing but a goal that takes a bit more time than small term goals. The
duration for this form of goal can be different such as in the period of 2 weeks or maybe in
months. Taking personal situations as examples If I categorize completing studying in medium
term goal then I guess it will be completed when I will be able to get around 75 per cent in my
mid term exams. Another example for this form of goal is that I will increase the range of
running from 5 km to 10km in order to make it a medium term goal. Other example suitable for
this goal is that I will increase the per cent of savings I make.

It is important for the individual to understand that in order to reach long term goals one
needs to take baby steps and those steps categorizes under short and medium term goals. If
individual does not focus on these goals then they won’t be able to make it to long term goals.
This is why personal as well as professional plan is important so that they can rule out the things
that are important for them. Usually these goals start when people has completed their college
and got a job with a secure tenure. This position involves an individual planning for a house or
making other progress in personal life as well. For instance working for their own start up or
going on a trip or paying off all loans. It is necessary for the individual to consider what needs to
be done first and starts preparing for it. This way they will be able to achieve their goals and
objectives (Makiya, 2018).
5. Describe and discuss the value of long-term goals, identifying at least three personal
examples
Long term goals focus on attaining things or doings in order to shape the future of
individual. They are considered as the most important goals because one mistake can affect or
make a huge impact on their career. Although in order to attain these goals individual has to be
patient if he or she attempts or make (Sasson and Miedijensky, 2020) a move before analyzing
thoroughly it can make an impact on their future. This is why being patient is important so that
one can be successful enough in achieving a long term goal. It may take several years of time to
achieve it. For instance for a student the long term goal is to prepare for their exams and finish
off their school and college which takes many years. One needs to understand the importance of
long term goals and make the right decision so that they can attain these goals. Also it is
necessary to give equal importance to short and medium term goals as they make the path in
achieving the goals that are of long term. It is important for the individual to understand long
term goals because only these goals will help them to get better education, better career and more
growth. Another example for this is that when individual will complete his studies he will have
to look for a job and before that it would be better if he has some experience of work which can
be earned by being an intern in a company. This is a long term subject as getting promotion is
not easy it is done on the basis of experience an individual have which will be done in a long
period of time. Another example for this is that people will advance their career with the help of
education and obtaining more knowledge and that can be done only with time by serving
attention for long (Gamble and et.al., 2020).

6. Describe and discuss the value of a Personal Development Plan and construct an example
using your identified goals
Personal development plan is important and valuable for everyone as it helps them to
plan for choosing the right things and prepare for it. It helps them to make improvement in their
current skills and position through which they can improve their position be it in sports,
academics or their job. This way most (Wailey and Sambade) of the people stay motivated and
positive for their work. It is because of the personal development plan that most of the people are
able to set up their aim in life and work towards achieving it. With the help of this plan people
stay dedicated, enthusiastic and they keep on being consistent in planning and learning new
things. This will even create a good impression on others as they will see the determination and
dedication of an individual. It is important for the individual to make things clear and set up their
priorities in life. For instance I made my vision clear. I wanted to be successful in the field of
marketing and that is why I chose MBA as an option to clear and make my insights better. This
was also done so that I can train by some of the best teachers who have much experience that
will help me to get better in my field. But there were many other skills which I had to improve
such as my presentation skills, time management skills and leadership skills which I needed to
improve and for that I took classes so that I can make them better because I knew the importance
of it and how much they will impact on my career. This is why with time I started submitting
projects and completed practical courses which helped me to improve my qualities in which I
was weak. This also helped me to improve my confidence which helped me a lot in many areas.
After this when I applied for job I was selected in first round of interview and it is because I
prepared myself thoroughly and seek guidance from my teachers. I believe it was all because of
personal development plan that I was able to do it. None the less I started my work and as a
marketer I helped my company to promote their products with better ideas and schemes which
helped them to improve their sales and made me get a promotion. This is the level of dedication
and insight one must know if they want to plan for their career as well as future related goals.
7. CONCLUSION
From the above studies it has been concluded that it is important to understand the value of
personal as well as professional development plan as this helps individual to assess the steps that
are required in different form of goals. Be it short, medium or long term goals it is important for

the people to understand their value and treat them as equal because if one is not planned and
achieved successfully then they won’t be able to go to the next form of goal and achieve success
in the market.

REFERENCES
Books and Journal
Gamble, S.C., and et.al., 2020. Students as co-authors of an academic development service: A
case study of the Study Skills service at the University of Bristol. New Review of Academic
Librarianship, (just-accepted), pp.1-12.
Makiya, A.A., 2018. Professional development programs for improving in-service secondary
school teachers' pedagogical skills in Tanzania: a case of Ilemela district council (Doctoral
dissertation, The University of Dodoma).
McGill, C.M., Heikkila, M. and Lazarowicz, T., 2020. Professional development, performance
expectations and academic advisors’ perceptions of relational skills: a sequential
explanatory mixed methods study. New Horizons in Adult Education and Human Resource
Development, 32(4), pp.50-69.
Mulherin, K., Walter, S. and Cox, C.D., 2018. National preceptor development program (PDP):
influential evidence and theory. The first of a 3-part series. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching
and Learning, 10(3), pp.255-266.
Pérez Cavana, M.L. and Lowe, S., 2018. More than a tool: integrating the ‘teacher voice’into an
ePortfolio using the Three-layered PDP model. The International Journal for Recording,
Achievement, Planning and Portfolios (RAPPORT), 3(1), pp.24-40.
Sallati, C., de Andrade Bertazzi, J. and Schützer, K., 2019. Professional skills in the Product
Development Process: the contribution of learning environments to professional skills in the
Industry 4.0 scenario. Procedia CIRP, 84, pp.203-208.
Sasson, I. and Miedijensky, S., 2020. Transfer skills in teacher training programs: the question of
assessment. Professional Development in Education, pp.1-38.
Wailey, T. and Sambade, S., Text. and. image. to. access. employability.