UOC skills are cross-disciplinary, transferable skills that are included in all of the University's courses and that constitute a defining element of every UOC graduate.
The differentiating trait expressed by the UOC skills are connected and consistent with the very nature of the institution and the unique nature of the traits that characterize it: the distinctive profile of the students (an adult student with work and family responsibilities) and the specific nature of the methodological model, in a Catalan distance university open to the whole world, with intensive use of ICT.
Consequently, the skills that the UOC defines as its own are distilled in the following points:
Use and application of ICT in the academic and professional sphere
This skill comprises the rational and critical use of ICT to work and study in the information society, fostering a networking methodology. It includes a series of skills that the student will steadily acquire and develop over the bachelor's degree course.
- Search for and find information on the web
- Treat and produce digital information
- Present and disseminate digital information
- Acquire web communication strategies
- Master basic digital technology skills
- Plan and manage a virtual project
- Acquire a civic digital attitude
- Acquire Net-based teamwork skills
Communication in a foreign language
Communicative skill in a foreign language becomes key in a global and multicultural environment, both in terms of human relations and international competitiveness in information, innovation and knowledge. On UOC programmes, this skill is distilled into the following abilities:
- Understand a foreign language, written and spoken, in relation to common situations in everyday life.
- Write simply and coherently in a foreign language on matters of personal interest.
- Describe experiences and events in a foreign language and give brief reasons and explanations about plans and opinions.
- Read and understand academic, professional and general texts in a foreign language without having to resort constantly to a dictionary or grammar book.
- Write short texts in a foreign language, such as emails, notes, short documents, without having to resort constantly to a dictionary or grammar book.
- Understand a foreign language when it is spoken in a variety of situations.
- Converse in a foreign language with adequate accuracy and spontaneity to ensure fluid communication, especially in academic and professional environments.
Entrepreneurial initiative
Entrepreneurial initiative is the ability to identify and exploit an opportunity, committing the necessary resources and assuming the risk it entails with the aim of carrying out a viable and sustainable project for oneself or as part of an organization.
This skill is acquired on UOC programmes, at different levels.
- Awareness of entrepreneurial initiative and spirit in all areas of working life.
- Knowledge of the elements covered in a business plan and use of the necessary tools to be able to carry it out successfully.
- Development of a business plan for a new organization (profit- or non-profit-making) or for a new activity in an existing business.
Written expression
Written expression is the perfect integrating skill, as it brings together in a single set of activities the main cognitive processes involved in an academic and professional context, from information management to putting forward an argument. We see writing as a process, not solely as a product, so we do not limit the development of this skill to grammatical correctness and formal and presentational aspects, but we see it as the locus where the student brings into play, in a concerted way, their creativity, their information search and management skills, their critical and analytical thought, their ability to put forward an argument and their understanding of academic content, without forgetting their time organization and management skills.
Written expression for academic and professional life encompasses a series of skills:
- Using writing in an exploratory way to understand problems and questions and to formulate questions and hypotheses.
- Using language, terminology and the expressive styles of the discipline correctly.
- Using writing to reflect on the learning process, in different formats (portfolios, emails, diaries, etc.) and using various tools (wikis, blogs, etc.).
- Understanding and recognizing the various phases of the writing process and making productive and creative use of each of these phases.
- Editing one's own texts to improve expression and understanding the importance of editing and rewriting in an academic context.
- Integrating citations of texts by others in one's own argument, quoting the bibliographical sources used, and making correct use of the established bibliographical conventions.
- Giving a written argument of complex ideas clearly, coherently and persuasively, being aware of the type of recipient (specialist or non-specialist).
- Producing written texts corresponding to the principal genres of the discipline and structuring them adequately to the conventions of each genre and the purpose of the text.
- Producing texts with correct spelling and grammar in which the register is in keeping with the situation and the purpose.
This skill is attained at the UOC through a triple strategy, which each bachelor's degree course adopts in full or in part depending on its needs: (1) subjects in which contents and written expression are worked on in an integrated way; (2) instrumental writing subjects geared towards each discipline; (3) inclusion of activities in various subjects.