One of the core priority amongst the educators in Skyline University Nigeria (SUN) is largely to support students’ academic and career success through strategic planning. Given that academic works are ever-increasing, undergraduates will need to set goals and decide what actions need to be taken to achieve those goals. They will need to put a system in place to determine their overall academic mission and to decide ahead of time, what they would like to accomplish throughout their study period and beyond.
Imagine graduating from university and got a job in a creative firm. Your boss comes in and ask you to prepare a strategic plan and you have no idea on how to get started. No knowledge of how to create a strategic plan. You are likely to do a lousy job on the assignment. For an effective and efficient plan, you need a system in place to help you achieve the end result. This process is continuous and cyclical and can be achieved with discipline and focus to stay on track while enjoying the journey and learning from it.Â
Having a good strategy dictates how you travel the road you’ve selected along your chosen discipline, while effectively making sure that you’re checking in along the way as you execute them. Strategic planning takes a critical, unbiased look at what has worked before and what hasn’t. From daily routine to weekly, to monthly and then for the semester. Constant practice will teach you how you can develop your skills for a later time in your career and avoid pitfalls like neglecting specific needs.
While the component of a business strategic plan may come in many sizes, they all contain a mission statement, vision statement, value statement or guiding principles, SWOT analysis, competitors’ analysis, strategies, action plans, etc. A students strategic plan should be simple and explicit showing how fully prepared you are for the task ahead. All it takes is making that solid schedule and having a full understanding of what’s expected of you. The basic components should comprise.
- Plan what you’re going to do for the entire semester and break it down in categories (if it isn’t already explicit).
- Estimate roughly how long it will take to complete (and leave room for extra time just in case).
- Schedule when you’re going to do it and engage with your learning.
- Set aside specific times to do homework and build a relationship with lecturers.
- Eliminate time-wasting activities and managing relationships with course mates.