Cross-Cutting Theme

Personal Development Plan

Cross-Cutting Reflection  ·  MSc Computer Science (Conversion)  ·  Author: Orville Fernandes

A self-assessed confidence and self-awareness exercise completed at the start and end of the programme. A lower total score indicates greater confidence and self-awareness – the maximum of 100 would mean strongly disagreeing with every positive statement.

Start of Course

42

End of Course

16

Full Comparison

Show full comparison table 17 of 25 items improved
Scoring key: 0 – Strongly Agree 1 – Agree 2 – Sort of Agree 3 – Disagree 4 – Strongly Disagree Green = improvement
# PDP Planning Statement Start End +/−
1I am certain that I can keep myself motivated towards achieving my degree qualification for as long as it takes.Strongly AgreeStrongly Agree=
2I am very clear what my goals are for the next seven years.DisagreeSort of Agree−1
3I am confident that I have planned sufficiently to enable me to achieve my goals.Sort of AgreeStrongly Agree−2
4I am very clear how my degree fits into my life plans.AgreeAgree=
5I am clear which skills employers are looking for.DisagreeAgree−2
6I am confident I have the skills employers are looking for.Sort of AgreeStrongly Agree−2
7I am very clear about the importance of reflective activity to professional life.Sort of AgreeStrongly Agree−2
8I am confident that I am able to undertake structured reflection without guidelines.Sort of AgreeStrongly Agree−2
9I am confident that I can develop an effective strategy to meet most circumstances.Strongly AgreeStrongly Agree=
10I am confident that I can set well-formed targets.Strongly AgreeStrongly Agree=
11I have a clear understanding of how to evaluate my own performance.AgreeAgree=
12I am confident that I know how to improve my performance in most circumstances.AgreeAgree=
13I know how to apply my expertise in one area to a very different field.AgreeStrongly Agree−1
14I am confident that I can see myself as others see me.DisagreeAgree−2
15I am confident that I have effective listening skills.Sort of AgreeAgree−1
16I am an assertive person.Sort of AgreeSort of Agree=
17I am a good self-starter.DisagreeAgree−2
18I am aware of the best roles for me to fill for teamwork.DisagreeAgree−2
19I am confident at problem solving.Strongly AgreeStrongly Agree=
20I am confident that I know how to make best use of my mind.AgreeStrongly Agree−1
21I am confident that I will take a creative approach to most problems.AgreeStrongly Agree−1
22I am confident about making competence-based applications for jobs.Sort of AgreeStrongly Agree−2
23I am always very clear about which skills I am developing.Sort of AgreeAgree−1
24I can see clearly how skills apply to a wide range of other situations.Sort of AgreeAgree−1
25I know where my own development edge lies.DisagreeSort of Agree−1
Total (lower = better) 42 16 −26

Summary

My overall score dropped from 42 to 16, an improvement of 26 points. Across nearly every dimension, I feel noticeably more confident and self-aware than I did at the start of the course.

Areas of Greatest Growth

Planning and goal readiness: I moved from Sort of Agree to Strongly Agree here. I have a much clearer sense of direction now, My dissertation ideas are taking shape, my interests in cloud computing and AI are sharpening, and I can see how the pieces of this course connect to where I want to go.

Employability and skills confidence: At the start I was quite unsure what employers in this field were looking for, and even less sure I had those skills. That has changed. Building a full database system, writing a frontend, writing up a network security framework, working through research proposals, I feel I have concrete, demonstrable work to point to.

Reflective practice: This moved to Strongly Agree, and I think that is a direct result of this module. Keeping the reflective journal throughout the year and doing exercises like this one have made me see reflection as a useful tool rather than an academic obligation.

Self-perception: I went from Disagree to Agree on this one. Group work, presenting the database project, and getting feedback across multiple modules have all pushed me to think more carefully about how I come across to others.

Independence and self-starting: This moved from Disagree to Agree, and it reflects something real. On the database project I effectively carried the group. When I had serious concerns about the COM7119 assignment brief, I didn’t just grumble, I wrote a formal complaint, prepared supporting documents, and followed it through to a meeting.

Cross-domain knowledge transfer: I feel quite confident in applying knowledge across different areas. Bringing my real-world experience as a Civil Enforcement Officer into the database project, connecting my psychology background to AI ethics – the breadth of this programme has made me much better at finding the links between things.

Areas for Continued Development

Long-term goal clarity: I have moved from Disagree to Sort of Agree, so there is progress, but I do not yet have a clear five-year plan. I know the general direction (something in AI or cloud), but the specifics are still forming. I am okay with that at this stage.

Assertiveness: This one has not really moved. It is something I am aware of and working on, but it extends beyond academic life and is not something a single course will fix.

Knowing my development edge: I moved from Disagree to Sort of Agree. I have a better sense of where I need to grow, but I cannot yet articulate it with full clarity. That is something I expect to become clearer as I move into the dissertation and beyond.

Consistent Strengths

Some things have stayed at Strongly Agree throughout: my motivation to finish the qualification, my ability to develop strategies and set targets, and my confidence in problem solving. These were not things this course gave me, they are just part of how I approach things. What the course has done is give them somewhere useful to go.