To enhance the development of student employability skills and introduce students to molecular modelling techniques using examples from inorganic and organic chemistry.

By the end of the employability section of the course, students should be able to demonstrate both a familiarity with, and an understanding of, the importance of transferable skills to the work place.

By the end of the modelling section of the course students should be able to predict the ground state energy and structure of isolated molecules (not too complicated) and estimate equilibrium constants (ΔH = ΔE) for simple reactions

By the end of the modelling section of the course students should be able to rationalise some aspects of reactivity (charge density, frontier orbitals).

By the end of the modelling section of the course students should have some experience of modelling intermolecular forces and complexes.

Lecture - Lectures from module staff, other colleagues from around the institution or external speakers.

11 employability skills lectures and 5 molecular modelling lectures. Lectures are delivered by a mixture of staff from around the university and wider industries and are considered compulsory. Lecture attendance and professionalism are considered the first part of a number of assignments and failure to attend lectures will result in students being unable to complete assignments in full.

Tutorials and workshops - Tutorials and workshops covering employability tasks and molecular modelling.

Employability tutorials with tutors (3 x 2 hours); Employability whole class workshop sessions (2 x 2 hours); Molecular modelling computer based practicals (5 x 1 hour)

Lecture material (not necessarily in the order described below)

1. Introduction to the CHEM380 employability skills resources in VITAL (given in welcome week)

2. Introduction to the facilities of the Careers Service

3. CV preparation and interview technique

4. Good and bad practice in job interviews and oral presentations

5. MSc in Advanced Sciences at the University of Liverpool & Masters more generally

6. Intellect ual property

7. Peer review and using PeerMark (linked to summative peer review assignment)

8. Reflective practices (linked to summative reflective assignment)

9. Job applications, the selection process and a look at the chemical industry  (internal/external speaker - content varies but usually chemical industry related)

10. A presentation from industry (external speaker - content varies. Often science related/wider talk)

11. A presentation from teaching (external speaker - content varies)

Tutorial/Workshop Sessions (weeks may vary)

VITAL exercises

These are all linked to the various lectures, workshops and tutorials. They include mini-employability tasks (possibly including, but not restricted to: surveys; visiting the careers service; CV preparation; interview scenario critique; psychometric test; etc), reflective pieces, application/interview preparation exercises and peer-to-peer feedback. 

Lecture / Workshop material

1a. Introduction:summary of techniques covered in the course, and sources for further reading.

1b. Quantum chemical methods 1: HF-SCF, basis sets.

2. Quantum chemical methods 2: Geometry optimisation, HF limit, CI, MP2, DFT.

3. Semi-empirical and empirical methods: AM1, PM3, conformational analysis.

4/5. Modelling non-covalent interactions: van der Waals, electrostatics, aromatic stacking, hydrogen bonding, cooperativity.