Module Interest Earns Returns

This poster reports on a teaching intervention in a large, growing Operations Research module, prompted by declining student retention into third-year Operations Research modules. Students were given an open-ended research proposal assignment, allowing them to apply optimisation concepts to a real-world area of their own choosing rather than a prescribed topic.

The resulting proposals were of a high standard, with every student identifying a topic that genuinely interested them, and in-class polling (via Mentimeter) showed the assignment successfully surfaced both engagement and areas of confusion. The work reports that this kind of open, inquiry-based assignment for a quantitatively-inclined cohort (who are often unfamiliar with the field of OR upon enrolling for the module) can support an enquiring mind, engaged citizenship and problem-solving skills. These represent graduate attributes with relevance well beyond a single module or field.