Admission requirements
Mandatory course for students enrolled in the bachelor’s programme Security Studies. Only students of the Bachelor Security Studies can take this course.
Description
Skills Lab 2 builds on Skills lab 1 and aims to further develop the students’ academic and professional skills. Students will enhance their research skills and learn how to retrieve, assess and interpret data. They will practice to critically reflect on the work of others and place it into context. Students will also work on improving their intercultural skills, visual mapping skills and debating skills. In addition, students will learn how to structure and deliver a coherent and comprehensible team presentation. The Skills Labs are highly interactive and require students to actively participate in a wide variety of in-class exercises.
Through the Explore-Understand-Do method Skills Lab 2 also aims to bring about a deeper understanding of security related concepts and topics by explaining, discussing and practising the content of the core course Case Study Syria.
Various assignments will be used to monitor and assess the students’ skill development and study progress.
Course objectives
After this course students are able to:
Critique the argumentation and research design of academic articles;
Use library and online resources to locate relevant sources, and compose a structured and appropriately referenced text;
Assess the quality, relevance and credibility of academic sources;
Deliver an informed and engaging team presentation by formulating an appropriate research question and using strong visual aids;
Work effectively in teams and manage time well;
Reflect upon progress and academic performance by implementing the feedback received in block 1; and
Analyse security challenges from different angles and acknowledge cultural differences and sensitivities.
Timetable
On the right side of the programme front page you will find links to the website and timetables, uSis and Brightspace.
Mode of instruction
The course includes 14 lab sessions, which will employ various active learning methods.
Attendance
Attendance is mandatory. Missing more than 3 sessions will lead to a fail. Students who have missed more than 3 sessions are not allowed to take part in the resit(s).
Total study load of 140 hours
Lab hours: 42
Self-study hours: 98
Assessment method
- 15% Participation
- 25% Written individual assignment
- 30% Written group assignment
- 30% Group presentation
All grades (participation, both written assignments and the group presentation) will be collected in a portfolio which makes up 100% of the grade. The calculated grade of all portfolio parts needs to be at least 5.50 in order to pass the course.
Resit
Students with a calculated grade lower than 5.50 for their portfolio are eligible for a resit of a maximum of 2 portfolio components. It is impossible to resit the 15% participation grade.
Transitional Arrangement
Grades obtained in previous academic years are no longer valid in academic year 2024-2025.
In the case of written assessment methods, the examiner can always initiate a follow-up conversation with the student to establish whether the learning objectives have been met.
Reading list
A selection of books and articles will be announced on Brightspace.
Registration
Students who follow this course do not need to register for this course themselves. This will be done by the study coordinator.
Leiden University uses Brightspace as its online learning management system. After enrolment for the course in uSis you will be automatically enrolled in the Brightspace environment of this course.
Access to Brightspace is necessary because the syllabus and other information about this course can be found here. Furthermore, announcements and modifications will be communicated via Brightspace.
Students have the responsibility to stay informed and are thus advised to regularly check Brightspace for updates.
More information on registration via MyStudymap can be found on this page.
Please note: guest-/contract-/exchange students do not register via MyStudymap but via uSis. Guest-/contract-/exchange students also do not have to confirm their participation for exams via MyStudymap.
Contact
Course coordinator Sofie Delpeut s.delpeut@fgga.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
For exceptions, please contact the Board of Examiners.