Custom course to plug brain drain

Loughborough University has been chosen to pioneer a course aimed at plugging the graduate brain drain in the East Midlands.

The region traditionally loses two-thirds of those who study there. It means that businesses and industry face a tough battle employing people with the right type of qualifications.

Loughborough has been chosen by the Department for Education and Skills to run a postgraduate programme that allows students to design their own course of study while in employment.

If the project succeeds, the long-term aim is to extend it to a masters degree, which would take about three years of part-time study.

The course - which has been developed with industry and national training organisations - will reap a postgraduate certificate in continuing professional development, aimed at increasing the retention rate of graduates in the region.

The first 20 places start with a three-day foundation course in July. Students will then have to gain 60 credits over about 12 months through a combination of short modules at the university, together with self-study projects assigned to the workplace.

Anna Hughes of Loughborough's business school said: "This is a completely new type of programme that lets students tailor their training to meet their individual needs. Because they continue working while they study, they're able to apply the knowledge they're gaining to their everyday work."

The programme, she said, could be adapted to meet the needs of a range of businesses from mechanical engineering to planning and management.