An authentic, experiential and internationalised curriculum and its impact upon graduate employability

Through a lens of authentic and experiential learning and internationalisation, this chapter explores the importance of infusing employability strategies within a higher education sport management curriculum. It is widely recognised that enhancing graduate employability is vital to both the reputation of the higher education sector as well as being a demand from the sports industry. The nature of graduate employment is ever-changing and increasingly unpredictable, with the continual evolution of the types of companies and work requirements, and the globalisation of markets. Graduates of sport management programmes need to be prepared for, and understand, the global milieu in which sport businesses operate and the accompanying inter- and cross-cultural challenges it brings. Therefore, it is vital that higher education institutions take a more employability-oriented, internationalised approach to curriculum design to ensure that graduates have the adaptable skills sets required of the varying global and organisational contexts they may work in over their future careers. This chapter will provide recommendations for best practice on the types of authentic, experiential, and internationalised learning experiences that need to be infused into the curriculum in order to enhance the employability and career prospects for all graduates.