Graduate Attributes

Mindset: Outlook and Engagement

This page explains the Outlook and Engagement attribute and provides questions to help you start thinking about what this mindset means for you and how it can be strengthened.

Globe - passion to engage locally and globally


University of Edinburgh graduates draw on the quality, depth and breadth of their experiences to engage with the communities and world around them.  With an informed international perspective, they seek to contribute positively, ethically and respectfully.

Mindsets can evolve and change with time and experiences, and are shaped by our individual values.  They are our usual ways of thinking about something and our attitudes towards it – here our attitude towards engaging with the communities and world around us.

It takes both staff support and student initiative to develop graduate attributes. Students should take the initiative to seek out ways to develop how they engage with the communities and world around them. Staff should help and support students to reflect on their experience so far at University and consider how they engage with the world around them, whatever the context – education, work, or society.

Students should reflect on: Staff should reflect on:
  • What is your current mindset in this area?  Are these attitudes well-established or still evolving?  How important is this area to you?
  • What is your own mindset in this area?  How does it relate to your main job(s) and role(s)?
  • What impact does this mindset have?  How does it influence your actions and behaviour?
  • What does this mindset mean within your discipline?
  • What experiences have contributed to developing your mindset?
  • What does this mindset mean to your students, inside and outside their degree?
  • What experiences will help further explore, refine, and strengthen your mindset?
  • How can you help your students to develop this mindset during their time with you?