Theme: 4. Action Research and Corporate Social Responsibility in Regional Development and Innovation Activity Title: Innovative Curriculum Design, Content and Approach to Meet the Needs of Students and Employers; A Study of Cases.

The paper gives an overview of the perceived value of undergraduate degrees by employers in the United Kingdom. The authors offer two examples for innovative curriculum design that more fully meet the needs of both students and employers. It will be argued that it is becoming the corporate and social responsibility of both universities and employers to develop innovative, collaborative training programmes that equip students for the workplace. There has been discussion relating to the relevance and value of undergraduate degrees in the UK for some time. This has become more apparent recently as a result of the UK Government’s aspirations and the advent of top up fees (Clark, 2006) and particularly the findings of Leitch (2006). Central to much of the criticism relates to the content and outcome of such degrees, their reliability as an indicator of employability (see, for example, DFEE, 2002; HESA, 2002; Park HR/Guardian, 2002) and the ability of Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) to actually develop enhanced employability (CBI, 2003). Specific findings include: • the suggestion that approximately one third of graduates are employed in ‘non