Employability

Helping our students become more employable!

The School is proud of its links with employers and work tirelessly to develop these contacts, as well as establishing new ones.

But what is the use of having these valuable ties with industry without ensuring they are taken advantage of by our students? From placements whilst the students study, to graduate roles when they are leaving, the School runs a range of dedicated activities relating to employability that students and employers alike can benefit from. These include:

Recruitment & placement fairs

These highly popular networking events, are normally held around March and November time, and have quickly become a highlight of the School calendar. They offer the opportunity for employers and recruitment organisations to come in and speak to the students face-to-face about what they do and what they can offer.

Employability presentations

Specialised talks from employers on who they are and what they can offer our students, as well as useful seminars from the University Careers and Employability Service on how best to apply for jobs.

Placements*

A number of our undergraduate programmes (most BEng programmes and BSc computing/networking programmes) offer students the chance to undertake a year-long Industrial Placement between their 3rd and 4th year of study. These placements are credit-bearing and form part of a student’s degree qualification when they graduate. Students have found these placements to be invaluable in terms of the experience they gain, and sometimes find they are offered a graduate role within the company either straight away, or for when they complete their Honours year. We also encourage our students to undertake a summer or short-term placement wherever possible, and for certain postgraduate programmes these placements within industry can incorporate their final dissertation project.

From an employers point-of-view, student placements can act as an extended interview, and students can see where they might fit into a certain industry and in what capacity. Placements can be paid or voluntary, short-term or long-term.

Regular communication and marketing

We use a variety of methods to bring exciting opportunities relevant to a student’s programme of study to their attention. Any news of students securing placements or employment is marketed amongst the other students through newsletters and online notice-boards, their experiences recorded in the form of podcasts and interviews. These communications count for significant visibility from an employer's point of view amongst the up-and-coming workforce of the future.

Student Awards

Our annual Student Awards event is a chance for employers to reward the best students from our various programmes in the form of sponsored awards. The event offers an excellent networking opportunity and allows the company sponsors to see some examples of what the student’s have been working on throughout their programme.

Whether you are a current or potential student, or an employer looking to develop a link with the School we look forward to helping in any way we can with your future!

Find out more

Please contact our dedicated Employability Administrator for more information on any of the above:
 
Gill Gordon
Employability Administrator
+44 (0) 141 331 3195
 
* although we help in whatever way we can, ultimately it is the student’s responsibility to secure themselves a placement