During Work Shadowing Week 2023, Queen’s University Belfast students had the opportunity to experience a day in the life of professionals in various industries in Northern Ireland. Here are seven top takeaways from our student participants:
Great advice
- Criminology student Pamela Stewart had a great day with the British Army: “They were all very encouraging and I came away with great advice both for myself and my son who wants to join when he leaves school.”
Industry insight
2. Physics student Brian Rogers appreciated the preparation session beforehand and found it helpful in getting the most out of the experience: “I really enjoyed learning about Andor and speaking to the people there. It was a very useful experience as I move into my final year and begin to apply to graduate programmes.”
A warm welcome
3. Irma Umair, a Human Resource Management student, expressed her sincere gratitude for the wonderful opportunity provided by a visit to Finnebrogue Artisan: “The way we were welcomed and valued during your good company’s tour, gave me a clear indication that the foundation of the company was laid by great vision and values and it is the driving force behind the success of the organization. I appreciate all the efforts your good team made to make it happen successfully.”
An understanding of working life
4. Megan O’Hara, Law student, said: “I had the opportunity to hear from several of Baker McKenzie’s multi-disciplinary teams…I was able to gain an invaluable insight to the day-to-day workings of these professionals as well as their career pathways to these roles.”
Information on different roles available
5. Law student, Declan Gorman, said: “The day was packed with lots of information and insight into what working in a global law firm is like. I particularly enjoyed learning about the different roles outside the traditional ‘training contract’ route at Baker McKenzie.”
Networking opportunities
6. Sai Chintha, Construction and Project Management student said: “It provided an opportunity to gain first-hand exposure to the day-to-day responsibilities of different roles within the firm, which included getting to know their service lines and projects…This is a valuable networking opportunity as well as a chance to gain insight into potential career paths and the company culture at Deloitte.”
Company background
7. Finance student, Xiaofei SHEN commented: “I learnt about the firm’s welcoming corporate culture, its history of growth, the primary duties of each department, and how the company makes its signature sausage…I would like to thank Finnebrogue Artisan for its warm hospitality and patient explanation.”
What our employer partners had to say
Additionally, here are some comments from the employers who hosted students during the work shadow week:
A varied day
- Andor Technology: “Feedback from the students was that they enjoyed the variety of the day seeing Research & Development, Engineering and Production and in particular specialists from their degree pathways.”
We hope we inspired them
2. McAdam Design Ltd: “Hopefully this will inspire them for the remainder of their course and we can see them all in a short period of time out within the workforce helping deliver for our communities.”
A well-structured and informative experience
3. Fibrus: We hosted Queen’s University Belfast students for a work shadowing day across our Marketing, Planning, and IT/Network Engineering departments. The students provided positive feedback, highlighting the well-structured day and informative experience. We’re proud to have given them a taste of life at Fibrus.
Overall, Work Shadowing Week 2023 was fantastic, and we are thrilled that so many students had such a positive experience. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to all the professionals who opened up their workplaces to our students and provided them with such valuable learning opportunities. We look forward to continuing working with such great employers who provide these kinds of opportunities to our students.
Read more on Work Shadowing Week on our website: https://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/careers/GainExperienceforyourCV/work-shadowing/