Author: Aoife Stuart-Madge

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Global Opportunities international students internship placement Research STEM student success Student success stories Switzerland Technology Work abroad

“My life changing experience on an international internship”

Queen’s Chemistry student Anwin Robin has described a paid internship with the British Council’s IAESTE (International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience) programme as “the best year of my life.”

Like many Queen’s students, Anwin took the opportunity to gain international experience and boost his employability skills on a paid placement abroad. 

Anwin, from Dromore in County Down, moved to Switzerland in June 2019 to work with Empa – Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology.

Anwin said: “During my internship I drew on my background as a chemistry student to carry out research into making stronger materials. Knowing that they may be used in the future in structures ranging from airplanes to wind turbines made my work feel tangible and relevant.”

Anwin at work in Switzerland

The best year of my life

During his time in Switzerland, Anwin also had the opportunity to meet up other interns working across the country through weekend excursions organised by IAESTE, the largest global mobility programme for STEM students in the world. 

Anwin added: “My time in Switzerland has been the best year of my life so far. My IAESTE placement showed me how international many companies are today and confirmed that I want to grow my work experience outside of the UK. I will forever be grateful to IAESTE for providing me with this opportunity.”

Adapting for Covid-19

Anwin enjoyed the experience so much that when Switzerland went into lockdown because of Covid-19, he chose to stay in the country and continue his internship from home. He also used this as an opportunity to develop his coding skills.

Anwin has remained in Switzerland since finishing his IAESTE placement in May. He is currently applying to further internships in the country and hopes to eventually study for a Masters in computer science.

Whilst Covid-19 has restricted much travel this summer, many IAESTE placements have shifted online in response.

Among the 15 students from Northern Ireland who are currently undertaking remote internships with organisations in the USA, India, Bangladesh and Poland, are several Queen’s students who are joining online seminars and discussions. Their subject areas include biomedical science, business and marketing, computer science, aerospace engineering and chemical engineering.

Life changing impact

Jonathan Stewart, Director of the British Council Northern Ireland, said: “It’s wonderful to hear about the lifechanging impact of Anwin’s IAESTE placement, and we wish him all the best as he starts out in his career. Despite Covid-19, the IAESTE programme has quickly adapted and continues to offer quality opportunities for our university students to gain international experience. The remote internships help to provide Northern Ireland students with new technical skills while also experiencing different cultures and ways of working.”

In Northern Ireland IAESTE is funded by the Department for the Economy and delivered by the British Council.

Queen’s STEM students interested in applying for the IAESTE programme can find more information here:

https://www.britishcouncil.org/study-work-abroad/outside-uk/iaeste

For more information on work or study abroad programmes, visit our Global Opportunities site

Categories
Awards Graduate success graduate training schemes Lloyds Scholarships student success Student success stories

Queen’s Graduate Champions Low-Income Students to Aim High

Michael Dallat, one of the first cohort of Lloyds Scholars at Queen’s, is honoured as a social mobility student champion, as he graduates with a BA in Film and Theatre Making 

Michael Dallat, a Film and Theatre Making graduate from Queen’s has been honoured as a runner up in the Lloyds Scholars Champion Award 2020. Michael was nominated alongside scholars from leading universities across the UK and scooped the £1,000 runner up prize in recognition of his work championing the social mobility programme to future applicants.

Queen’s University has been a proud partner of the award-winning Lloyds Scholarship programme since 2016. Designed to support and encourage students from below average income families to study at leading universities, the programme offers students a complete package of financial support, paid internships, business mentorship and the opportunity to develop their employability skills.

As a member of one of the first cohort of Lloyds Scholars at Queen’s, Michael has undertaken two internships, completed over 100 hours of volunteering and secured a place on the Lloyds Graduate Programme for 2020.

Michael Dallat Lloyds

He said: “As a working-class lad from Coleraine, this award makes me very proud. To be in a position to inspire others is something that is really humbling for me. When I applied for the Scholars program back in school, I never thought I’d be a figurehead who others look up to. 

“The Lloyds Scholars programme is a fantastic package. The internships, volunteering and access to a mentor have been immensely beneficial for my career prospects. The internships have allowed me to develop new skills, and network with lots of driven and inspiring individuals. It has really changed my life, on both a personal and professional level.”

Wilma Fee, Director of Academic and Student Affairs at Queen’s, said Michael has inspired hundreds of students to apply for the programme over his three-year tenure. 

She said: “We are proud that Michael has been recognised as a true ambassador for the Lloyds Scholarship programme. As the lead Lloyds representative at our annual Widening Participation Open Days, Queen’s Open Days and University Offer Holder Days between 2017 and 2020, Michael spoke openly and honestly to groups of over 300 students, enthusiastically answering any questions they had and sharing his own personal stories and experiences. Michael has helped raise awareness of the Lloyds programme and raised the aspirations of hundreds of our students.”  

Congratulating Michael, Professor David Jones, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education and Students said: “I first met Michael in October 2017 when he spoke exceptionally well at the launch of Lloyds Scholars at Queen’s and have followed his progress with pride. Shaping socially conscious and successful graduates sits at the heart of Queen’s and being honoured as a runner up in the Lloyds Scholars Champion Award 2020 is testament to the valuable difference Michael has made. It’s fantastic to see how the experience has benefitted Michael and that it has had such a significant impact on his personal development.”

“On behalf of everyone at Queen’s, I congratulate Michael for graduating and I wish him well as he embarks on the Lloyds Graduate Programme.” 

Discover the Lloyds Scholars programme

Categories
internship placement work experience

Where to find a graduate internship

Graduate internships are short-term paid opportunities for graduates to gain work experience within a company or organisation. The below directory can help you find the right opportunity for you.Graduate internships are short-term paid opportunities for graduates to gain work experience within a company or organisation. The below directory can help you find the right opportunity for you.

Career Boost 

The Career Boost Programme connects Science, Engineering and Technology graduates with real jobs in innovative SMEs. 

Assured Skills

The Assured Skills Training Programme is run by the Department for the Economy. They offer a useful stepping stone into a particular area of work. 

Graduate Talent Pool

Internship opportunities for graduates across the UK

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

UK-wide programme with projects involving a partnership between a graduate, organisation and university or research organisation

Discover KTP at Queen’s

Step

Internship opportunities for students and graduates in the UK. 

Rate my Placement

Access paid placements and internships in the UK.

Targetjobs Internships

Find your perfect internship or placement.

Prospects

Filter your search by ‘work experience’ to access internships, placements and more.

Gradcracker

Placement, internships and graduate jobs in science and engineering.

Inside Careers

Graduate jobs and work experience opportunities in the finance sector.

Student Circus

Accessible via MyFuture, this site has information tailored to international students in the UK.

Inside Sherpa

Access free virtual short-term internships in a variety of sectors

Work abroad

Access placement, internships and work experience overseas via Global Opportunities.

For up to date information on placement and internships, visit MyFuture

Categories
graduate training schemes

All You Need to Know About Graduate Training Schemes

If you want to break into a big organisation, receive expert training and get well paid in the process, a graduate training scheme could be for you.

1. They are offered by big organisations

Graduates schemes are typically offered by big organisations such as the Civil Service, PwC and the NHS.

2. They are fixed term

Training schemes are typically offered to graduates for a fixed term of between 18 months and two years.

3. They are competitive

Graduate schemes are a great opportunity to work and train in a real job. As they are well-paid, they are competitive and many require a degree classification of 2:1 or above. 

5. You need to apply early

Don’t wait until graduation to suss out a scheme – applications will be open from the autumn of final year and typically close by Christmas. Check out MyFuture for details of graduate schemes relevant to you.

6. You can find them online

With a bit of desktop research, you can find details of graduate schemes across the UK and Ireland. Here are five sites to check:

Prospects 

Search graduate training opportunities with huge organisations including Google, Amazon and BBC. 

TargetJobs

From the Royal Navy to Bloomberg, search for graduate training opportunities.

Milkround

Search graduate jobs, schemes and internships.

Gradireland

Search graduate jobs, schemes and internships across Ireland.

Gradcracker

Search graduate opportunities in Engineering and Technology.

Categories
gap year volunteering

5 Essential Resources if you are Considering a Gap Year

Taking a year out after graduation to travel, gain work experience or volunteer while you consider your future can be a worthwhile and fulfilling experience. Here, some useful sites with information and opportunities across the globe. 

1.Gapwork

Provides a search facility about projects in various countries, provides information about visas, insurance, safety issues, holiday jobs, accommodation and more. Includes student reviews.

2.Gapyear

Search facility about projects, including wide range of business and finance placements, message board, blogs & journals, international gap year and placement schemes and more.

3.Prospects

Discover gap year opportunities and ideas.

4.Target Jobs

Gap year options and FAQs.

5.The Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Access the latest country-specific travel advice.

For more post-uni inspiration check out the Explore your options section of the Careers, Employability and Skills site

Categories
Master's PhD postgraduate

11 Essential Sites to Check Out if you are Considering Postgraduate Study

Not sure if postgraduate study is for you? Attending an information or open day event is a good first step. When it comes to desktop research, there are loads of great sites to help you explore your study options. Here are 11 to save in your favourites. 

  1. Prospects postgraduate search

This search tool lets you explore postgraduate taught courses by subject and location. 

2. Target jobs

Search postgraduate taught courses by job sector including  Law, Engineering and Teaching. 

3. Find a Master’s

Search a database of 22,500 Master’s courses throughout the world. 

4. Postgraduate Search

Search courses, and access advice on funding. 

5. Find a PhD

The world’s largest database of PhD opportunities has over 4,000 PhDs to select from. 

6. Jobs.ac.uk

Search PhDs by subjects including Creative Arts and Design, Computer Sciences and Politics and Government. You can also access student vlogs that offer an insight into life as a PhD student.

7. Gradireland

Want to study in Ireland? Filter by institutions like Trinity and University College Cork to find a postgraduate course that suits you. 

8. Graduate Prospects

Access information on studying abroad in a range of countries including Australia, USA ad China. 

9. The Fullbright Commission

The Fullbright Commission site has all you need to know about postgraduate study in the USA including information about the Fullbright Scholarship.

10. Canada Memorial Foundation

Discover awards for British students or graduates who want to pursue a postgraduate course in Canada.

11. Association of Commonwealth Universities

Access information on scholarships to undertake postgraduate study in low and middle income commonwealth countries including Sri Lanka and South Africa. 

For information on postgraduate study at Queen’s, visit The Graduate School.

Categories
Business entrepreneur Innovation SMEs Start Ups

Six sites to check out if you want to launch your own business

Are you a recent graduate with a big idea that you want to make happen? To encourage and support innovation, entrepreneurship and enterprise, we’ve collated a list of useful resources for budding entrepreneurs in Northern Ireland.

Advantage

Advantage work with students, young graduates and young business owners providing a creative, innovative, cost-effective resources. The Business Planner tool is a useful resource for young people who want to start their own business. 

Business Link

Through this government portal, you can access heaps of useful information covering everything from writing a business plan to applying for a loan and registering your business. 

Invest NI

Invest NI is the regional business development agenc. They help new and existing businesses to grow with financial support, advice and guidance. 

NI Business Info

A free service offered by Invest NI, NI Business Info has essential information, support and services for start ups. Access guidance on regulations, funding options and more.

Propel

Propel offers you workshops, tutorials, networking opportunities, mentoring, financial support and access to investment to help you turn your business idea into a world class company.

Shell Livewire

Shell Livewire supports young entrepreneurs with sustainable business ideas that address the UK’s future transport, energy, natural resource or urban development needs.

More inspiration on how to turn your big idea into a business.

Categories
Careers programmes Job Hunting Linkedin Networking

7 Tips for Building Your Professional Brand Online

LinkedIn
  1. Over 300 million people around the world use LinkedIn to maintain their professional network. There are other professional social networking sites which are popular in certain countries or for certain industries, but LinkedIn is currently the largest and most diverse. They have created some useful videos and help guides for students. 
  2. Think of your profile as your online CV. Remember that people are likely to skim-read it so focus on key strengths and experiences rather than listing everything you’ve done and all your duties and responsibilities. 
  3. Understand how to use privacy settings on your other social media accounts. When people search for you online, you want to be able to control what they find. 
  4. After creating your profile, start connecting to friends, family, classmates and work colleagues. Read this article on why you shouldn’t underestimate your personal network. 
  5. Join and contribute to LinkedIn groups. There are thousands of groups on LinkedIn. Make sure you pick relevant ones that you can be active within. There are lots of groups for students studying specific subjects as well as for professionals. 
  6. Research information about companies and look for the profiles of people with whom you may be interested in making contact.  LinkedIn’s alumni tool (Topic 5 on the LinkedIn for students website is a good way to find out what graduates from your course are now doing. 
  7. Start to build your network by sending connection requests to relevant people. Alexandra Levit’s article “4 Steps for Effective Online Networking”  and Alyssa Walker’s article “How to Build a Professional Network Online” have some tips for how to do this effectively. Most people will ignore the standard request sent by LinkedIn “I would like to add you to my professional network” unless they know who it’s from, so make sure you tailor each connection request. You’re also more likely to get a positive response from people you have met.

More help with career planning

Categories
Career planning CVs DegreePlus Skills

The Future-Ready Skills to Improve While you are Queen’s

You might already have heard of the Future-Ready Award, Queen’s employability and skills award that recognises extra-curricular activities. It looks great on your CV, but why? 

Well, it shows employers that you have learned much more at university than just what was taught on your degree. 

Future-Ready Skills show recruiters you have the potential to transform organisations and add value early in your career. 

What employers want: Cognitive/intellectual skills 

What the Future-Ready Award can equip you with: 

Problem solving skills.  The ability to analyse issues, identify barriers and offer/implement potential solutions. This may involve prioritising tasks, coping with complexity, setting achievable goals and taking action.  It may also involve innovation at relevant points. 

Applying subject knowledge and understanding: potentially from the degree pathway. 

What employers want: Professional attributes/attitudes 

What the Future-Ready award can equip you with: 

Communication skills: the ability to communicate effectively in a range of professional contexts (both orally and in writing). 

Teamwork: the ability to work with others in a team, to communicate, influence, negotiate, demonstrating adaptability/flexibility, creativity, initiative, leadership and decision-making. 

Interpersonal skills:  includes ability to engage with and motivate others, sensitivity, global and cultural awareness, moral and ethical awareness and the ability to adjust behaviour accordingly. 

Leadership skills: leading other individuals or groups through a set of complex decisions as part of goal achievement within projects or significant and challenging activities.   

What employers want: Technical skills 

What the Future-Ready Award can equip you with: 

The ability to utilise modern technology: associated with work place or work-related activity.  

Information technology skills: includes ability to learn, apply and exploit relevant IT programmes. 

What employers want: Business and organisational skills 

What the Future-Ready Award can equip you with: 

Business operational skills/ Commercial awareness: understanding of relevant commercial, marketing, management and/or financial processes/principles. Awareness of differences in organisational cultures and practices. 

Business communication skills:  Written, verbal and/or online. 

What employers want: Language Skills and Cultural Awareness

 

What the Future-Ready Award can equip you with: 

Proficiency in foreign languages: developed through courses or overseas experiences.

Cultural awareness/intelligence: and the ability to implement this in a variety of multicultural contexts. 

Discover more about the Future-Ready Award

Categories
Alumni Events Networking student success Student success stories

Valuable lessons from previous graduates

Our alumni session gathered together four successful graduates who told Rachael Corridan about the career lessons they’ve learned since leaving Queen’s. Here is what they had to say.

“Every rejection is a learning experience”

Niall McLaughlin, kdb+ developer, AquaQ Analytics

“I studied Chemistry at Queen’s and obtained valuable skills such as analytical skills, great communication skills, problem solving and adapting to new challenges. After graduation, I spent some time working as a chef, this was extremely beneficial as it’s placed me in a high pressure environment where time, teamwork, efficiency and multitasking were all critical to the day to day tasks. These experiences have helped me grow as a person and I now feel fully equipped to handle anything life throws at me. 

“Don’t put too much pressure on yourself; you will get there. I had a non-traditional route to a grad job, which taught me a lot of transferable skills. Take every rejection as a learning experience and learn to be the best version of yourself.”

“Develop your soft skills until you find the right job”

Jack McCloskey, Seagate

“I graduated Mechanical Engineering in 2019. On the back of my placement, I did an employer project with Seagate. After graduation, I developed soft skills through part-time jobs, volunteering, interview skills and travelling until a graduate job eventually came up. There are good and bad points about working in your placement company. You are familiar with the working environment, but you are straight in the deep in working with senior management.”

“Working as part of a team is so important”

Zachery Jordan, First Deriviatives

 “Make the most of the transferable skills you have gained from part-time jobs; it’s so important to work as part of a team and be coherent in the ideas you are putting across.” 

“Explore your options; squeeze every opportunity”

Michael Kelly, IBM London

 “There will never be a graduating class like this one, but the world will not pass you by. Explore your opportunities. I missed the big four application deadlines as I was studying abroad, so I got a job in recruitment with a high basic salary, but it wasn’t the career for me. It served as a launchpad to where I am now. Squeeze as much out of any opportunity.” 

“You don’t just graduate and get picked up by an employer, you have to be proactive; I opened myself to more graduate opportunities by looking in London. Take time to explore your options and find something you love. Throw yourself into everything you are asked to do in the workplace, even if a project doesn’t feel exciting, look at what you can learn from it.”

Skills our grads advised you to develop:

  • Discipline and proactivity
  • Good self-learning habits
  • Good routine
  • Make us of DegreePlus