Category: Career planning

Student Testimonials: Women in Business: Women in Tech

Post author By Joseph Curran
Post date 6 March 2023

Northern Ireland’s leading tech companies & organisations came together for the 6th Women in tech Conference.

This empowering event, sponsored by MCS Group gathered role models who innovate, challenge, and embrace technology. From inspirational women who have achieved great success within the sector, to influential entrepreneurs who shared their journey throughout the world of tech from both local and global perspectives.

The day was be filled with feature speakers and panellists, providing attendees with industry-focused learning and face to face access to a high calibre of education and development experts on the conference theme of The Climate of Change.

Hear from Folasewa

I was privileged to meet and listen to some accomplished and inspiring women at the Women in Business Tech conference at the Titanic Belfast. The journey started when I heard about and enrolled in a networking and career development event organized by my prestigious university; Queen’s University, Belfast.

This was a three-day event, and my key learnings for those three days were; organizations need you as much as you need them, putting yourself out there, how to pitch yourself within a short time, and finally, keeping the right network and always staying in touch with them. The conference exceeded my expectations as I enjoyed every part of it, most especially the session anchored by Dr. Niamh Shaw my major takeaway from her speech was nothing just happens, you have to put energy into the things you like.

overall, my striking takeaway is to Deliberately create my Brand. not to forget to mention that I attended this conference with some great minds, with who I would love to stay connected. finally, special gratitude to my university and the organizer Deirdre, whom I was privileged to share a table with. she has a very bold and eloquent charisma, worthy to emulate, and also Nikky for this highly impactful opportunity.

Hear from Chimwemwe

Why you took part in the Women in the Business programme?

It is always exciting to be in a room full of women with similar interests, encouraging each other to be better. I was hoping to understand and get an insight into how easy or difficult it is for women to enter the industry, especially in Northern Ireland. To network and learn from the guest speakers on their experiences as I am about to start applying for jobs to kick start my career.

What you enjoyed most?

Hearing all the different experiences and lessons from the ladies, I made new connections and friends, and Niamh Shaw talking about her dream of becoming an astronaut.

What key piece of advice you will take with you?

Be the woman you want to become!

Tags Employer Insight, employer Q&A, employers

Careers programmes Fairs Go Global Fair Graduate Recruitment and Placement Fair Spring Careers Fair Spring Recruitment Fair WORK EXPERIENCE AND PLACEMENT FAIR

Expert guide to preparing for a Careers Fair – Emma Lennox, Careers Consultant

Post author By Joseph Curran
Post date 13 February 2023

Careers Fairs offer the opportunity to connect in-person with employers offering work experience, placement and graduate opportunities.

Hear from Emma Lennox, Careers Consultant on how to properly prepare for Careers Fair

Preparing for the Careers Fair

“Preparation for career fair is key. You need to know the logistics; so what buildings are being used?, what employers are going to be there? and who are you going to target when you get there?

If it’s online, make sure you have the technology started, make sure you know your device is going to work. You have everything connected and you’ve got your battery ready to go.

If there is a virtual or an online aspect to careers fair, you have an extra element of preparation. You might have to go onto the platform in advance and make your profile and make sure it sells you in the skill sets that you want employers to know about”.

Make sure you are prepared for the virtual elements of the Careers Fair

Speaking to Employers at the Careers Fair

“This is the time to go and actually speak to actual employers to find out things you can’t find from their website”

“Don’t ask them something you should already know, so it’s on their website or it’s in the fair information booklet. Make sure you’ve done your research.”

Here are possible questions to ask:

Asking about a particular job if some of the details a bit vague.
You could ask about the recruitment process
Ask about specifics of the assessment centre
You can ask about what the day in the job would really look like
What are the main responsibilities
What is a new recruit going to be asked for

These are the things that really get the employer talking and show that you’ve done your research and you’re engaged and interested in this organisation.

Employers here to answer your questions at the Careers Fairs

Top Tips

“Try not to go to the careers fair with a group of 10 of your best friends. You walk around in a huge group and the employer will just see a huge group. This is your time to stand out, to be an individual”.
“Don’t take lots of stuff with you through the careers for and make sure you keep your hands free because you need to take notes. Remember the positions; Remember the companies; and remember the jobs when you go back later and you’re working out how to keep this engagement going.
“Look at the job tasks; look at the values and the mission statement of the company because you might go in there and find a company you never considered before”.

After the Careers Fair

“Don’t forget to follow up after careers fair”.

“If the employer has a LinkedIn account, you can ask if you can follow them. Definitely follow the company, see what’s happening and keep up to date with things. If you were speaking to someone, you have a personal rapport with them and you think, “I would really like to discuss this role further”. You can send them a personal e-mail and thank them for their time.”

Keep an eye out for QUB Careers Fairs and other events here

Tags Autumn Careers Fair, fairs, graduate recruitment and placement fair, Spring Careers Fair, Spring Recruitment Fair

Careers programmes Future-Ready Skills personal skills Skills transferrable skills

Understand the difference between influencing and negotiating

Negotiation is the act of coming to a mutual agreement, whereas influence occurs when an individual has an effect on his or her opponent during the act of negotiation.

Employ different influencing styles/channels based on scenarios

Authority Channel – Heavily uses authoritative rules to influence work settings
Rationality Channel – Relies on data and logic to persuade others
Vision Channel – Persuading based on shared purposes
Relationship Channel – The longer the relationship (in the workplace) has lasted the greater the influence you have on them
Interest Channel – Referring to interests, needs and incentives as a mode of getting things done
Politics Channel – Understanding how the organisation works and using this as an influencing channel

The ‘wants’ method may help you to negotiate

The process of negotiating is important to ensure it as maximally effective as possible. To do this, it may be helpful to employ a method. One such method is the ‘wants’ method

Tags Future-Ready Skills

Australia Canada Careers programmes Global Opportunities Go Global

Top 3 Takeaways from The Canadian and Australian Information Session

Post author By Joseph Curran
Post date 26 January 2023

The Canadian and Australian Information Session took place on the 18th January 2023.

Interested in studying abroad in Australia or Canada? 🌎

Queen’s History and Politics student Isobel spent six months studying at the University of Newcastle in Australia.

She says: “I loved studying in Australia; I loved being submerged in the culture; the familiarity of the English language but the weather and environment was so different to anything that I had grown up with.”

Here are the top 3 takeaways to remember from this session:

You can study at the University of Alberta, Queen’s University Kingston (both Canada) or the University of Newcastle (Australia)

You can study for one semester or the full academic year

Applications close on 3^rd February (through MyFuture)

Tags Canada, global experience, Global Opportunities

Careers programmes employability Employer Engagement Employer events Employer Insight Employer Q&A MyFuture MyFuture App

Employer Quick Guide to the MyFuture Virtual Careers Fair (VCF): During the Fair

Post author By Joseph Curran
Post date 12 January 2023

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR REPRESENTATIVES OFFERING ONE-ON-ONE CHAT:

Each representative who has been set up in the employer virtual booth for 1 on 1 chat will see a red “View Chats” box icon appearing in their MyFuture account against the relevant fair one hour before the fair goes live. Click on this to enter your unique 1 on 1 chat area and familiarise yourself with items explained her n this and other guidance.
Remember that you will be using the MyFuture built in video chat to meet students for 1 on 1 chats only, so make sure to accept this option when you go live and do not use Teams, Zoom or other conference meeting software alongside this.
When you are ready to meet students, switch your chat Online, if you need to take a break, switch to Busy (do not switch to Offline until you are permanently leaving the event.
Once the VCF goes live at the start time (not before), students will begin to join 1 on 1 chat queues These will show in the “Upcoming” tab in your chat view. You will see the “Start Chat” option is red for the student at the top of the queue (click on that and follow join instructions).

While you are talking to a student, you will also see Icons to open text chat and share screen under the incoming video. You will also note a meeting time countdown. When this reaches 0 the meeting is automatically closed. However, employer reps (not students) will also see an option to extend chat by a further 2 minutes when the 2-minute point is reached.
When chat is completed, click “End Chat,” make any notes (students do not see these) and start chat with the next student at the top of the queue.
- Note re: student behaviours at VCFs: Some will join 1 on 1 chat immediately, others elect to go to group or other 1 on 1 chats first. Should you invite a student into a 1 on 1 chat, and they do not accept within 2 minutes, you can click “End Chat” and move to the next student (you will see the meeting timer starts to countdown just before they join you to let you know that they are about to come on screen.)

AFTER THE FAIR:

· Switch your status to “Offline.” You will still be able to view your “Completed” chats and notes. Employers also receive an emailed CV pack and 1 on 1 notes relating to students who elected to share their CV and/or the notes from completed 1 on 1 chats.

For more tips and advice ahead of the fair, visit our Employer Resources here

Tags employer advice, Employer engagement, Employer Insight, employer Q&A, MyFuture

Career planning Careers programmes employability Employer events Employer Insight Employer Q&A Employers Graduate recruitment Graduate Recruitment and Placement Fair MyFuture MyFuture App

Student Quick Guide to MyFuture Virtual Careers Fair

Post author By Joseph Curran
Post date 12 January 2023

PREPARE FOR THE FAIR:

CLICK ON “MEET THE EMPLOYERS”, CHECK & EDIT YOUR PROFILE:

Browse the employer booths to check on who is coming, star your favourites and set up your profile (Tip: Upload your CV via your profile to share it with relevant employers).

AT THE LIVE FAIR:

CHAT WITH EMPLOYERS VIA LIVE VIDEO CHATS – YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS:

GROUP CHATS: Just click on Group Chat for the relevant employer in the list to view instructions/click on meeting links.
ONE-ON-ONE CHATS: Some employers are offering both 1 on 1 and Group chats. You can join up to three 1 on 1 chats at a time. Make sure to check your progress/wait time through 1 on 1 queue(s).

TIPS FOR MANAGING YOUR PROGRESS IN ONE-ON-ONE QUEUE(S)

JOIN QUEUES WITH DIFFERENT WAIT TIMES. MyFuture will keep your place in each of these for you. When you see your wait time is down to 5 minutes – you are next and could be called in at any moment! You can check on your progress up through 1 on 1 queues via the tab beside “Meet the Employer Exhibitors”.
STAY ALERT TO A QUEUE WHERE THE WAIT TIME IS DOWN TO 5 MINUTES OR LESS. When the employer is ready, you will see a “come in and meet me” invite from them on your screen in their queue. Just click it and follow the join instructions to take you into the 1 on 1 virtual meeting room.
WARNING: If you do not accept/click on the invite within two minutes, the employer will move on to the next student in the queue.
YOU CAN ALSO MANAGE YOUR TIME BY ATTENDING A GROUP CHAT IF YOU ARE WAITING FOR A 1 ON 1 QUEUE WITH A WAIT TIME OF MORE THAN 20 MINUTES

OTHER TIPS:

YOU CAN ALSO BROWSE THE EMPLOYERS JOB ADVERTS AND PROFILE VIA THEIR VIRTUAL BOOTH (including during the days before the fair goes live)

NEED SOME TECHNICAL HELP DURING THE 3.30PM TO 6PM ONLINE ELEMENT OF THE SPRING FAIR?

Technical help will be available to students for the duration of the online element of the Fair via the Careers Service booth Group Chat.

Tags employer advice, Employer engagement, Employer Insight, employer Q&A, employers, MyFuture

Business Careers programmes Skills Stock Market Challenge Technical skills transferrable skills

Five things you need to know before the Stock Market Challenge

Post author By Joseph Curran
Post date 10 January 2023

Any tips and tricks that previous winners have used?

The key to a profitable investing is good research. The thing to remember when working in Finance Lab is that every piece of information you receive will have an effect on the share price of the investments you hold. Don’t ignore the news feed!

Common mistakes people make?

The most common mistake investors make is thinking that price is the main indicator of how well a company is performing. But of course it’s not an indicator of how well a company is doing in its own market, with its customers, with regulators or within its sector. A share price can be high at the same time as a company is performing poorly. A price fall will come; knowing when is the key.

What makes the game exciting?

Like all good games, it is the pressure of competition that makes the process exciting. In Stock Market Challenge you’ll be competing against other investors who want to come out on top on the night. There are some exciting opportunities to win so the stakes are high!

How not to lose your nerve.

Commit to the game, invest in the process and act methodically and with certainty to ensure you are in control of your actions. You control the market; don’t let the market control you. You will only lose your nerve when you don’t know what you are doing.

What ways can you prepare (even if it’s just binge-watching Industry on BBC iplayer!)?

Binge watching Industry will do no harm. It might even give you an insight into what not to do! The main skills are understanding what kinds of factors affect share prices. The most important thing is to keep an eye on the business news.

It’s not always obvious how actions affect share prices. When Donald Trump was banned from Twitter, investors decided to sell Twitter shares and its share value took a hit. The expectation was that the hit would be temporary, and the price would recover. But was that what happened? You may think as an investor that you’ll hold on to your shares (or buy more now that the price is lower) or dispose of them. Both strategies can be correct, depending on the market context. Following the news carefully is the key to successful investing.

Tags business, Economics, skills, Stock Market Challenge, technical skills, transferrable skills

Career planning Careers programmes Language skills Student blogger Student experience student success Student success stories transferrable skills

Student Success: Órnaith Ní Fhearghail

Post author By Joseph Curran
Post date 9 January 2023

Blag

Órnaith Ní Fhearghail is ainm dom agus is mac léinn mé in Ollscoil na Banríona. Tá mé i mbliain na céime, ag déanamh buncéime i gCaidreamh Idirnáisiúnta agus sa Ghaeilge. An seimeastar seo, bhí deis agam modúl úrnua a ghlacadh mar chuid den chúrsa Gaeilge, Gairmeacha le Gaeilge (CEL 3010). Cuireadh an modúl ar fáil den chéad uair riamh i mbliana, agus is iontach an deis í do mhic léinn a bhfuil suim acu a bheith ag obair trí mheán na Gaeilge sa todhchaí.

An modúl

Gach Aoine, téann an rang uilig ar thaithí oibre sna háiteanna éagsúla atá roghnaithe againn, agus gach coicís, bíonn seimineár againn le comhordaitheoir an mhodúil, Dr. Síobhra Aiken. Sna seimineáir seo, bíonn plé á dhéanamh againn faoin taithí oibre go dtí seo, faoi dheiseanna fostaíochta atá ann agus an Ghaeilge agat (mar shampla, bhí ceardlann faoin aistriúchán againn leis an Dr. Órla Nic Ruairí, a oibríonn san Aontas Eorpach), agus faoi na scileanna éagsúla a bhaineann leis an domhan ghairmiúil.

An próiseas cuardaigh

I rith an tsamhraidh, bhí ar an rang uilig ár dtaithí oibre féin a eagrú go neamhspleách le gnó éigin a mbaintear úsáid as an Ghaeilge ann mar theanga oibre. D’aistrigh mé mo CV ón Bhéarla go dtí an Ghaeilge agus sheol mé ríomhphoist chuig áiteanna oibre éagsúla a raibh suim agam a bheith ag obair iontu, agus murar sheol siad freagra chugam, chuir mé scairt orthu. Ba thaithí ar leith í an próiseas cuardaigh féin, agus bhí sé tábhachtach a bheith daingean.

Sa deireadh, shocraigh mé le Raidió Fáilte – an stáisiún lán-Ghaeilge atá lonnaithe i mBéal Feirste – go ndéanfainn mo thaithí oibre leo.

Raidió Fáilte – cad chuige?

Roghnaigh mé Raidió Fáilte toisc go bhfuil suim ar leith agam sna meáin, agus chun fáil amach an bhfuil oiriúnach do phost sna meáin Ghaeilge. Anuas air sin, ní raibh mórán muiníne agam as mo chuid Gaeilge labhartha, agus b’iarracht í an taithí oibre seo feabhas a chur uirthi.

An sórt taithí a fhaighim

Níl mo thréimhse i Raidió Fáilte críochnaithe go fóill, ach fuair mé neart deiseanna agus traenála ann cheana féin. Bhí mé beo ar an aer mar agallaí dhá uair sa chéad lá a bhí mé ann, baisteadh tine gan amhras! Ach taithí mhaith a bhí ann, agus ón tseachtain sin amach, bíonn seans agam (agus ag an chailín eile atá i mo rang agus a dhéanann a taithí oibre in éineacht liom) a bheith ar an aer i rith an chláir ‘Beo ar Maidin’. Ar dtús, bhí muidne mar agallaithe, ach le déanaí bhí deis againn a bheith inár n-agallóirí – bhí sé sin i bhfad níos deacra, ach ba thaithí thábhachtach í, más rud é go mbeidh mé ag leanúint ar aghaidh le cúrsaí na meán amach anseo. Is deis foghlama í gach aon mheancóg a dhéanaim!

Chuir mé mo chlár ceoil féin le chéile fosta – d’fhoghlaim mé caidé mar a bhaintear úsáid as na cnaipí uilig agus as an chóras atá in úsáid ar ríomhairí an stáisiúin. Ní shílim go bhfuil mórán suime agam sna gnéithe teicniúla sin, ach tá sé riachtanach an buneolas sin a bheith agam, agus úsáideach, cinnte. Bíonn mórán saoirse agam mo smaointe féin a fhorbairt maidir le cláir; faoi láthair tá mé ag obair ar chlár a chuir mé le chéile liom féin faoi roinnt ceoltóirí Éireannacha éagsúla a bhfuil Gaeilge acu (mar sin bhí siad ábalta agallaimh a dhéanamh liom). Ba mhaith liom clár eile a dhéanamh faoi thionchairí na Gaeilge chomh maith, ach seans mór nach mbeidh an t-am agam roimh chríoch mo thréimhse i Raidió Fáilte.

Tairbhe an mhodúil

Tá mórán buntáistí a bhaineann leis an mhodúl seo. Mar a luaigh mé thuas, bíonn neart deiseanna foghlama ar fáil san áit féin a ndéanann tú do thaithí oibre ann, agus faigheann tú léargas ar an tslí bheatha a bhfuil suim agat inti. Sna ceardlanna, faigheann tú léargas ar shlite beatha eile nach mbaineann leis an taithí oibre atá roghnaithe agat, ach, b’fhéidir, a bhfuil suim éigin agat iontu. Is féidir leat tuairim níos feasaí a bheith agat, mar thoradh, faoi na poist a bheidh uait amach anseo.

Bíonn deiseanna aga naisc a chruthú, fosta, le daoine ón phobal Ghaelach a mbuaileann tú leo i rith na taithí oibre. Ní hamháin go bhfuil na naisc sin úsáideach faoi láthair agus mise mar bhall de choiste an Chumainn Ghaelaigh, ach beidh sé tábhachtach amach anseo gan aon agó.

Blog

My name is Órnaith Ní Fhearghail and I’m a student at Queen’s. I’m in the final year of my undergraduate degree in International Relations and Irish. This semester, I had the opportunity to take a brand new module as part of my Irish course, Gairmeacha le Gaeilge (Professions in Irish; CEL 3010). The module was made available for the first time ever this year, and it’s an excellent chance for students who are interested in working through the medium of Irish in the future.

The module

Every Friday, the whole class goes on work experience in the various places that they’ve chosen, and every fortnight, we have a seminar with the coordinator of the module, Dr Síobhra Aiken. In these seminars, we discuss our work experience until now, employment opportunities that are available when you can speak Irish (for example, we had a workshop with Dr. Órla Nic Ruairí, who works in the European Union, about translation), and the various skills relating to the professional world.

The searching process

During the summer, we (the class) had to organise our work experience independently, with businesses in which Irish is used as their working language, I translated my CV from English to Irish and sent emails to a variety of workplaces that interested me, and if they didn’t send an answer, I rang them. This searching process was a particular experience in itself, and it was important to be determined.

In the end, I decided with Raidió Fáilte – the Irish-language radio station situated in Belfast – that I would carry out my work experience with them.

Raidió Fáilte – why?

I chose Raidió Fáilte because I have a particular interest in the media, and I was hoping to find out whether I’m suitable for a job in Irish-language media. On top of that, I didn’t have a lot of confidence in my spoken Irish, and my work experience was an effort to improve it.

The sort of experience I get

My time at Raidió Fáilte isn’t finished yet, but I’ve already gotten a wealth of opportunities and training. I was live on air as an interviewee twice on my first day there, a baptism of fire without a doubt! However, it was a great experience, and since that week, I get the opportunity to go on air during the programme ‘Beo ar Maidin’ (as does the other girl in my class who does her work experience there with me). At the start, we were the interviewees, but recently we’ve gotten to be interviewers – that was a lot harder, but it was an important experience, if I’m to continue on in the media in the future. Every mistake I make is a learning opportunity!

I put my own music show together as well – I learned how to use the buttons and the sound system that’s used on the station’s computers. I don’t think I have much interest in the technical aspects, but it’s necessary to have that foundational knowledge, and useful, of course. I have a lot of freedom to develop my own ideas relating to shows; at the moment, I’m working on a programme I put together by myself about a few Irish musicians who speak Irish (which meant I was able to interview them). I would like to put a show together about Irish-language influencers, but chances are I won’t have time for that before the end of my time at Raidió Fáilte.

Benefits of the module

This module has a lot of advantages. As I’ve discussed above, a range of learning opportunities are available in the place where you do your work experience, and you can get an insight into the career of your interest. In the seminars and the workshops, you get an insight into the other careers that don’t relate to your work experience but, maybe, still interest you somewhat. You can have a more informed opinion, as a result, about the jobs you’d like down the line.

You get opportunities to create links, too, with people of the Irish community that you meet during your work experience. Not only are these links useful to me right now while I’m a committee member of An Cumann Gaelach, but I have no doubt that they’ll be important to me in the professional world, too.

Tags language skills, student blogger, student experience, student success

Career planning Careers programmes Employer Engagement Employer events Employer Insight Employers Graduate success motivation Strengths-based interviews Student experience

6 things we learned about resilience from our Employer Hotseat

Post author By Joseph Curran
Post date 20 November 2022

Beth MacDougall from EY delivered a session on Resilience. Here are the top takeaways.

Its normal to be nervous

“The one thing that terrified me literally more than anything was what am I gonna do for work. How am I gonna go into the workplace with this really strange title, this really long list of symptoms? And a degree that I don’t know how to be of use anymore and no experience. I was completely shook. I was absolutely terrified because all I wanted to do was work.”

But Beth goes on to say…

“I wish that I could go back to myself six years ago and say it’s going to be okay. It’s gonna be fine.”

Challenge = Change

“I learned that it is absolutely OK to challenge things in a process or on an application form, or in a procedure that you feel like you’re going to make you feel disadvantaged or unfair. There were plenty of times in an application form that actually will ask you to disclose a disability way before the ‘do you have a disability question’…that was my first lesson that it’s okay to challenge things. And that it’s the only way that we’re going to change things, by challenging and by asking the questions.”

People’s opinions are not your reality

“I remember the first time that I spoke with someone about my disability in a workplace, they actually told me that I was a health and safety risk, and it was selfish of me to be wanting to work in a workplace environment, after speaking to me for all of 2/3 minutes. I just wanted to have a conversation and explain, you know, but I can do this! But then why do I have to explain something? Why am I defined by this label that I have attached to me?”

Beth then speaks about how working as a recruiter allows her to speak to a range of people from all works of life

“We can learn from so many different people by having those conversations and again as recruiters we are in that position where we can constantly speak to a diverse group of people and learn from every single one of them. Giving someone a voice, really means that person is going to be able to bring their true authentic best self to the workplace.”

Play to your strengths (and find out how to play to your strengths!)

“Strength-based recruitment was definitely my friend…We might not have as much experience as persons who don’t have disabilities because it’s been harder for us to get that 0r maybe we’ve needed to take a break at times”

“So strength-based recruitment for me was so powerful in terms of I knew I didn’t have the experience that probably everyone else applying for this job did. I actually had no recruitment experience. I had plenty of student experience, plenty of mental health, well-being, events, development – but it was all dotted around different areas. I could only get small different bits of experience in different ways. I didn’t really know how to combine that. Until, I spoke to someone who help me do that”

Be proud and honest of who you are

“My interview at EY was actually the first time I ever disclosed my disability in an interview, outright. First question, “what are your motivations for EY” – well I have a disability. Straight up there. I’ve heard about this and this is why I did it because EY’s brand was all about a culture of belonging – our world your way. And I really truly believe that. I could see the images I could see the stories and I could see the things EY were doing to support people like me.”

“70% of people with a disability actually have an invisible disability which brings its own challenges. You can hide that until you get into your workplace, but if without disclosing a disability it’s very hard to get the support that you might need to be able to thrive and employ yourself the way that you want to.”

Who you are will show in what you do

Beth speaks about how people with different disabilities are often overlooked for employment and workplace stigma towards those disabilities

“People with disabilities are the largest pool of untapped talent. And that is because we do have, again those natural barriers, and sometimes that natural stigma of – traditionally disabled has meant something that someone cannot do.Whereas I would challenge that… people with disabilities are nature’s greatest problem solvers. We have to learn to live in a world that isn’t actually built always for us. We have to find different ways to do things. Which kind of brings me to my final point in terms of people with disabilities are some of the most valuable workforce that you can bring into an organisation. Those qualities of resilience communication, because you’re constantly having to communicate things, and ask for things and explain. Problem solving, creativity innovation, you name it, a person with a disability has to show that every single day in their life.”

Tags Advice, Employer engagement, employer events, Employer Insight, graduate success, student success

Canada Careers programmes Global Opportunities Go Global Go Global ambassadors international experience Student experience student success Student success stories

Student Experience: My Research Internship in Canada

Post author By Joseph Curran
Post date 8 November 2022

As F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, “It’s a funny thing about comin’ home. Looks the same, smells the same, feels the same. You’ll realize what’s changed is you.”

Departing London Heathrow, bound for Toronto Pearson.

Canada has always been on my travel list; known for its great outdoors, safe multicultural cosmopolitan cities, and friendly people. Engaging with people who had visited, Canada was always described to me as one of those places thats experience is nearly impossible to describe and after visiting once you’ll want to return.

So when the Mitacs Globalink Research Internship was released, it posed as an opportunity to spend up to 12 weeks researching in a country on my bucket list. And when people ask why I applied, I say why not, because I had so much to gain from this opportunity and little to lose.

I first applied for the Mitacs Globalink Research Internship in 2020 however was unsuccessful in my application. Fortunately, due to a change in my degree programme I became re-eligble to apply and reapplied in August 2021. Receiving, notification in September that my application had been nominated for the programme I began the process of filling out the application form, detailing experience I had gained from work experience the year before and what skills I could bring to the programme. With my application submitted it, I was left to wait to see if any Canadian professors would contact me. I was fortunate to be contacted by two professors in November to further discuss their projects and my suitability.

Outside the engineering building where I spent 10 weeks

By December, I had been selected and confirmed my place on the 2022 Globalink Research Internship.

From January through to departure in May, I organised my flights, housing, visa, starting/ finishing dates for the internship, and a small amount of currency. Connecting with my supervisor during this process made it feel less intimidating as I was able to ask questions or express queries.

Before I knew it May had arrived, and I was stood at the airport waiting to depart on one of my biggest adventures yet. An 8 hour flight, and 2 hour immigration wait later, I was in Toronto.

The first week, I was provided with a tour around the faculty, opened up a bank account, and familiarised myself with the campus. I was able to meet my supervisor and research team in person as well as start on my project. Over the next 10 weeks I was able to develop a general research topic of Micro-structural analysis of advanced composite structures, into a working conference and journal paper focusing on Investigation of impact response of 2D braided hybrid composites using Micro-CT. Throughout the project I was able to develop my knowledge of braided composites, non-destructive analysis, and composite sample manufacturing.

Emily in the lab with a manufactured sample

Alongside researching, I took the time to explore the city of Toronto through events such as Toronto Pride, Canada Day at Woodbine Beach, and a Blue Jays game at the Rogers Centre. These formed some of the key highlights of my internship in addition to trying different foods and visiting the key tourist attractions such as the CN Tower, Casa Loma, and the Aquarium.

As the end of July approached, I realised I had learnt more, made international friends, gained new experiences, and stepped out of my comfort zone to my growth zone. It’s an experience I will always look back on fondly and would encourage people to take as many opportunities to develop themselves personally and professionally.

Top Tips

Ask for help
Take time to explore where you are, it’s easy to get stuck in work
Keep in contact with your support network back home
Take lots of photos and videos
Plan in advance especially housing, visas, flights, packing.
Don’t give up

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Tags Canada, Global Opportunities, international experience, internships, student success