Tag: Career Planning

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Careers programmes

Top Law Programme back for 2024

spotlight on law

Our popular Spotlight On Law programme made a return in semester 2 of 2024.

Comprising two-days of in-person workplace visits to local and global law firms based in Belfast, the programme gave students an opportunity to:

  • Take part in case studies, workshops, panels and legal skills sessions
  • Hear from barristers and solicitors from a variety of practice areas
  • Get tips from recruiters on getting hired by a top law firm
  • Practical career knowledge on internships, placements, vacation schemes and training contracts.
  • Gain a Future-Ready Award.

The programme participants were a mix of Queen’s University Belfast Law students and students from other disciplines within Queen’s. They visited a number of Law firms during the programmes including, A&L Goodbody LLP, Tughans LLP, Fieldfisher LLP, Lewis Silkin, and Factor.

After the Law firm visits, the programme culminated with a Panel Event and Networking Session at One Elmwood, where students heard from more experts across the legal field who gave insights into their own career journeys, including, Arthur Cox NI, Departmental Solicitors Office, Herbert Smith Freehills, The Law Society of Northern Ireland of NI, Phoenix Law (Human Rights Lawyers), and TLT LLP.
 
The networking that followed provided a good opportunity for our students to connect with numerous law firms and potential employers, including TLT LLP, A&L Goodbody LLP, Phoenix Law, Arthur Cox, the Departmental Solicitors Office, and Fieldfisher.
 
A massive thank you to our partners at Queen’s School of Law and to all the employer partners and our students who made this year’s tour a resounding success. We are already looking forward to 2025’s programme.

Below is some feedback from students who participated in the tour.

What an incredible start to the 2024 Careers in Law Insight Programme! A heartfelt thank you to everyone at A&L Goodbody LLP for hosting us today. The session on commercial awareness and the firm’s CSR initiatives was not only informative but truly inspiring. It was also a pleasure to meet and learn from Queen’s Careers staff, Terry O’ Hanlon, Phil Wren, and Mark Gallagher. Your dedication to fostering student employability and skills development is evident and greatly appreciated.

Rushikesh Ravindra, Queen’s Law and Technology student

A special thanks to Queen’s Careers staff Terry O’ Hanlon, Mark Gallagher and Phil Wren for putting this tour together, it has made a massive impact on my decision to enter the law industry. As a student from outside the school of law, I cannot recommend this tour enough if you are considering a career in the legal industry. This tour has opened my eyes on the opportunities available to me as a non-law student.  
 

Jake Dodds, Queen’s History Undergraduate

The tour closed with a panel event and networking session at the QUB One Elmwood building, where we had the privilege of learning from some key members of the legal landscape in Belfast, each offering a unique and invaluable perspective on the journey into a career in law.

Rebecca Carlin, Queen’s LLB Law student

Find out about the Spotlight on Law Tour at https://go.qub.ac.uk/spotlightonlaw

Categories
Careers programmes

Future-Ready Skills for Leaders returns for another fantastic round

future-ready skills for leaders programme 2024

2024 saw the return of our popular Future-Ready Skills for Leaders Programme in Careers, Employability & Skills.

Around 50 students took part in this year’s programme, which offers ann opportunity for any student of any discipline or level to build commercial awareness and develop teamwork, management, leadership and presentation/negotiation skills.

Participants worked in teams, through a series fast moving but fun business games and challenges to win prizes. Each team was mentored by an Employer representative.

There were some fantastic business ideas, design skills and prototypes on display, and the teams sold their products well to our team of judges at the Innovation Fair.

Thanks to all the students who took part, and to all the Employers for their help with bringing the business ideas to life this week.

It was a fun three days, with some great opportunities for networking and some new friendships formed. 

We are also happy to announce we came second, (highly commended), at the AHECS Employability Awards in Dublin in the ‘Supporting Student / Graduate Employability’ award category for the Future-Ready Skills for Leaders programme.

Big congratulations to our Careers Consultant Emma Lennox who was managing the programme. The Careers team really enjoyed the awards and communicating the benefits of the programme to other Careers professionals in various educational institutes.

Check out Queen’s University Belfast Masters student Malavika Mahendranat’s blog about their experiences of the three day programme.

Hear what some of our other students had to say about their experiences on the programme:

These few days have been honestly indescribable for me. I had the opportunity to participate in a series of business games and challenges which helped me to develop my teamwork, leadership, and strategic thinking skills. The program was designed to be dynamic and engaging, constantly challenging us to think on our feet and collaborate effectively under pressure. I was also impressed by the diversity of the participants, who came from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds like undergraduates, postgraduates, and PhD students. Overall, it was an unbelievable experience that left a lasting impact on me.

Aaditya Joshi, Queen’s University Belfast student.

As a Humanities postgraduate who does not usually venture into the realm of business events, the FRS-Leaders Program was one phenomenal way for me to begin exploring the unknown, get outside my comfort zone, and to inculcate important values necessary to improve one’s quality of life.

I loved meeting, laughing, creating and collaborating with all of you! Thanks a tonne, Careers Queen’s University Belfast !

Ashwin Somanath, Queen’s University Belfast, Postgraduate Student

I had so much fun completing the Future- Ready skills for leaders programme over the last 3 days! I really enjoyed the challenges , developing my skills and getting to meet new people! A big thank you to everyone involved

Sophie Wylie, Queen’s University Belfast student

I must extend my gratitude to Emma Lennox, (Queen’s Careers Service), for her outstanding training sessions. I always enjoy her program, and I can feel tons of effort behind designing the session, inviting speakers and judges, and preparing those materials. I also learned a lot from Patricia Durkin, (Queen’s Careers Service), about generating a business idea from scratch. We are so solution-driven, and Patricia guided us to consider problems, which was crucial for business and leadership.

Looking forward to working with you in the near future

Yanglu Alex Wang, Queen’s University Belfast, PhD Researcher

Some of my key insights of the Future-Ready Skills for Leaders programme include:
– Leadership is about diverse styles, from leading by example to empowering others.
– Mistakes are part of the journey; resilience and perseverance are key.
– Empathy, anticipation, and confidence are vital for effective leadership.
– Continuous learning is essential; staying curious and seeking knowledge keeps you ahead.
– Engaging in hands-on learning enhances practical problem-solving abilities.

Uma Ravi, Master’s Student, Queen’s University Belfast.

Find out more about the Future-Ready Skills for Leaders programme.

Categories
Careers programmes gradireland Graduate success

The gradireland Undergraduate of the Year Awards 2024

gradireland undergraduate of the year

Queen’s Computer Science student Tim Chan, takes us through his night as an award nominee at the gradireland Undergraduate of the Year Awards 2024.

Take it away Tim…

“A few months ago, an email from the Queen’s Student Union’s VP of Undergrad Education told us about the gradireland Undergraduate of the Year Awards. The gradireland Undergraduate of the Year Awards is an annual competition aimed at finding the best undergraduates in Ireland. Each award is sponsored by a different graduate recruitment company with its own prize including things like cash prizes or work experience with the graduate employer.”

“I nominated myself for the ‘Difference Maker Undergraduate of the Year Award’, in the hope of highlighting some of the work I do in student societies and as school rep for EEECS to inspire other students to also take part in these rewarding activities. The nomination process included an online application form with specific questions about the award, an online test and an online interview (this differs depending on the award category). About a month later, I received an email that I was shortlisted as one of the top 10 finalists of the award, and was invited to the final award ceremony in Dublin.”

“The award ceremony was in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin during April, and it was amazing. We were greeted by gradireland and were given complimentary tea/coffee and some snacks for about an hour of networking with finalists from all the award categories. This was followed by an amazing three course dinner, which was really good, better than any formal dinner I’ve been to during uni. It was at that table that I met another student from Queen’s, Mary Freeman, who was nominated for the same award category, and we found out that we were even on the same train on the way down.”

“During the awards dinner we sat with representatives from the graduate employer sponsor of our award. That was when I met Barry who was currently the Vice President of Chartered Accountants and was about to enter a new role as President. I thought the experience was going to be super scary, but everyone was very friendly, we shared funny experiences and everyone’s career journey even though mine hadn’t even started and everyone was very down to earth.”

“Whilst I didn’t win the final award, this was an amazing experience. I got to network with other amazing finalists and was told that if a careers as a Software Engineer doesn’t work out, I could always try accountancy. I would definitely recommend anyone to apply for the awards when they come out in future years, there’s absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain!”

Some highlights from the night of the awards, including that amazing three course awards dinner!

Categories
advice Career planning consultants consultations

Meet our Career Consultants: Carmel Colton

Careers Consultant Carmel speaking with a student
Carmel Colton

My name is Carmel and I’m a Career Consultant working within the Careers, Employability and Skills team here at Queen’s.

A Career Consultant provides impartial and confidential career information, advice and guidance

We do this through 30 minute one-to-one career consultations.

These can be done either online or face-to-face in the new One Elmwood Student Centre.

There is a Career Consultant aligned to each school in the university, so you’ll often see us out and about in your classes,

supporting the delivery of careers and employability within the curriculum.

The career consultation is perhaps very different from what you have previously experienced within the school system, as you take a more active role in the process.

You will be able to consider your next step and put a plan in place to move forward.

There are many benefits to engaging with a Career Consultant, regardless if you know

exactly what you want to do, have absolutely no idea what you want to do, or maybe somewhere in between.

Making a career decision can often be overwhelming and confusing.

The best part of my job is that every day is different.

It aligns with my personal values of helping and supporting others

and making a positive contribution to those around me.

The worst part of my job is seeing students that are overwhelmed and anxious about their career prospects, while the best part is supporting those students to recognise their own potential, to build their confidence and to reach their aspirations.