Tag: Real-World Challenge

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Careers programmes

Sustainable Idea Exchanges at Real-World Challenge Climate Change

staff and students standing together on a roof terrace

Careers, Employability & Skills were recently joined by Northern Ireland climate and business leaders for a student focused Real-World Challenge Climate Change event held at PwC’s Merchant Square Offices in Belfast.

There were over 40 students on the day keen to take up the challenge of examining how industry leaders can use the ecological crisis to inform decision-making and prompt action.

The students heard from representatives from PwC, as well as guest speakers from other organisations, and the event’s Keynote Speaker was Professor John Barry, Co-Director of the Centre for Sustainability, Equality and Climate Action (SECA) at Queen’s University Belfast.

Students from a range of disciplines were asked to present their ideas to drive sustainability transformation to leaders from the public, private and not-for-profit organisations, while developing key employability skills in the process.

Our students spent the day immersed in this real-life challenge faced by leaders from a wide range of sectors. This experiential programme helps students explore change and innovation, allowing them to develop better problem-solving skills and the ability to work in diverse groups and is an invaluable component of the work we do in shaping the development of future-ready graduates.

Climate change affects us all, so it is essential for people to be able to work across diverse teams and to develop the critical thinking skills needed to tackle these big picture challenges.

The event attendees gave some really positive feedback on the day via LinkedIn, you can read some of the feedback below:

“Along with a diverse group of students from Queen’s University Belfast, we looked at ways in which we could tackle issues ranging from climate justice, to urban planning, to carbon free futures. We had interdisciplinary and collaborative discussions based on creating more liveable futures. This experience was both humbling and empowering.”

Elisa Jimenez, Queen’s University Belfast BA Anthropology, International Relations

Attending the #Realworldchallenge on Climate Change and the Ecological Crisis was an enlightening experience, one that has reshaped my perspective on leadership, decision-making, and action within this critical context. Organized by Queen’s University Belfast and PwC UK, this event was a masterclass in collaborative learning and forward-thinking.

Kevin Philip, Queen’s University Belfast, MBA Candidate

“I was able to collaborate with people from different backgrounds to discuss innovative solutions to help solve the problem of climate change. It was inspiring and informative to learn more about the different challenges climate change poses in various sectors. I am grateful for this opportunity and the people I met along the way.”

Cheryl Watson, Second Year History and Spanish Student at Queen’s University Belfast.

“I had the incredible opportunity to participate in the ‘Real-World Challenge: Climate Change’ event in Belfast.

This event featured engaging discussions and activities led by both students and industry experts, covering all topics related to environment, climate change, and sustainability.
With such a diverse demographic, it was great to hear the opinions and perspectives from my peers of different backgrounds on how we can progress in this world.

A quote I would like to take from this event was spoken by Professor John Barry “We will not have a green version of the present”—a truly inspirational speaker.

Kieran Robertson, PhD Student Queen’s University Belfast

Visit the Real-World Challenge webpage

Categories
Creative thinking Development Student experience student success

Real World Consultancy Programme

People around a computer thinking

Could you join a student team and tackle a real challenge facing a client or organisation? Hear from the students that did!

Students gained a different type of work experience by providing a consultancy service to real clients and working on a real challenge that those clients face.

They worked in a project team with other students from different disciplines and were facilitated through a Design Thinking process to resolve the client’s problem.

This programme provided students with practical experience for developing these Future-Ready Skills: Interpersonal Skills, Commercial Awareness, Initiative, Innovation and Creativity.

Brian Conway – Mechanical Engineering

“My favourite part of the experience was the multidisciplinary aspect. From an engineering background, I think it was interesting to learn about Finance, Marketing, other people’s courses and how they can bring their knowledge to the course as well”

Xinxin Wang – International, Commercial and Business Law

“I learned creative thinking skills to use my imagination in consulting projects and cooperation skills to persuade people to accept my ideas and I will accept the others also”

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Hannah McConville – Planning, Environment and Development

“The best part of this week has definitely been meeting new people and putting everybody’s ideas together. I’ve also found it very refreshing taking a break from revising and placement and things like that. So yeah, I’ve definitely enjoyed it

Mary McCormick – Biological Sciences

A big one has definitely been able to collaborate with new people to create new, innovative ideas.

Missed this event? Check out other QUB Careers Events here

Categories
Development Employer Insight Industry insight

Justice Minister Naomi Long MLA leads Queen’s students to tackle youth reoffending in Northern Ireland

The Careers, Employability and Skills team at Queen’s University Belfast were delighted to welcome Justice Minister Naomi Long MLA to the launch of the new student development programme ‘Real-World Challenge: Inside the Prison System’ on Saturday 13 March 2021.

The Justice Minister addressed the first cross-disciplinary cohort of over 30 Queen’s students to complete the virtual consulting challenge, which involved expert mentorship from justice agencies in a bid to tackle the problem of youth reoffending in Northern Ireland. 

Joined by NI Prisons Director, Austin Tracey; Olwen Lyner, Chief Executive of NIACRO; Fred Caufield, Executive Director of the Prison Arts Foundation and by staff and inmates from Hydebank Wood Young Offenders Centre and Prison, Ms Long advocated for a collaborative, people-centred approach to reduce reoffending, highlighting the following points:

“Rehabilitation is about building positive and constructive relationships with those in our care as we challenge and support them to change. Regardless of what they have done, they are people, just like you and me, and should be treated firmly but fairly, and with courtesy and respect.” 

“There are a range of socio-economic factors which have been known to have an impact on reoffending, including poverty, social deprivation, mental health issues, substance misuse, homelessness and a lack of educational attainment and employment opportunities. These factors contribute towards the reasons why people become involved in crime in the first place and they are often exacerbated through contact with the justice system leading to a cycle of offending which causes significant harm to victims and communities. Addressing reoffending not only means tackling these issues but also creating positive connections back into supportive families and communities so that they become enablers of real change.”

“With children, offending is often a manifestation of underlying issues such as problems within the family home, disengagement from the education system, poverty and social exclusion. A new model of practice based on the child first, offender second approach, includes a focus on adverse childhood experiences, trauma-informed practice and signs of safety. Keeping children out of the justice system and out of custody in particular can be key to improving their longer-term outcomes.” 

“The development and delivery of problem-solving approaches means dealing more effectively with the root causes of offending behaviour in a range of areas including both domestic abuse and substance misuse… Having a safe place to live is one of the most important factors contributing towards someone moving away from offending behaviour. So, we want to improve the support offered to these offenders upon their return to the community to ensure that they do have secure housing. Improving access to opportunities for re-education and employment is also crucial.”

“A significant number of offenders have underlying health needs. The Departments of Health and Justice are working to improve health outcomes for people in the criminal 

justice system in particular collaborating with social care professionals to improve services for people in Northern Ireland Prison Service care and also via delivery of a renewed person-centred approach to supporting people at risk of suicide or self-harm…. The Probation Board are also engaged in the early scoping work around the development specifically of a Mental Health Court.”

“There is still much room for improvement at each end in terms of diverting people away from the prison system and from custodial sentences and also ensuring better rehabilitation and resettlement for those who emerge from the justice system.”

Claudine Sutherland, an Employer Engagement Officer within Careers, Employability and Skills at Queen’s University Belfast said: “We’re delighted that the Justice Minister and Prison Director could take time out of their busy schedules to motivate and inspire our students.”

Mary McLaughlin, a Careers Consultant within Queen’s Careers, Employability and Skills, added: “At Queen’s, we’re always looking to give our students access to industry insight experiences and to offer them opportunities to apply their academic knowledge to real-world settings. This is particularly important during this academic year, with lockdown restrictions narrowing the opportunities for exposure to the real working environment. Our Real-World Prison Challenge is a very welcome example of how we have been able to diversify the delivery of our Careers service and embrace digital platforms to continue to support our students and graduates with all aspects of career planning, development and decision making.”

Queen’s University Belfast will be running similar Real-World Challenges in 2021 and beyond and hope to see many more students taking part. Check our events page for details.