Britains Got Talent

Another post for graduates who are seeking their next challenge. If you are trying to break into the employment sector and start to carve a career out for yourself, then you might be interested in this resource:

Graduate Talent Pool: Connecting businesses to graduate skills

This is a fairly new resource that started up in July 2009 and is open and available for 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 graduates. The Graduate Talent Pool promises high quality internships across the private and public sectors and is another way of getting yourself linked in with graduate opportunities as and when they arise. So why not take a look?

And if you're after a broader take on life after graduation, then why not take a look at the Directgov website. This will take you through other options such as postgraduate study, starting up a business, knowledge transfer schemes, volunteering and gap years. The world is your oyster - go forth and get it!

Introducing the Student Life and Learning Team

Well a couple of posts in and I guess I should really introduce the new team and say a little bit about what we’re all about. Basically, our being has been the result of a merger between a couple of central posts within student support & academic guidance and a faculty-specific learning support post. Together, we reckon we can achieve something quite wonderful and are getting quite excited about the impact we hope to make on student life here at Keele. Aiming our work at both undergraduate and postgraduate students, and supported by new leadership of the newly titled Student Support and Development Services (SSDS), we are well placed to provide an all encompassing developmental service to meet a range of needs. Sound good? … But what does it actually mean?

OK, so in line with many of the key priorities of the University, and with the sector as a whole, the Student Life and Learning Team core activities will include:

• Supporting and enhancing student academic development (academic writing, research skills, referencing, exam performance, managing the dissertation process)
• Supporting and enhancing student personal development (personal organisation, time management, dealing with stress, confidence issues, motivation)
• Developing and delivering effective and innovative learning services and resources, ( for example online resources, skills workshops, sessions for specific groups of students)
• Supporting students through transition, for example by providing effective induction and orientation events and activities and by coordinating peer mentoring
• Providing targeted support for underrepresented student groups and specific student groups, for example care leavers, mature students, postgraduates, students with disabilities
• Enhancing the student experience (through the provision of co-curriculum relevant workshops and the organisation of social events underpinning the academic year)
• Supporting Staff to Support Students

Wow wee - that all sounds really rather grand. And we will keep you updated as some of this work rolls out into reality. But to boot, we’re a friendly bunch and hope to forge partnerships across the university to provide a joined up, student-centred service that holistically enriches the student experience. We welcome any ideas from staff or students so here are our names and numbers. If you want to get in touch, please do!

Student Life and Learning Team:

Student Life and Learning Manager - Claire Slater-Mamlouk, Tel (01782) 734365

Student Life and Learning Developers - Verity Aiken, Tel (01782) 733599 and
Ian Ronald, Tel (01782) 733912

Student Life and Learning Administration & Reception Manager - Sue Hughes, Tel (01782) 734347

Web Pages and Online Media

And don’t forget, you can find us online in other places too. Our web page is currently under construction (because it’s brand new and shiny like us!), but in the short term, you can keep abreast of our activities via Twitter and/or Facebook. Go on - like and follow us!

Bye for now, The Student Life and Learning Team (aka Claire, Ian, Verity and Sue)

Schools out for summer...so what now?

That's right folks, we're fast approaching the end of the academic year. Blink and you'll miss it. In fact, a lot of you will already be done and dusted and are now just waiting for the results to come in. But what to do in the mean time? And what to do after results? Or indeed, what to do after Keele full stop!

Well, here's a starting point.

All students can tap into our in-house resources. The Careers Team have a plethora of information at their finger tips and can help you get on the right track and make the most of your valuable skills and time.

If you're a finalist and in a bit of a quandary over what to do next, you might find the Prospects website a useful resource. It provides information on postgraduate courses, graduate jobs, gap years and work experience. It also has advice on preparing for interviews, compiling a CV & covering letter for both potential employers and when applying for postgrad courses alongside tips on how to market your skills, what job would suit you and on job hunting. Click here to go to the Prospects website.

You might also find this graduate jobs site useful when looking for work and remember that you can set up job alerts as well as search for vacancies on several websites (e.g. The Guardian jobs and jobs.ac.uk). If you are very attached to the bubble environment that is Keele and want to continue studying, then you might want to look at the postgrad courses available here.

And for those of you are already coming back to continue your studies, then don't forget that the summer is an excellent time to get some of that all important experience under your belt. You might be able to apply for an internship, a quality opportunity to let you really work on those graduate attributes. Take a look at this internship website. And don't forget, even if you're taking up part-time work, you will still be putting your skills and qualities to the test - so do take time to note what skills you're using so you can sing and dance about them at a later date. Really, it all counts.