Employability
Employability skills are built into our curriculum but we provide a wealth of opportunities for you to do extra things that will make you stand out from the crowd when applying for graduate jobs:
Placements
- Industrial/professional experience placements provide valuable research skills and work experience.
- Language placements have the added advantage of increasing your linguistic ability and exposing you to another culture.
- Summer placements are often available in our research labs allowing you to add something extra to your CV.
“My year working in industry for GlaxoSmithKline has helped me with my job because I learnt how to multitask effectively and respond to rapid change appropriately. The opportunity to go on an international placement gave me lots more to speak about throughout the application process and I’ve been told that was partly to blame for my application success!”
Dee Adebakin
BSc Neuroscience with Industrial Experience (graduated in 2010).
Now a Commercial Accountant with The Co-operative Group
Work for the Faculty
The Faculty also provides many opportunities for you to work in a paid or voluntary capacity as:
- Student Ambassador - represent the Faculty to prospective applicants and their parents
- Peer Assisted Study Scheme (PASS) Leader - facilitate the learning of first year undergraduates
- Course Representative - represent the views of your fellow students to staff.
These are challenging roles, which require the ability to problem solve, use initiative and communicate well with a range of audiences. Experienced ambassadors and PASS Leaders can even get the opportunity to lead and manage their own teams of students.
“My presentation skills were honed whilst working as a student ambassador, presenting to three hundred applicants fortnightly about the city. Now in my day to day job I am able to put myself forward and present confidently which has helped boost my profile in the company. The company is expanding into the developing markets at the moment, and with my international mobility and experiences it looks like I might be getting posted to India for a couple of years!”
Fran Barker
BSc Biochemistry with Industrial/Professional Experience (graduated in 2010).
Now a Research and Development Assistant, Reckitt Benckiser.
Enterprise project
In their final year students carry out an independent in-depth research project. A recent innovation is the introduction of enterprise projects, which involve close collaboration with entrepreneurs from local biotechnology and bioscience start-up companies.
Final year projects
“The commercial awareness that I developed throughout the Enterprise Project helps me in presenting practical business solutions to the legal problems I face day-to-day. It was also a really good talking point for interviews as it really makes you stand out as having done something which proves your interests are wider than pure science.”
Ed Spencer
BSc Biology (graduated in 2007).
Now a Trainee Solicitor with Taylor Wessing