Celebrating Summer Experience success

The celebration event at the city centre campus takes place on Wednesday 23 September and will include the presentation of seven Summer Experience Awards. Employers and students have been nominated for their commitment both to the project and to developing new skills.

Summer Experience, a project run by the University, offers students real-life work experience with local and regional businesses. The six-week programme offers students the opportunity to gain experience related to their degree subject, to develop important skills for the workplace and to gain an insight into working life. The initiative also offers benefits to participating employers who often use the experience to launch new projects and scope out potential future employees. Many of the employers are small organisations, so find the extra resource and expertise of great value.

The programme continues to go from strength to strength, with 62 placements completed this year compared with 44 last year.

The guest speakers at the event will include University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Brian Cantor, Gordon McKillop, CEO of the Sports Turf Research Institute, Sue Anderson-Brown of Westfield and former Summer Experience student participant Alina Marcu.

Joanne Beaumont, Head of Career Development Services, said: “Summer Experience has proved to be a hugely valuable programme in developing our students’ skills and experience and in forging links with employers regionally. It makes a major contribution to the University having one of the highest rates of graduates entering employment and we look forward to developing it further in future years.”

The University of Bradford puts employability at the core of its ethos, believing that the skills and tools their students are equipped with give them the edge in a fiercely competitive graduate job market. Offering relevant work experience to its students is a key part in helping them to become ‘job-ready’ after graduation.

Following on from Summer Experience, the University will soon launch its 2015/16 Graduate Internship Programme. The scheme is aimed at giving new graduates a 10-week paid internship with local companies that have a specific project to work on. Running from November through to March 2016, the scheme gives new graduates the opportunity to gain valuable experience and progress their careers, while giving employers fresh skills and enthusiasm to work on new projects.

Notes:

For more information on Summer Experience or the Bradford Graduate Internship Programme contact: Alison Hedley, Employer Services Manager 01274 235823 a.hedley@bradford.ac.uk