Tag Archives: Employability

Students expand their horizons by attending the national Graduate Recruitment Exhibition!

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By Dr Heather Semper, Employability Lead for Psychology.

I was really pleased and proud to take our Psychology level 6 students along to the annual Graduate Recruitment Exhibition on Saturday 4th November 2017. This is a national event that happens every autumn at the NEC in Birmingham. The exhibition is organised by GradJobs and provides an opportunity for graduates to network with potential employers and find out about potential graduate training programmes, and employment opportunities. It is attended by some of the biggest employers of graduates such as DSTL, BAE systems, Lidl, the Armed Forces, Farmfoods, Adidas, Bet365, Network Rail, Amazon, amongst others.

Students attending the graduate recruitment exhibition #NGR17

Stalls were set out with information about careers, jobs, placements, and graduate training programmes with representatives from the organisations available to discuss their career options with the exhibitors, and collect some information and freebies at the same time.

The event also holds talks and clinics on employability topics such as how to network, CV clinics, careers advice talks, and one to one advice and guidance for graduates. There were talks given by employment experts on skills such as networking, completing application forms, and attending assessment centres. There were also opportunities for the students to discuss their CV, have a go at psychometric testing, and discuss their careers in one to ones with industry experts.

Our students listening to a really informative talk on networking by Dwain Reed (@dwainreed)

Students welcomed the chance to speak with potential employers to get a real feel for what the opportunities available to them from a variety of industry and organisations. Students reported that this was a really useful opportunity to speak with employers and helped them realise that there are many employment options available to them when they have finished their degree. For example Adelaide Neumann reported that

“The graduate recruitment exhibition was very helpful and very interesting. I would say it is definitely worth going (especially if you do not want to go into postgraduate studies in psychology) as there are so many job opportunities and you could literally apply anytime now to get a job for next year straight after you graduate.”

 

The Department of Psychology at Staffordshire University offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Psychology at the University’s £30 million Science Centre in Stoke-on-Trent.

Interested in a Psychology degree? Come to an Open Day – for further details and to book your place at an open day please click here.

For more information about the Psychology degrees on offer at Staffordshire University please visit the below pages:

Psychology Careers Fair 2017: Improving Students’ Employability!

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The Department of Psychology is pleased to announce that the Annual Psychology Careers Fair will take place on Wednesday 15th November 2017, 10am-3pm, in the LRV as part of Staffordshire University’s Future Fest week.

Attending this event will be a number of graduate employers and organisations including Stoke City Community Trust, The British Red Cross, Foundation Trust, St Giles Hospice, SYTECH – Digital Forensics, amongst others. Each of these exhibitors will be able to discuss volunteering opportunities, potential job vacancies and information on careers with their organisations.

In addition to these external organisations, the Staffordshire University Careers team will be available to talk to students about the services offered by the University’s Careers Network including the use of E-Coach, CV writing, and job hunting. There will also be a stall with information on postgraduate opportunities in Psychology at Staffordshire University. In addition, there will be an opportunity to meet current postgraduate students, who are willing to chat to attendees to provide insight from the student’s perspective on studying at postgraduate level at Staffordshire University.

Dr Heather Semper, Employability Lead for Psychology.

The Department of Psychology at Staffordshire University offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Psychology at the University’s £30 million Science Centre in Stoke-on-Trent.

Interested in a Psychology degree? Come to an Open Day – for further details and to book your place at an open day please click here.

For more information about the Psychology degrees on offer at Staffordshire University please visit the below pages:

Two prestigious BPS Undergraduate Research Assistantships awarded to the Staffordshire Psychology Department

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The Department of Psychology is delighted to have been awarded funds through the British Psychological Society Undergraduate Research Assistantship Scheme. The scheme is a prestigious award that marks out a student as a future researcher and potential academic.

The BPS Research Assistantship Scheme is highly competitive, so the Department is proud to be successful in being awarded two Assistantships to Dr Daniel Jolley and Dr Sarah Rose.

Dr Daniel Jolley

Dr Daniel Jolley, Lecturer in Psychology, has been awarded an Assistantship where our current Level 5 student Tanya Schrader will be working on a project examining conspiracy theories. Tanya has said:

“I am delighted to be included in the 2017 BPS Research Assistantship Scheme. This exciting opportunity will afford me invaluable research experience which I will apply to my future career. Thank you to the BPS, Staffordshire University and Dr Daniel Jolley for the support.”

Dr Sarah Rose

Dr Sarah Rose, Lecturer in Psychology and Director of Staffordshire University’s Children’s Lab, will be working with Ruth Pettitt, a current Level 5 student to investigate whether there is a reciprocal relationship between play and creativity in preschool aged children. Ruth has said:

“I am absolutely thrilled to be given this unique opportunity and very proud that I am considered both capable and worthy of the trust and support of Dr. Sarah Rose, Staffordshire University and the BPS. I will thoroughly enjoy immersing myself into the project and I am looking forward to my journey of learning over the summer.”

The two Staffordshire undergraduate students will be provided with the fantastic opportunity to gain ‘hands-on’ experience of research during the summer vacation. Dr Emily Buckley, Head of the Department of Psychology, provided a little more background on the awards:

“The assistantships will enable the students to gain an insight into scientific research, to develop their potential and to encourage them to consider an academic career within psychology.  We are very much looking forward to working with them.”

We wish both students the best of luck in their Summer Research Assistantships!

The Department of Psychology at Staffordshire University offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Psychology at the University’s £30 million Science Centre in Stoke-on-Trent.

Interested in a Psychology degree? Come to an Open Day – for further details, and to book your place at an open day, please visit: http://www.staffs.ac.uk/openyourmind/

For more information about the Psychology degrees on offer at Staffordshire University please visit the below pages:

Psychology Careers Fair 2016: Improving Students’ Employability!

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The Psychology department are pleased to announce that the Annual Psychology Careers Fair will take place on Wednesday 9th March 2016, 12-4pm, in the Science Centre Foyer.Psychology Careers Fair 2016

Careers Fair (March 15)

Students and exhibitors at last year’s Careers Fair

Attending this event will be a number of graduate employers and organisations including Saltbox, In Mind, Douglas Macmillan, and Think Ahead, amongst others. Each of these exhibitors will be able to discuss volunteering opportunities, potential job vacancies and information on careers with their organisations.

In addition to these external organisations, the Staffordshire University Careers team will be available to talk to students about the services offered by the University’s Careers Network including the use of E-Coach, CV writing, and job hunting. There will be also be stalls with information on postgraduate opportunities in Psychology at Staffordshire University with current postgraduate students willing to chat to attendees to provide insight from the students perspective on studying at postgraduate level at Staffordshire University.

Dr Heather Semper, Employability lead for Psychology.

The School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise at Staffordshire University is a leading School in the UK for Psychology degrees and is situated in the heart of England.  We produce internationally recognized research which is driving knowledge in this area forward and we work with a variety of healthcare providers, charities, international sports teams and private sector organisations.

For more information or details of the wide range of Psychology degrees on offer at Staffordshire University please visit our website and our courses page.

Student Blog – Iram: International Travel, Employability & Business Psychology

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Hi, my name is Iram and I am a final year Single Honours Psychology student here at Staffordshire University. Below is a post introducing a new module I will be undertaking as part of my degree studies:

During Business Week at the University I attended a talk by Louise Holland from Holland Alexander, who is also a Staffordshire University Graduate. She explained what challenges you would face when starting and running your own business and what individual skills and qualities are required. During the talk I was wondering how psychology would relate to business.

One of the great things about psychology is it can be applied to many different areas such as Health Psychology, Forensic Psychology and Counselling, but I had not heard a lot about psychology in the business area. But this was about to change when I attended a talk by Lesley Drumm, the award leader for BSc (Hons) Applied Computing. She introduced a new module: Interdisciplinary Entrepreneurial Application for Transforming Education in High Technologies, otherwise known as IDEATE High Tech. This module offers a unique opportunity for students from four different European countries; Finland, Lithuania, Slovenia and United Kingdom to work as a team and develop a business idea whilst building an entrepreneurial attitude.

Feb16 Iram 1 Finland

Turku, Finland

The aim of this module is to understand how to overcome contemporary challenges, environmental issues such as social equality and health and use important skills such as creative thinking and decision making for innovative business solutions. Students are required to work together online and travel to Turku, Finland as well as Vilnius, Lithuania to work together face-to-face. Even though most of the challenge information will be provided when we travel to Finland, we have been told the topic revolves around ‘technology addiction’.

Feb16 Iram 1 Vilnius

Vilnius, Lithuania

I was lucky enough to be one of the four students selected for this exciting module and I feel this will be a great opportunity to expand my psychological knowledge and work in a completely different subject. I am nervous as I have not studied or worked in the business area but being a Psychology student I understand how much of a growing topic ‘technology addiction’ is. So it will be beneficial to see how we can work together and use previous research to build new technologies with care to prevent negative health behaviours. I am also looking forward to placing my quantitative skills to gather appropriate market research. As well as of course enjoying the course, the travelling and working alongside international students and seeing how our ideas and work fit together.

The other fellow students selected for this module are:

Will, L5, BSc (Hons) Applied Computing: “I am nervous about the tasks ahead, but the experience of working in a different country is making me feel more excited.”

William, L5, BSc (Hons) Applied Computing: “I am excited to see how people from different cultures look and react to internet and technological addiction.”

Elizabeth, L6, BSc (Hons) Animal biology and Conservation: “I am really looking forward to studying in a different country and learning how students from other countries approach their work.”

Iram will be writing regular blogs as she works on the IDEATE module over the next few months – keep checking back for the latest updates on Iram’s business venture!

The School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise at Staffordshire University is a leading School in the UK for Psychology degrees and is situated in the heart of England.  We produce internationally recognized research which is driving knowledge in this area forward and we work with a variety of healthcare providers, charities, international sports teams and private sector organisations.

For more information or details of the wide range of Psychology degrees on offer at Staffordshire University please visit our website and our courses page.

StaffsPsych Student Blog: Mentoring GCSE Students

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Anthony Miller, a second year Sport & Exercise Psychology student at Staffordshire University, blogs on his experience working as a mentor with GCSE students:

An opportunity was advertised via the Psychology department’s Blackboard website to be a mentor at a high school in Stoke-on-Trent under the supervision of Penny Vincent. At first I was apprehensive, I had never done anything like this before! I plucked up the courage and realized how beneficial this could be for my professional development, so I decided to go for it!

I went to mentor some Year 11 students at Haywood Academy prior to the Easter break. Doing this really helped me realize what it takes to work in education, and how challenging it can be. For me, going into that situation blind (so to speak) really was difficult, but once the day was finished, I felt confident and competent. I gained the skills to help in a school setting and now I would not hesitate in doing more mentoring sessions.

A Miller Mentoring (March 2015)

Anthony mentoring Year 11 Haywood Academy students

What I actually did was indirectly help the students answer mock exam questions, by finding ways to help them get to an answer without directly feeding the answer to them. At first this was hard, especially without in-depth course knowledge. I also realized that each student is different, and adaptation to the needs of such students is key. Some are quiet, some are loud, and some just really struggle to listen, but this where experience comes in and I am glad I have started with this mentoring role now rather than later. The primary gain from doing this was the students realizing their potential, and learning through my guidance, making a genuine difference to their capabilities.

If you are interested in acting as a mentor please contact Penny Vincent at P.E.Vincent@staffs.ac.uk.

Keep up-to-date with regular student blogs and news via the Psychology Department’s blog and twitter feed.

Psychology Careers Fair 2015 – Improving students’ employability!

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Heather Semper, Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology & Employability and Careers Tutor for Psychology, reports on a successful Psychology Careers Fair:

Careers Fair (March 15)

A very busy fair!

The Psychology Department hosted a very successful annual careers fair on Monday 16th March 2015 in the Science Centre. A number of organisations attended the fair, including the British Psychological Society, the Samaritans, Think Ahead, Saltbox, In Mind, Challenge UK, and the Staffordshire University Careers team. Stalls were set out with information about careers, jobs and volunteering opportunities and postgraduate courses available at Staffordshire University.

Students had the opportunity to discuss their career options with the exhibitors, and collect some freebies at the same time. There were talks given by current postgraduate students studying Psychology related postgraduate courses at Staffordshire about their experiences in postgraduate study.

Careers Fair 2 (March 15)

Stalls at the Careers Fair

Students welcomed the chance to speak with current postgraduate students to get a real feel for what it is like to study at postgraduate level and enjoyed speaking with organisations about opportunities available to them.

The event had some really positive feedback from exhibitors who said that they were very impressed by our range of students and their enthusiasm for psychology related careers. The event was also well received by students who tweeted: “Found the careers fair really useful & informative today! Thank u team staffs!!!”.

Keep updated with the latest news and events from the Psychology department via the @StaffsPsych twitter feed!