Convenor's comments
From John Marsh, Convenor of the General Council Business Committee
There will be an opportunity to elect several General Council Business Committee (GCBC) members at the General Council meeting in January, and I would like to encourage all General Council members to consider standing. Membership of the GCBC is your opportunity to contribute to the University by providing the perspective of its graduates, and the nomination process will shortly be advertised on the University website.
I believe that teaching and learning, the theme of this issue, is not the sole preserve of the academics. Those of you with some experience of life in business and industry, and also those who took the path of self-employment, are surely in a strong position to give practical advice and assistance on job-seeking, starting a business and planning their career path to help new graduates just starting out in the world of employment.
Two Business Committee members recently spoke to the Careers Service to gain a better understanding of what is being done to support the journey of our student population into the world of employment. It became clear that they have a huge number of excellent initiatives on the go and are working with a wide range of individuals and organisations as part of this process.
The Director of the Careers Service, Linda Murdoch, highlighted the fact that they are eager to encourage alumni to join The Network, the University’s online platform for alumni and students, and to hear from organisations which may be able to offer opportunities for internships via the Career Service’s Internship Hub.
The University has given its students the knowledge and skills to succeed; you have the expertise to teach them the strategies to beat the competition. By signing up to The Network (see right), you can make yourself available to students to answer their careers questions, and provide guidance and mentoring. The Internship Hub already places over 350 students in internships each year.
Linda is especially interested in the Life Sciences and Arts area as there is a real shortage of opportunities in these sectors, but help from any business sector would be very much appreciated.
The next meetings of the General Council take place on Thursday 24 January 2019 and Monday 17 June 2019 in the Senate Room, Main Building at 6pm for 6.30pm.
