HEA Employability Focus Group B Dr Eleanor Quince 11 May 2012

2 Introduction Project funded by the Higher Education Academy (HEA) Central question: how can we make the best use of our relationship with our alumni in order to promote employability to our current students? Uses survey, focus groups, alumni interviews

3 Aiming to address … … three key research questions What is the impact of our current employability activities where alumni have an input? Are there any ways in which our alumni can help to raise the aspirations and enhance the employability of our students that we are failing to exploit effectively? Where within the student life-cycle can we make best use of alumni?

4 Today … … we are focussing on one of these questions: Where within the student life-cycle can we make best use of alumni? Mixture of discussion and feedback activities to address this question.

5 Activity One Get into pairs. You have 15 minutes to discuss: “In the future, you will need to go out and get a job”. Thinking about the process of applying for jobs, what are you most concerned about? help yourselves to food; you have paper and pens on which to write your main points should you wish to; After 15 minutes, we will discuss your responses.

Activity One - feedback What are your main concerns? 6

7 When we currently use alumni During 2011/12 we have used Alumni for a variety of activities which have run across the academic year. Alumni panels – five of these, Philosophy, History, Retail Sector, ML, Film. Aimed at year 2 and final year students. Talks – civil service Fast Stream; Chris Humphreys, Jason Cowley lecture – aimed at final year students Our survey results showed: that the majority of students wanted alumni input in the final year of study (43%)

8 Activity Two Get back into pairs. You have 10 minutes to: come up with three points within the student life-cycle when we can usefully use alumni – are we getting the timing right? What works best when, and why? How can we combine existing or suggested activities to create a sense of progression throughout the student life- cycle?

Activity Two - feedback What are your ‘three points’ in the student life-cycle when we can make best use of alumni? 9

10 Thank you! Follow project progress at: