London Met students Get Ahead

Students at London Metropolitan University got the chance to boost their employment prospects and study skills at a special event “run by students, for students.”

Date: 29/03/2012

Students at London Metropolitan University got the chance to boost their employment prospects and study skills at a special event “run by students, for students.”

The Get Ahead conference, held in the Graduate Centre on Holloway Road, offered a range of sessions to help sharpen students’ employability, including interview techniques and self-branding.

There were also workshops on improving research skills, effective approaches to studying and advice on how to get the most from your dissertation. 

Funded by the University’s Centre for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT), the conference was another example of how London Met aims to add value to students’ education and helps develop their employability. 

The conference was organised by BA Events Management students Bruce Bruce and Lauren Winkelman.

Bruce said: “The conference was all about helping students improve themselves in many different areas, such as research, study and 'soft skills' like communication. It also helped prepare them for the job market when they finish their studies. It was a great success, and we had over 500 students come along and attend the sessions – a record number.

“It’s been a really big project, but it has been hugely rewarding and we’ve achieved so much.”

It wasn’t just London Met students who made the event possible – students from other faculties pulled together to make it a success.

Jay Taylor, who studies BA Design in The Cass, worked on the marketing for the event. He said: “I’m really proud to have been involved in the Get Ahead conference. It gave me the chance to apply the techniques I’ve learnt on my course to a real project.”

There have been three Get Ahead conferences at London Met in the past, but this year’s saw the largest numbers. The idea to hold such a student-led conference originally came from Sandra Sinfield, Teaching Fellow in CELT. 

Sandra said: “I think the students have done wonderfully. Each year we’re amazed at what students achieve when left to their own devices, and I have been really impressed with the energies of both Lauren and Bruce. 

“I hope other universities take note of what we’re doing here and let their students take the lead.”

The conference was a great success and students left feeling encouraged and empowered to take on the graduate job market. 

BSc Social Work students Sylvia Anthony and Jennifer Sinclair attended a workshop on developing confidence for interviews and were very impressed. Jennifer said: “It was excellent. The speaker spoke with such clarity and it was a very interesting session. We’re finishing and will be going to interviews soon so it was great to have this opportunity.” 

LLM student Camille Quint thought the conference was very helpful for students looking to improve their employability. She said: “The advice we received was really good, and there was some solid, concrete advice which I found really useful.

“I hope London Met will continue to hold these events in the future.”