Taking place on Tuesday 5^th & Wednesday 6^th June, this year’s Focus on Management course is now accepting applications.

If you want to…

• Tackle a variety of real-life business challenges through case studies
• Gain commercial awareness from some of the top graduate employers
• Network with various graduate employers and managers from their departments
• Begin the transition from university student to working professional

… then Focus on Management 2018 is the course for you!

Focus on Management is a two-day course packed full of activities, which will give you an interactive and rewarding immersion into the world of business. Your team-working, problem-solving and presentation skills will be put to the test. You will work in teams, facilitated by a team manager, on business case studies from graduate employers.

You will have the opportunity to meet and learn from different companies, including Amazon, the Civil Service and GSK. More organisations to be announced soon. Previous years have included PwC, P&G, Capco, Wellcome Trust, ICAEW and WaterAid.

See what students said about the course on YouTube

Go to http://www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/focus for more details and application instructions

If you are interested in this course, you may also be interested in graduate opportunities available from our sponsor Amazon. In particular, their Leadership Development Programme is suitable for aspiring managers. Once you complete Pathways, all kinds of opportunities open up for you across the full Amazon ecosystem, including Retail, Kindle, AWS (web services), and more.

Previous Pathway graduates are now:

• Directors of Fulfillment Centers
• Speciality businesses, such as Prime Now
• Customer Service Directors
• Senior Managers of Transportation Optimisation
• General Managers

But of course, as a global ever-evolving company they have numerous opportunities throughout Europe across their operations, corporate to technology business areas. See below chart for both graduate programmes and internships available in Europe.

We contacted students who have previously participated in Focus on Management to see how they’ve been getting on since the course. We saw that they were thrilled on the last day of the course … but how has completing Focus on Management impacted them and their career? Here’s a selection of the responses we received:

 

Marianne Thompson – BA French and Spanish (Joint Honours)

“I was recently able to draw upon the invaluable experience that I gained from this course at an assessment centre for an international investment bank. I believe that it was my exposure to business case studies during Focus on Management that best prepared me for this process, and I was successful in gaining a place on the competitive summer internship.

I would highly recommend the Focus on Management course to anyone who is thinking about applying for internships or graduate schemes, as it is the perfect introduction to the kind of work you will be expected to complete at assessment centres, as well as providing you with the skills and knowledge to impress employers in the future.

The diversity of the business case studies presented, along with the intensive nature of the course, means that you are always kept on your toes and you are constantly being challenged in new ways.”

 

Andrew Dunn – MA in History

“Focus on Management was marketed as an opportunity to network with some of the brightest sparks of UCL’s student body – and they were! It was a practice run at many of the exercises that one might find at an assessment centre. The opportunity to work with other students to solve these exercises helped me develop a greater awareness of my own skills as a leader and team-worker.

Shortly after taking part in Focus on Management, I put the skills learnt to the test during an assessment day. I’m pleased to report that I must have picked something useful up, as I was subsequently offered a position! I strongly recommend any student at UCL to have a go at Focus on Management … you won’t be disappointed!”

 

Pancali Hume – MSc in International Public Policy

“I found out about Focus on Management after seeing an email about it from UCL Careers and there was a part of me that almost didn’t apply – but I am so happy that I did!

…the course prepared me for my upcoming assessment centre at a professional services company far better than my individual research or any practice interviews I did. It challenged my thinking and allowed me to practice vital presentation skills and teamwork exercises in a realistic context.

I would recommend Focus on Management to all UCL students as I sincerely believe this is the prime time to be thinking about leadership and creating concrete goals to champion and lead change in our generation.”

 

Rohan Krajeski – MRes in Biomedicine 

“Since completing the Focus on Management 2017 course at UCL, I took up a position as a Research Assistant in Neuroscience at the University of Oxford.

The skills I developed on the 2017 course is useful for my current work. The ability to effectively work with others has led to a number of collaborations with other research groups within the institution, and we are now looking further afield with abroad collaborations, particularly in the US.

Skills developed in effective planning and commutation has helped me complete high volumes of work quickly and reliably – only 6 months into my work I am shortly ready to submit two papers for academic publication, as well as writing a number of neuroscience articles for local and national neuroscience associated magazines.

Most vitally, skills developed in public speaking (and in listening/reflection) has greatly affected my current work. I am due to present my research from Oxford at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) Forum in Berlin, Germany. Plus additional talks are scheduled for the UK, such as at UCL in May 2018.

I think it is also important to note, that when I was applying for my work at Oxford, I had only recently completed the Focus on Management 2017 course. I was able to integrate the skills mentioned above into my interview and presentation prep. for my job advertised – I think it made all the difference.” 

Inspired by the words of previous years’ participants? – Apply now

Go to http://www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/focus for more details and application instructions.

 

Focus on Management 2018 is sponsored by Amazon

 

 

 

Panellists

Victoria Hogg – Co-Founder, Duck Duck Goose Improv

James Baskerville – Junior Specialist, Christie’s

Jo Knox – Learning Assistant, Royal Academy of Arts

Jenny Cooper – Freelance Arts Facilitator

Daniel Slater – Head of International Collection Exhibitions, Tate

Dr Marquard Smith – Programme Leader, MA Museums & Galleries in Education, Department of Culture, Communication & Media, UCL Institute of Education

Bryan Cooney – Director of: Exhibitor/Marketing/Brand/Sponsorship/Guests, MCM London Comic Con 

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The Working in the Arts Forum was held on the 14th November as part of the Museums and Cultural Heritage week. Seven speakers from various different roles in the Arts came to give students an overview of how they started out in their field of work, how their work has progressed and general helpful tips of how to get in to the industry.

The panellists discussed that it is advantageous to always make the most of all opportunities that you find come your way. The first job that you may find may be a volunteering role (an example) at a small local gallery once a week. Be flexible and open to the possibility of working a part time or internship job with a job that you find less interesting to pay the bills. This opportunity may lead in time to a full time position in an industry or employer that you are keen to work for. The panel also discussed that volunteering may prove problematic for students who financially are unable to volunteer full time to gain experience. Part time volunteering was suggested. It was also discussed that the first role found may not necessarily be a role that is a first choice, however it may get students in to the industry, gaining experience and meeting people who may in the future higher for roles that maybe of interest.

All of the panellists agreed that networking was a great way to expand opportunities, be it online or networking face to face. Opportunities may present themselves at the time or through a connection that students have made by building relationships. Using tools such as social media. Twitter was discussed as good way of keeping up to date with events within companies.

It was discussed that it is easy to become deflated, especially at the beginning as students may receive no responses to opportunities that they have applied for. Keeping up persistence and knowing that they may not be successful immediately in the beginning. Discussions were also given to knowing how crucial it is to know the sector. There is no excuse for not knowing this in 2017. The internet is a huge resource.

The panel discussed the need to be proactive. If students are not sure about how to apply, finding out by contacting the place of interest. When applying think about using any transferable skills that may have been accumulated already, such as any work or volunteering, even if you think it is not relevant to the job that you are applying for. Skills will have been built throughout university such as, leading on projects, teamwork and communication skills.

The panellists then discussed that some people are lucky, they know what they want to do. Many people are not sure. Learning is the key, learn what you like. If you are not sure what you like, try a variety of different options. Some of the panellists discussed that they did not know what they wanted to do after leaving university. It was discussed and advised that it is really advisable to think about what you are good at, what are your best skills? One panellist discussed that he had no plan when he left university and that he spent his first year of work doing everything for experience, working in galleries, internship, working manual labour.

Closing thoughts were be strategic, try to plan, pursue what you love.  Finding out what you love and figuring out how to get money from it. Every job you do is a pathway, everything will help, be adaptable to situations. Thinking outside the box, thinking and talking about art and creative ideas even when you are not at work.

 

We had 15 organisations involved in International Development Week including governmental departments, charities, NGOs and private companies which shows the scope of opportunities which exist if you decide this is the sector for you.

Our week started with a panel discussion bringing together representatives from Care International, Department for International Development (DFID), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Oxfam, PwC and was chaired by Dr Priti Parikh, Programme Director for MSc in Engineering for International Development.

Our panellists working in diverse capacities from a humanitarian co-ordinator to a consultant shared their experience and insights to give students an insiders’ perspective of what to expect. Read Top Tips from Industry Experts on how to stand out.

Laying the foundation for an understanding of the sector, Dr Callum Leckie presented an overview of the types of roles available, qualifications required, and how and where to gain experience. We were joined at the event by UCL alumni who’ve worked at British Pakistan Trust, The Hummingbird Foundation, MSF, Plan International, Save the Children, Wateraid and The World Bank for informal networking to answer questions on a one to one basis.

Read Breaking into International Development and Working in International Development – Alumni Case Study.

The Week drew to a close by highlighting graduate schemes with DFID, Charityworks and Mott MacDonald who also offer internships. A consistent message throughout has been the importance of volunteering and this can be undertaken in the UK via Volunteering Service or overseas with VSO.

A student has summed up the Week: “It was directly focussed at our current stage in life as students and encouraged me to think about next steps. I have really enjoyed International Development Week and am looking forward to now seeking out more opportunities to find out more and get involved.”

 

What do you imagine when you think of working in International Development? Maybe you envisage working on the ground in a remote, developing part of the world to address issues such as poverty, disease and education. This image of front line work provides the visible and public face of International Development but have you considered the wide range of roles and functions required to support the successful execution of projects on the ground? These support roles may be less visible but could provide a good foothold into International Development. For example, policy, advocacy/outreach, human resources, finance, IT.

If you’re considering a career in this rewarding sector you will probably want to start preparing yourself sooner rather than later as International Development is a competitive field to break into.

Here are a few tips to help you with this.

• Have a clear idea about the kind of development work you want to do. This is likely to involve investigating the different roles within International Development and considering which of these roles might be a good fit for your academic background, experience, skills and career interests.
• Think about specialist or technical skills/qualifications/experience that might be required and consider how you might acquire these.
• Gain experience and build networks/contacts through volunteering activities, involvement in fundraising or campaigning activities, blogging etc…
• Commitment to/experience of International Development is essential and it’s unlikely you’ll be able to secure a graduate position without having relevant experience (voluntary or paid) on your cv.
• Consider gaining relevant/transferrable experience and qualifications outside the International Development sector. It’s not unusual for professionals to transition from the commercial sector into international development a few years into their career.

To find out more about careers in International Development, including opportunities to meet employers and alumni working in this sector, please visit:

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/about/what_we_offer/events/themed-weeks/development

 

As part of Charities and NGOs themed week, we asked to share what it’s like to work in a small charity and tips for getting into the sector:

Working in a small charity, as opposed to a large one, means that you can make a difference and you really get to see the impact of your work. For example, our interns take part in real grassroots work with vulnerable women, experience that they would have little or no opportunity to gain elsewhere.

Another benefit of working in a small charity as opposed to a large one is that you get a real feel of what it is like to run a charity and the hard work that is involved. The team has to pull together and support one another; this is why your role can be so broad. When it comes to working in a small charity, hard work and teamwork are key but the rewards are worth it.

Our interns develop a wide array of skills including using social media professionally. Communication skills are enhanced through building rapport with a wide range of people including policy makers as well as grassroots women.

Our top tips for those wishing to pursue a career in the charity sector:

1. Be open minded – you may be exposed to sensitive information.
2. Commitment and enthusiasm – this is what keeps charities going!
3. Be professional and passionate about what you do.
4. Progression – be willing to expand your knowledge and develop your skills.
5. Expect the unexpected! Particularly with grassroots work, no day is a typical day.

Meet JAN Trust at Charities & NGOs Link Up: Meet the Employers on Thursday 1st February alongside other charities including Friends of the Earth, Think Ahead, The Challenge, Macmillan Cancer Support and Green Shoots Foundation.

 

Are you interested in working for the charity and not for profit sector? Not sure what roles there are and where to start?

UCL Careers Charities & NGOs Themed Week 2018 is starting on Monday 29^th January: your chance to meet charity professionals and discover what jobs you can do.

The week’s events are open to students and recent graduates from all degrees. Click on the event titles below to book via myUCLCareers.

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Careers in Campaigning, Policy, Public Engagement and Fundraising

Monday 29th January 2018, 6 – 7.30pm
Would you like to discover more about the amazing work of charities and NGOs and what makes them tick? Then don’t miss our panel event where you will learn about the wide range of functions within a charity and jobs available, directly from the people doing them.

Charities attending include Sustrans, Age UK, Rethink, Wellcome and Shelter.

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Get into the Charity sector: Careers in Operations, Programmes and Research

Tuesday 30^th January 2018, 6 – 7.30pm
Have you considered a Career in Operations, Programmes or Research within a charity or NGO? Then come along to our panel event to gain an insight from the professionals talking about their experience of the sector and top tips for following in their footsteps.

Charities attending include The Challenge, Crisis, The British Heart Foundation and GreenShoots Foundation.

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How to Market Yourself in the Charity Sector Workshop with Unlocked Graduates

Do you want to find out how to market yourself in the charity sector? Do you want to better understand the processes used by charities and find out what they typically look for? Then come to this workshop conducted by Unlocked Graduates!

N.B. Please note that unfortunately there is no wheelchair access to this venue.

For further details and to book a space click here.

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Charities Link Up – Meet the Employers

Thursday 1st February 2018, 6 – 7.00pm
This is great chance to meet with people working in Charities and NGOs. Come along to have an informal chat about the work they do, gain advice on how to get involved in the sector plus find out what opportunities they have.

Charities attending include:

• Friends of the Earth
• Think Ahead
• RedR UK
• ReachOut
• JAN Trust
• Macmillan Cancer Support
• Holy Cross Centre Trust

 

Has the Media industry caught your eye as the next step after your degree? This week we are putting the spotlight on this diverse and exciting sector.

Perhaps you already know that PR is for you, or are you considering which role might suit you best within Publishing? Perhaps you have already tried your hand at documentary making!

We have some fantastic speakers who have kindly given up their time to come and share their experiences as part of Media Week.

The week kicks off on Tuesday evening with an insight into Publishing, where people working in a range of roles from freelance editing to trade marketing will take your questions. We are excited to have speakers from Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Macmillan Children’s Books, Pearson Education join us.

On Wednesday we will take a look at what it’s like to work within Film, TV and Radio. Again, this is an incredibly diverse industry so we have been sure to have a range of speakers including a director, commercial and freelance producers.

On Thursday we’re delighted to have the UK’s number one ranked NCTJ journalism school News Associates join us to run a journalism workshop.

Finally on Thursday evening we welcome speakers from the BBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Macmillan Cancer Support, Periscopix, Redscout and WPP to talk about the fast paced world of Advertising, Marketing & PR.

Of course working in the Media is not all about partying with celebs! As with any job, there’ll be the good stuff and the more challenging parts. It’s important to consider what your expectations of working in a media role are. If you are looking for a 9-5 job, then it might not be for you! It often involves hard work and long hours, and at weekends. That said it can be positively challenging and rewarding. UCL Careers’ Media Week events give you the chance to find out what a ‘day in the life’ is really like and whether it might be for you.

We appreciate the events have booked up quickly but we’re really pleased to say we will be recording each event and also writing a short blog, so if you’re not able to join us in person, you can still find out more. We will specifically break down the different areas and provide some top tips. A look at Prospects.ac.uk shows just how many roles there are within the Media industry. Prospects also breaks down the different roles within Advertising, Marketing & PR. Check out the different job profiles and watch this space for our next Media Week blogs!

 

The 2017 Global Citizenship Employability Programme is fast approaching, and we are really looking forward to welcoming students from across UCL to the two week programme!

Here are 3 main things we hope you will gain from the programme, and 3 things you could do before you start on the 30^th May.

Three things you will gain from the programme:

1. Have the opportunity to gain an in depth look at your own values and, strengths and start making plans for the future, supported every step of the way by the team at UCL Careers. It can be human nature to put off making decisions when don’t know where to start: this programme will give you a framework to explore your thoughts on employability.
2. Practice with real life employers, before the “real” thing. Applications, Assessments and Interviews can be scary things however prepared you are. The Employability programme enables you to practice in a safe environment, gaining useful feedback that you can build on.
3. Develop your ideas on Global Citizenship: what does it mean to you and how might this impact your future career decisions.

Three things to do before you start. If you have time, the following areas would be useful before you come on the 30^th May:

1. Check out our Employability Moodle, which is full with loads of information to get you thinking about Global Citizenship.
2. Start thinking about what you would like to get out of the programme.
3. Make sure you have paid your deposit! As places are confirmed on a first come first served basis, you will only be able to attend the programme if you do this before the places run out. You will receive your deposit back if you attend at least 70% of the programme.

In the meantime, if you have any questions please do contact UCL Careers careers@ucl.ac.uk or drop into our offices on the 4^th floor of the Student Central building!

 

UCL Entrepreneurs and founders of Captum Technology; Sam Ghazizadeh and Hossien Bahrami were successful in reaching the final of the Mayor’s Entrepreneur Competition 2017.

The competition challenges London students to think of ways to improve the city, make it more sustainable and reduce carbon emissions. Sam and Hossien were selected from more than 300 entries to take part in the live final of the Mayor’s Entrepreneur competition on Monday 20th March. Each competitor was judged on originality, practicality, clarity, longevity and importantly – carbon savings. Competition for the two groups of UC groups came from King’s College London, City and Imperial College London.

They pitched to a high-profile panel of judges including perfume entrepreneur Jo Malone MBE, Jenny Tooth OBE from UK Business Angels Association, Niels Kirk from Citi, Christian Lane from Smarter.am and previous winner Arthur Kay from Bio-bean at London City Hall.

Here is an account of their experience:

‘We heard about the 2017 Mayor of London Entrepreneur competition from UCL Enterprise. As some of you may know, a previous winner of this competition was Arthur Kay from UCL who is now the CEO of bio-bean and wants to turn Coffee waste into valuable bi-products. We were greatly inspired by his success from UCL and wanted to give our idea a chance in this competition. UCL Enterprise has been extremely supportive in many aspects: they really helped us to polish our business model, to know our numbers very well, and also to prepare for pitching our idea.

The process of this competition started with submitting an online proposal where we had to explain our business idea in simple terms but in detail. Amongst 350 submissions which involved about 600 students, 10 groups were selected as the finalists and we were one of them! We were then invited to pitch our idea in two minutes in front of a panel of judges who were selected by the City Hall. We were proud to see Arthur Kay as one of the judges! We received very positive feedback about our project and how we should take it forward. The competition gave us a great exposure and also the opportunity to talk to various CEOs and investors invited to the City Hall.’

Sam and Hossiens idea in Mayor’s competition was a London-based and UCL home-grown start-up called Captum Technology – a clean technology start-up that is developing novel methods to turn carbon dioxide into valuable materials which can be vastly used in manufacturing industries. They aim to reduce the CO emissions from industrial plants in a financially viable way.

Sam explains: ‘Captum Technology has two forms of clients. First, industries who emit carbon dioxide as their waste gas. Our service to these industries is that we setup our CO2-capturing technology in their plants and reduce their CO2 emissions on a significantly higher scale than is currently possible. Our value proposition to these industries is that we offer our technology at no cost! This means that industries such as cement or energy, need not invest directly in their CO2 reduction. In return, we will require to have the full right/access to use their waste gas.

In industrial plants, such as cement, we direct the output gas streams into a large-scale apparatus where CO2 transforms to carbon. First, the gas flue will be inserted into a process that can selectively take up the CO2 molecules. Then, the taken CO2 gas will be utilised in a chemical reaction to form carbon. Carbon is our added value product with a chemical composition suitable for various applications. We aim to sell the carbon in bulk to various manufacturing industries, such as Steel.’

They go on to explain: ‘Although at the end we did not win the competition, our experience with Mayor’s competition has been indeed empowering. We had to be well prepared in front of the judges – very similar to the Dragons’ Den style. In principle, we had to present our idea very concisely but effectively. This, on its own, was a great skill we acquired from the process. At the end of the day, it’s all about how you present yourself and sell your idea in a compelling way. You want to show you’re best suited for a given opportunity.’

They are currently seeking support, endorsement and investments from interested parties in the UK to make our idea into reality. ‘We have to say that being a finalist in the Mayor’s competition has served us very well!’

 

Find out more on their website – www.captumtechnology.com

And for more information about the Mayor’s Entrepreneur Competition click here – https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/environment/smart-london-and-innovation/mayors-entrepreneur-competition