PA 20/11
The 1000th student has now enrolled on the Nottingham Advantage Award, an initiative designed to help undergraduates boost their employability and get ahead in an ever more competitive job market.
The award, which requires students to complete three extra-curricular modules during the course of their degree, is designed to develop student skills, employability and personal and academic development.
Pharmacy student Sue Siow Swen, who has recently moved from Nottingham’s Malaysia campus to complete her degree here in the UK, is the 1000th person to sign up to the award. She hopes it will give her the edge when she begins to look for graduate employment.
Sue said: “I am taking part in the Nottingham Advantage Award because I want to know what recruiters will be looking for when I graduate from the School of Pharmacy.
“In the short term I hope that the work experience module will help me to recognise the skills I am going to develop through my summer placement.”
The work experience module is one of 34 that students are able to choose from in order to shape the award to suit them. Other modules on offer include career planning, community work, travelling abroad, mentoring and developing skills for the workplace.
This is just one of a range of opportunities that University of Nottingham students can use to stand out when applying for their first job. Will Bickford Smith, Education Officer for the Students’ Union has encouraged all students to make use of the award.
He said: “Whilst having fun and doing well in your course is of central importance for all students at the University, ultimately this means little if you are not prepared for the next stage of your life when you graduate.
“We want University of Nottingham graduates to continue to be amongst the most sought after in the country, and the Nottingham Advantage Award is here to help that happen.”
To find out more about the award, which is now available at the Ningbo campus in China and the Malaysian campus from next semester; please visit the Nottingham Advantage Award webpage.
Ends
Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham, described by The Times as “the nearest Britain has to a truly global university”, has award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. It is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 75 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and the QS World University Rankings.
The University is committed to providing a truly international education for its 39,000 students, producing world-leading research and benefiting the communities around its campuses in the UK and Asia.
More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to the most recent Research Assessment Exercise, with almost 60 per cent of all research defined as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. Research Fortnight analysis of RAE 2008 ranked the University 7th in the UK by research power.
The University’s vision is to be recognised around the world for its signature contributions, especially in global food security, energy & sustainability, and health.
More news from the University at: www.nottingham.ac.uk/news.
Facts and figures at: www.nottingham.ac.uk/about/facts/factsandfigures.asp.