The University of Aberdeen Business School recently hosted an event which brought first year students together with potential employers and student mentors.
The First Year Revisions Skills event followed by a careers networking evening first ran in 2014 and proved extremely popular with students settling into university life. The event, which was held on the Old Aberdeen campus not only gave new students the opportunity to gain an insight into the vital skills required when making the leap from school to university level, but it also gave students who are further along in their studies the chance to help facilitate a large scale business event.
In addition to this, all students gained an insight into the world of business as the event also involved a ‘speed networking’ session with professionals from a range of companies including; Enterprise rent-a-car, Aberdeen Asset Management, Anderson Anderson Brown, PWC, EY, KPMG, CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) and MINT Accounting.
Lindsay Tibbetts, a teaching fellow at the university, coordinated the group of student facilitators and was impressed at how the event went.
She said: “I am absolutely delighted with the outcome of this year’s First Year Revision Skills event. As well as learning the essentials, for example the art of note-taking, it is fantastic for students who are just setting out on their university journey to see early on the value of networking and gaining insight from industry professionals. While we teach the theory, the experience of talking and learning from the people who are out there in the careers our students may be considering embarking upon, is invaluable.
“It is not just the first years who get a lot out of this event, but the students who have worked tirelessly to organise the day. I really can’t give the group enough praise for what they have achieved. The group who facilitated the event have had to use the different skills they have gained during their time at university in order to organise and host this event. They are also giving back considerably by sharing what they have learned with the earlier stage students.”
The student team was led by Farai Magodo and Szabolcs Hari.
Szabolcs commented: “This is a great initiative which can help students to improve their skills and flourish in the Business School. This event could not have come alive without the commitment of Lindsay, Farai, Larry, Kosta and Nikola and the amazing help from our facilitators.”
Faria added: “We conceived the idea after realising an information gap in reconciling academic and employability skills, which we felt, formed a key knowledge base for any matriculated student. The First Year Revision and Skills workshop was as student led conception aimed to address this gap and is now in its second running.”
The students themselves had the responsibility of inviting industry professionals to attend the event and the employer feedback the team received was excellent. Kostadin Sorchev, a third-year economics and management student at the university, was appointed to the role of student marketing officer and was responsible for promoting the Career Networking Evening.
He said: “Being involved in organising this event has been a great experience. By being in charge of the promotional campaign I gained a real life experience of coordinating a small project. At the time we were visiting different companies and asking them to be sponsors for our event, I felt like being part of the business world and trying to close a deal with a client. The whole experience made me realise that I am capable of overcoming different challenges in real life situations.
“I hope the event made the first year students more confident in terms of their studies. I also hope most of the students have made some new friends and they have learned more about the different companies and the numerous opportunities that are waiting for them in the near future.”