A Vitae SWW Hub Event

Date:   Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Time:  From 10.00 am  to 4.00 pm
Venue:  The Victoria Rooms, University of Bristol, Avon

• Discover a range of career stories
• Meet employers
• Take part in employability workshops
• Talk to careers advisers
• Network with researchers from other institutions

FREE for all PhD researchers and research staff in universities in the South West and Wales.

Places are limited so register your interest by going to:
www.vitae.ac.uk/swwhubresearch.

Transport may be laid on from your university.

Anyone interested should contact Danielle Mitchell D.M.Mitchell@swansea.ac.uk from the Academic and Professional Enhancement Centre so that she can keep you informed of transport arrangements and keep track of numbers.

The UK/Malaysia GradLink website is aimed at connecting Malaysian students studying across the UK with opportunities in Malaysia.

The website is completely open access and includes job and internship vacancy boards for Malaysian based opportunities, case studies of Malaysian graduates and Malaysian employer profiles.

Gower College Swansea is looking for Graduates not currently in Education, Employment or Training who would be interested in gaining a recognised Management qualification through the mCommunity Project.

The project is aimed at facilitating learning through the use of mobile technology, and will supply the learner with a smart-phone or Tablet while studying.

The majority of learning will be done outside the traditional classroom environment, and any current benefits should not be affected.

If you are interested, contact Rob Murphy, mCommunity Project:  01792 284447 Mobile:  07875 285085

Protect your reputation online!

Your online presence is important for your future – so make sure you protect it.

Here’s a short video on the subject from commoncraft.com:  www.commoncraft.com/video/protecting-reputations-online

Click here to see lots more videos about life online, and life skills generally, in the Commoncraft video library.

Cyber Security Challenge UK is a not for profit organisation that runs national online competitions and raises awareness of cyber learning opportunities and careers.  It aims to bring more talented people into the Cyber Security Profession.

Prizes last year included:

• internships with Price Waterhouse Coopers, SOPHOS, QinetiQ, Cassidian, IRM and ProCheckUp
• a bursary for the MSc at Royal Holloway, University of London

Find out more at https://cybersecuritychallenge.org.uk/.

Visit the Interactive Career Planning course in Blackboard where you can find our new Business Skills E-Learning programme from Abintegro.

Areas covered include:

• Meeting skills
• Customer service
• Negotiation skills
• Presentation skills
• Project management
• Teamwork skills
• Problem solving
• Personal development

An Army recruitment officer will be visiting Careers and Employability on Tuesday 24 April 2012.  If you would like an appointment for an informal interview to find out more about career options with the Army, please telephone 01792 513266, or call in at the Careers Helpdesk on Level 3 of the Library.

News from the Chartered Insurance Institute:

Summer placements
Allianz, one of the most successful global companies in the insurance and risk management sector, has confirmed it has extended its deadline for its summer placement scheme to Monday 30 April. Not only does this scheme offer excellent insight into the breadth of opportunities that exist in the sector (from underwriting and claims to less sector-specific roles such as marketing, IT and general management), the scheme also offers successful candidates the opportunity to fast-track on to the Allianz graduate scheme.

For more information on this opportunity click here.  You can also watch a vidcast of one of Allianz’s recent graduates, Claire White, by clicking here.

Graduate schemes
Kiln, a company in the London Market, the world’s biggest for international insurance and reinsurance, has just opened its graduate scheme. Roles are available in Underwriting, Claims and IT, with six positions available in their City of London office. This isn’t just a great opportunity to work in a successful and global business, it’s also in the top 20 of the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For, so you can be sure that staff development will be of the highest quality.

For the full description click here.  You can also watch a vidcast of one of Kiln’s recent graduates, Laila Khudairi, by clicking here.

In partnership with the British Council in Japan

2012 call for applications

Applications are now open for the 2012 round of the Daiwa Foundation Tohoku Scholarships in partnership with the British Council in Japan, offered to students who want to study in the UK but have been affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake.

The £250,000 scholarship fund was launched in June 2011 in response to the 11th March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in the north east of Japan.  The aim of this initiative is to support post-secondary level students from any part of the devastated region, in particular those areas most affected by the events of March 2011 (Miyagi, Fukushima and Iwate prefectures), seeking to study for a period at an educational institution in the United Kingdom.  Applications will also be considered from students from the region who are currently studying in the UK but who require financial support to continue their studies.

Scholarship applications may be submitted for the following types of courses, beginning in 2012 or 2013:

• Undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses (including foundation programmes) in all subject areas
• PhD and post-doctoral research programmes
• Vocational courses at universities and colleges of further education
• English language courses (e.g. pre-sessional courses, English language summer schools).

The amount of funding available will be determined on a case-by-case basis (awards will not normally exceed £20,000 per student).  Funding will be awarded to cover fees, living expenses and travel expenses for an applicant’s intended course, in line with its level and duration.  Therefore, applicants are required to explain their vision for the future and financial plans as part of the application process.  Priority will be given to students who can demonstrate seriousness of purpose and financial need.  Successful applicants must secure a place on a course of study at a UK institution in order to take up funding.

Application forms and further information can be downloaded from the British Council’s Japan website at www.britishcouncil.or.jp.

… with Sportsbeat, a leading sports press agency.

The action-packed sessions are delivered by Sportsbeat’s senior staff, and there may be further opportunities to  become a regular part of Sportsbeat’s match reporting network.

Workshops are held on regular Fridays throughout the year from the London and Manchester newsrooms.

Contact the training team on 0870 445 0155 or email training@sportsbeat.co.uk to discuss availability and book your place.

You can earn up to £15,000 while training to teach Modern Foreign Languages at Swansea Metropolitan University.   Please note that this figure is dependent on the classification of degree and subject.

Enthusiastic teachers are needed for this shortage subject in England and Wales.

Drop in on Teaching Information Day Easter 2012.
Why not come along and talk to PGCE tutors about getting into teaching.

Tuesdy 3rd April 2012
4pm – 6pm
Swansea Metropolitan University
Townhill Campus

To register your interest in attending please call:
Laura Aston on
01792 481202
or email laura.aston@smu.ac.uk

TARGETcourses are doing their bit to enable more students to undertake postgraduate study by launching a national bursary competition.  They are offering six bursaries of £2,000 to students applying for postgraduate places in the next academic year.

You can see the finer details at: http://targetcourses.co.uk/bursarycompetition

Date:  Monday 26th March
Time: 5pm-6pm
Venue: Keir Hardy – Room 248
Title:   Train to Teach – Aberystwyth University

Facilitated by: Ursula Byrne, David Grace & Sian Eirug
(Tutors with expertise in the subjects of Computing, Modern Foreign Languages, Sciences and Welsh)
http://www.aber.ac.uk

• Teaching and why people do it
• How to apply for a PGCE course
• What to expect in the interview
• Brief overview of financial position

PGCE
Information about the course in the North and Mid-Wales Centre of Teacher Education

_____________________________________________________

Date:  Tuesday 27th March
Time: 5pm-6pm
Venue: Keir Hardy – Room 248
Title:    ‘Flexibility and Adaptability in the Work Place’  Leadbitter Group – SKILLS SESSION

Facilitated by Nick Toulson-Community Training Co-ordinator & Mike Baynham-Framework Manager
http://www.leadbitter.co.uk

As part of dynamic and fast moving project teams, the construction industry requires people to be flexible and adaptable in their approach to work.

But what constitutes ‘flexible and adaptable’ and how do you prove to prospective employers that you have these skills?

_____________________________________________________

To book your place please follow the link below:

http://www.swan.ac.uk/careers/careerstalksevents/

or call at the Careers Helpdesk in the Library and Information Centre between Monday-Friday, 9am – 1pm and 2pm – 5pm.

Central Film School London are delighted to announce the availability of several Scholarship Awards for the forthcoming professional level filmmaking and screenwriting courses starting on Monday 30 April 2012!

Graduates are eligible to apply now for the Scholarship Awards for both the One Year Intensive Industry Filmmaking Diploma and the Applied Screenwriting Diploma.  All courses are taught by working industry professionals and are designed to provide comprehensive training to enter the film and television industry.   For more information call 0044.(0).207.377.6060 or email: contact@centralfilmschool.com    Full course information is available at: http://centralfilmschool.com/.

New Fulbright timeline and increased award values and benefits for students and academics

From the academic year 2013-14, the US-UK Fulbright Commission will be significantly increasing the value of Fulbright Awards and making it easier for UK citizens to apply.  Improvements to the Fulbright Awards Programme include:

• Scholarships for Postgraduates, pursuing Master’s, PhD or a period as a visiting researcher, now include a fully-funded first year.
• Grants for Scholars, Senior Academics and Professionals will feature higher monthly stipends.
• New opportunities for academics during the teaching break - Fulbright are offering support for 3-month research/lecturing projects over the summer term.
• New Award Categories including:  the Elsevier, Leon Jaworski and State Street Postgraduate Scholarships and the Fulbright-Lloyds of London Scholar Award.  See www.fulbright.co.uk for full details.

The new timeline makes it even easier to apply.  Applications will become available on 1 August 2012, with the deadline being extended to 15 November 2012.

Apart from funding, a Fulbright Award provides grantees with a thorough cultural orientation programme, a range of memberships, sickness/accident coverage, visa sponsorship, on-the-ground support in the US, Fulbright mentors and excellent alumni opportunities.  Receiving a Fulbright Award opens many doors and provides global networking opportunities.  Fulbright alumni are part of an international community of 300,000 other Fulbright scholars around the world.

At the core of the Fulbright Programme remains the element of choice:  applicants will tell the Commission what project they’d like to carry out, and where in the US they want to go.  Fulbright welcomes applications from any discipline to any US Higher Education Institution, and continues to select for academic excellence, ambassadorial skills, extracurricular/community interests, leadership potential and a desire to further the Fulbright mission to develop cultural understanding between the United Kingdom and United States of America.

Write the world!

Are you an aspiring journalist interested in issues facing the developing world?

This is your chance to become one of the 16 finalists taken out on an assignment to Africa and Asia to write a feature that will be published in special Guardian supplements later this year.

Entry deadline: Thursday 3 May 2012

guardian.co.uk/journalismcompetition

Follow the competition on Twitter @Journalism_Comp
and on Facebook under The Guardian International Development Journalism Competition

Closing date: Friday 29 June 2012
Website closing date: Friday 1 June 2012

Application forms and how to enter: A full list of categories, details of how to enter and a downloadable application form are available at www.guardian.co.uk/sma2012.

The Guardian Student Media Awards 2012 have now launched!
For 34 years the Guardian Student Media Awards have continued to launch students into professional careers,  and now it’s your chance to show you’ve got what it takes.  However limited your resources, the experienced judging panel will recognise the kind of imagination and energy that will drive a successful career in media.  They know, because they’ve been in your position, and if you’re successful, pretty soon you could be in theirs.

This is a fantastic opportunity for publications, websites, reporters, critics, columnists, broadcasters, photographers and digital journalists to show off their talent and kick start their careers in the media.

Winners will be awarded two weeks work experience at the Guardian with runners up receiving one week.  The winner of the Student Critic of the Year category will win a 6 month internship at NME.

The shortlist will be announced in MediaGuardian in September.  The winnners will be revealed at the awards ceremony in November 2012.

Do you want to be part of an award winning team working to develop brighter futures for children all over Wales and the South West?

Do you want to work in Dance, Drama, Music, Art, Modern Foreign Languages or Sport and increase your chances of long-term fulfilling employment after university?

SuperStars are looking for hard working and driven subject specialists to work in their partner primary schools.

Just send a CV to Jessica.cain@super-stars.org.uk to find out more, and visit their website at www.super-stars.org.uk.  The journey starts with a click!

Join SuperStars on Facebook here.

The University of Surrey is looking for 10 unemployed graduates (from any UK university and who have been unemployed for 6 months or more) who live in or close to Guildford in Surrey to take part (for free) in the annual enterprise summer school from 20th to 22nd June 2012.  This is a residential bootcamp  in partnership with the University for the Creative Arts where teams of students from undergrad to postgrad, and  from diverse courses such as engineering, maths and business to photography, fine arts and fashion, all collaborate to build and test  ideas and business concepts for social and profit-making enterprises.  During the three days there are a number of visiting entrepreneurs and a networking dinner with local businesses.

Over the last five years most students have been glowing in their feedback (“inspirational” etc.) and quite a few have subsequently started their own businesses.  Some even come back to tell the new students how they did it!

The reason to involve local unemployed graduates is both to help them think about starting their own business and to give them links into their local (but not necessarily their alma mater) university.

The normal cost for a student attendee is £95 in total for the three days (including all accommodation, training and meals) but this will be fully subsidized this year for the 10 unemployed local graduates.

Interested unemployed graduates should apply in the first instance to Tracy Hampton at the University of Surrey by email to t.hampton@surrey.ac.uk by 30th April 2012.

The Careers and Employabiliaty Service has subscribed to the Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding, which Swansea University staff and current students can download from the Interactive Career Planning Course in Blackboard.  This guide details how to find and apply to alternative sources of funding – especially charities – which make awards to current and prospective graduate students.  Charities are an underrated funding resource, and often make awards to students of any subject and any nationality.

The Guide was written by two postgraduate students who between them have won over £45,000 from 55 different charity awards. It contains model personal and financial statements, and over 250 links to voluntary sector funding sources. The Alternative Guide is independently published by GradFunding.

Additional information on funding for postgraduate study can be found on our website at www.swan.ac.uk/careers/postgraduate/fundingforpostgraduatestudy/.

You can explore postgraduate study and research opportunities here at Swansea University at www.swan.ac.uk/postgraduate/.