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Career Mentoring Scheme for Maths Students

Lead name:
Jeff Waldock
Discipline:
Mathematics
Collaborating Institutions:
Region:
North East
Funding call:
Regional Action Plan - £15,000
Programme contact:
National HE STEM Programme
Abstract
This proposal enhances the employability of Engineering and Maths students by developing a career mentoring scheme that introduces a student to a career mentor from a job role/organisation that is of interest to them. The scheme is aimed at SHU Engineering/Maths students of any year, and will proactively target students who could face challenges entering the graduate job market eg disabled, BME, women.
Project Aims

To establish a career mentoring scheme that prepares maths and engineering higher education students for the transition from university into graduate employment.  The scheme will develop links with engineering networks, regional employers, alumni and STEM ambassadors in order to help students develop their employability skills, confidence and insights so they make well informed decisions about their futures.

To enhance student employability and enable students to:


• Research career opportunities,

• Create a network of contacts,

• Make informed career choices,

• Enhance confidence/understanding of recruitment processes,

• See the relevance of their studies in the workplace.

Project Objectives

• Maintain contact with Alumni and facilitate Employer Engagement on campus;


• Alumni can 'put something back' into their courses and contribute to the career insights of the 'next generation' of graduates from their course.


• Develop mentoring and coaching skills - contributing to their continuing professional development.


• Encourage employer involvement in curriculum development activity.


• Employers can keep up to date with developments in education, the curriculum and potential graduate recruits.

Project Outcomes

• First year students would be targeted, to give the mentor/mentee relationship time to develop, and to aid the students' transition from secondary to higher education and to get the benefit of insights and advice that will help with work placement applications early in their second year.  It is anticipated that relationships may continue informally throughout the course, and the insights given to students in their first year will motivate them to continue with activities that develop their employability, thus lead to an improved chance of graduate employment on completion of their course.


• Mentoring relationships for second year students would focus specifically on helping them succeed in gaining an industrial placement.  


• For final year students the aim would be to foster a relationship that could possibly help the student with an industrially focused final year dissertation and would ultimately be directed towards successfully gaining graduate employment.