Category: Student Leaders

How I got a great graduate role as an international student

Author susieyates | Posted on

Abdulbasit Yekeen, B.Eng Hons Robotics graduate, talks through his UWE journey and graduate experience

‘If you are very good at what you do, building a career should be the least of your worries’

Since childhood, I have been curious about  technology and engineering. Designing electronic circuits and writing intelligent software were all I could think about as I grew older. I was very fascinated by robots and machines so studying robotics was a no-brainer. Many thought I had chosen a degree that was too specialized and that building a career in it will be very difficult. I was more than ready to prove them wrong because I believed that if you are very good at what you do, building a career should be the least of your worries.

‘At the end of the year, I had one of the best results’

Due to visa delays, I came a month late to the university. Various deadlines and lectures were already missed and others were very close. I had to spend long hours in the lab and also understanding various complex concepts fast to submit the assignments. My course mates were very kind and they assisted me in catching up with the rest of the class. At the end of my first year, I managed to get a good grade. During the summer holiday, I spent most of my time programming because this was my weakest skill. The second year commenced and I put in more effort into understanding every subject. The pandemic prevented us from doing various exciting practicals which could be used to demonstrate deep understanding with potential employers. At the end of the year, I had one of the best results, and getting a placement to apply my knowledge was the plan.

‘I reviewed my rejection letters and researched the skills employers were looking for. I think I may have actually applied to almost three hundred jobs’

I applied for several placement opportunities, and none were successful. The pandemic drastically reduced the number of placement opportunities and the few available were highly competitive. Over the holiday, I reviewed my rejection letters and researched the skills employers were looking for in potential candidates. My review showed that I needed to perform more practical projects and also learn C++(programming language). I found a good C++ on Udacity and spent several weeks mastering the concepts of the language. I also did various practical projects which could be showcased to potential employers.

Within that period, I got a two-week International Talent Internship with Milbotix and also following this a junior firmware engineer role with a company called DOMIN. I was very excited since this was my first experience working as an engineer. The Internship with Milbotix made me apply various skills I had learned personally and at the university. This internship opened the door to a lot of offers I did not even apply for. Every now and then, someone called me on LinkedIn about a potential opportunity somewhere. The results came out and guess what? I got a first-class and most of us graduated with a minimum of 2:1. Remember I said at the start that many thought getting a job was going to be extremely difficult. Well, I proved them wrong. I graduated with a good grade and got a great job in my career of choice.  I have started the role and so far I am enjoying it. I hope to get involved with more amazing technologies and one day start a Tech company. Take this with you, If I can achieve it then you definitely can.

‘Take this with you, If I can achieve it then you definitely can.‘

My NHS volunteer role helped me achieve my ultimate dream -qualifying as a Solicitor

Author Careers Team | Posted on

James Hathaway, Advanced Legal Practice student, talks about his furlough experience

During 2020 I was furloughed for a number of months, I was undertaking my masters in law alongside my employment following my LPC course.

All of my academic studies and work experience relate to law. I have always been interested in psychology, studying this at A level, but had no real experience. My cousin was working at a crisis centre and hearing of this work re-sparked this interest, leading me to apply for a volunteering role for Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership.

After an initial interview they offered me a volunteer role as Assistant Ward Psychologist on the Silver Birch Ward. This was an acute adult inpatient ward for individuals who were incapable of supporting themselves outside of hospital due to complex mental health care needs.

I assisted the Ward Psychologist to implement and trial a new bibliotherapy session for the patients. This involved designing a programme that would focus on a specific theme each session and finding texts that were appropriate for this. The focus of this particular programme was poetry as it was proven to be effective in getting patients to talk about powerful emotions without it being too direct.

Part of this work involved reading research papers on this topic. The Ward Phycologist had been wanting to trial this for some time but did not have the staffing available. Through the hours I offered as a volunteer this allowed implementation of this session as well as the admin support needed for searching for materials and record keeping of the sessions.

The sessions proved extremely popular with service users who gave positive feedback, with some requesting certain texts and literature to be incorporated. This also provided useful insight for the psychologist. I would take notes on individuals reactions to the texts and their interactions with the group. We would later discuss these and assess the responses.

I also helped create a guide by writing collections all of the texts used, the themes and overviews of the responses received for other NHS services to implement their own bibliotherapy sessions.

I knew this experience would help develop my interpersonal and communication skills, both of these are key elements to my legal work. This work took place in a challenging environment where noticing and reacting to individuals social ques were key. This helped me learn a lot about body language and its role in communication.

I learned so much during this role, the Ward Phycologist I assisted noted my keen interest and offered me to read their research papers on the subject. This gave me a detailed insight to a profession where I had previously had none. Reading these papers also gave me a chance to practice my academic skills in analysis and research.

I also developed effective note taking skills whilst still remaining engaged and present. This has proven to be a valuable transferrable skill for my work I had not initially considered.

The feedback to our bibliotherapy session was so positive service users successfully requested it be permanently implemented. This whole experience has helped me to maintain my confidence in my abilities during an uncertain period in my working life. Being furloughed impacted my confidence and started to impact my mental wellbeing, volunteering helped me to continue to feel valued and maintain confidence in my skills.

This volunteer role has assisted me in achieving my Trainee Contract and my ultimate dream as qualifying as a Solicitor. This has given me a powerful insight into the impact volunteering can have. I would definitely consider volunteering again in any area as even a small commitment can have a large impact on others wellbeing.

United Nation Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 11. Goal 3 is good health and wellbeing. Goal 11 is sustainable cities and communities

To be a leader is to serve with purpose

Author Careers Team | Posted on

Paul Anomah, MSc Financial Technology student, talks through his Common Purpose, Global Leaders Experience

To have been selected  to participate in the UWE Common Purpose Global Citizenship and Inclusive Leadership Programmes was a great privilege and unique opportunity. Interacting with student leaders from various parts of the world broadened my perspectives and understanding of how others uniquely perceive situations, handle challenges, and view leadership.

My UWE Bristol Common Purpose Experience

Understanding the individual motivation of my peers for contributing towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) during group discussions was really encouraging. I was able to see the devotion and service true leadership requires as well as the hunger of young people not unlike myself to create innovative, achievable, and efficient solutions to the SDGs in various fields

Global Goals, Local Roles

I have always been passionate about helping to eradicate water-borne diseases and maintain clean environments in my local community Wusuta, in the Volta region of Ghana, where I originate from. I believe we all have a responsibility in facilitating the success of the UN SDGs, one local community at a time. Playing my part in achieving SDG-6 (Clean Water and Sanitation for all) has been part of my daily life since I turned 18. It was simple, the reality for many around me was dirty and contaminated water and lack of knowledge regarding maintaining clean water sources and habits. I was determined to make a change and empower those I could, using the knowledge and passion I had.  

To achieve my goals, I have learned through the Common Purpose Leader experience, the importance of celebrating and engaging with diverse suggestions, understandings and perspectives regardless of identity or background. This skill encourages collective engagement in providing lasting solutions to problems. Changing preconceptions and raising awareness of unconscious biases eliminates discrimination and enables collaboration and better leadership.

I developed a 3-part strategy,  educating my community on ways to eradicate water-borne diseases, engaging the district assembly to uphold their campaign promises  and advocating for better infrastructure to enable safer, equal water access and usage. Having participated in the Global Leadership Programme, I am further enthused to attain a personal goal of ensuring at least 50% access to a piped water system in my local community by 2027 as well as a functioning recycling plant for plastic and other waste materials.  

Change is near

As an agent of generational and global change, there is a responsibility I owe to those that will come after me.. I learned throughout the Common Purpose experience the importance of creating an environment of peace, value, understanding and inclusivity. I have learnt further the value of building trust, confidence, and togetherness  to enable people to have their voices heard.

Inclusivity and the common goal to achieve equality

I have developed as a person, within the four days of engagement. I will carry forward  community inclusiveness and be courageous enough to engage with more people and with ‘uncomfortable’ discussions that can result in new, tailored, and unique resolutions for issues that affect many in their daily lives. 

The sense of achievement and skills developed

Having to work as a group to develop an approach to foster communal participation towards finding solutions to problems that exist in our everyday communities was very engaging and mind opening. I further expanded on my skills of active and critical listening, and mutual dialogue: great skills for a future leader. I also experienced the power of collaboration and the distinctive role it plays in confidently bringing out the ideas of others once they feel part of the process . As a future leader, I have also become further enlightened on how systematic bias can affect the contributions of people from minority backgrounds and the significance of preventing this in every space

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