One-Off Volunteering – Give two hours and make a lasting change

Hi, I’m Emily, Volunteer Coordinator at Bristol SU. 

Over the past year, the Bristol SU Volunteering Team have been running ‘One-Off Opportunities’.

These are group volunteering opportunities with various organisations across Bristol, that students can take part in on a flexible and ad-hock basis. I love joining in with these sessions, to chat to the fantastic student volunteers and learn why they’ve been some of our most popular opportunities.  

During Student Volunteering Week (Monday 10 to Saturday 15 February), we’ll be providing a range of events, talks and workshops to help you find your perfect volunteering role. This includes a number of One-Off Opportunities.

Be the first to hear about our events by joining our One-Off Opportunities WhatsApp Chat, and sign up to all events on the Student Volunteering Week campaign page.   

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Hidden benefits of the Bristol PLUS Award: From Internships to preparing you for post-graduate life!

The Bristol PLUS Award logo

Hear from 4th year MSc Chemistry student, Zahria, who achieved her Bristol PLUS Award in the 2023-24 Academic Year, whilst also securing a summer internship with telecommunications company BT! 

How has PLUS prepared you for your future once you leave university?

The Bristol PLUS Award has played a great role in preparing me for life beyond university by giving me a clearer understanding of navigating my career journey. It also opened my eyes to many career resources available at the university, that I would otherwise not have known about!

The activities required to achieve the PLUS Award helped me build and showcase key transferable skills that employers value such as teamwork, communication and time management.

Zahria smiling on a beach
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Welcome to your Careers Service

Welcome (or welcome back!) to the University of Bristol. We are your Careers Service. We are here to support you in preparing for your next steps during or after you finish your studies. It’s never too early to start!   

Whether it’s help in getting a part-time job, finding internships and graduate roles, writing CVs and applications, or deciding what you want to do after your degree, we’re here for you.     

First things first, you are going to hear us talking about mycareer a lot this year. mycareer is your portal to resources, vacancies, events, appointments and more. You can set up a profile in there that will tailor content just for you. 

Log in, complete your profile and off you go! 

The front entrance of the Careers Service at 5 Tyndall Avenue.
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Outstanding PLUS Awards: Honourable Mentions 2023/24!

The Outstanding PLUS Awards (OPA) recognise those Bristol PLUS Achievers who have gone above and beyond within their PLUS Award activity, giving students an opportunity to articulate and reflect on their impact and personal development.  

This year we had 139 nominations across the eight categories, the highest in the history of the OPA. Though there can only be one winner per category, the judges were extremely impressed by the hard work and dedication of those shortlisted and decided to give several honourable mentions. 

Let’s meet these outstanding candidates and celebrate them for their achievements, motivation, and self-development.

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Why nominate yourself for the Outstanding PLUS Awards? – from past winners and honourable mentions

The Outstanding PLUS Awards (OPA) are open to all Bristol PLUS Award achievers. It offers an opportunity to gain invaluable articulation skills and reflect further on your achievements, leaving you with a sense of pride.

To be eligible, you must be a 2023-24 PLUS Award achiever and nominate yourself by 12 noon Monday 25 March.

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Bring your whole self to work: LGBTQIA+ careers support and advice

At the Careers Service, we understand that your identity is an integral part of your career journey and want to help you navigate any challenge you may face.  

We actively promote diversity and inclusion and aim to provide a safe space for LGBTQIA+ students to seek guidance. We can help you find inclusive employers, with applications and support you with bringing your whole self to work.

Our Support for LGBTQIA+ students page, includes further information about support available both within and outside of the University.

We offer support on how to develop high-quality CVs, cover letters and applications, prepare for interviews, apply for further study and more.     

An Adviser and student in the Careers Service reviewing a CV together.

You can contact us on Live Chat, check out our events, book an appointment, or drop in from Monday to Friday, 1.30 pm to 4.30 pm during vacation periods, and 10 am to 4.30 pm during term time.

Researching LGBTQIA+ inclusive employers 

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Postgraduate Researchers: How the Bristol PLUS Award can work for you

‘As a Postgraduate Researcher, it can be easy to focus so intently on your research and forget how much university life still has to offer. The Bristol PLUS Award has encouraged me to seek out these experiences, and meet a wider range of students and staff, which I am incredibly grateful for.’

(19 – 20 PGR PLUS Award achiever)

Broaden your Horizons

A photo of volunteers outside in an allotment, standing together and smiling
Volunteers on the City Challenges programme

The Bristol PLUS Award is the university’s employability Award, giving you the opportunity to gain formal recognition for commitments you take on outside of your research.

Getting involved outside of your research is a great way to build connections and community. The PLUS Award recognises a broad range of activities, and for Postgraduate Researchers, lots of these are things you may well already be taking part in.

That could be teaching support, marking, or submitting a paper to a journal. Or experiences outside of the university such as part time work or volunteering. For more ideas, you can check out our list of common PGR options for the Bristol PLUS Award.

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4 hidden ways the PLUS Award benefits you! – untold secrets of a PLUS Award achiever

Hello prospective PLUS Award achievers! I’m Avellina, a final year Biology student and 2021/22 PLUS Award achiever. 

Avellina smiling.

Many students understand that the Bristol PLUS Award is an employability award that rewards you for going above and beyond your degree. We know that it boosts our CV and makes us stand out to future employers… but there are also secret, unknown benefits that you’ll only uncover upon starting the Award process! 

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Everything you need to know about the Outstanding PLUS Awards  

Want to find out more about the Outstanding PLUS Awards? Let’s get all your questions answered.  

What are the Outstanding PLUS Awards?  

Launched last academic year, the Outstanding PLUS Awards (OPA) reward Bristol PLUS Award achievers who have gone above and beyond in their PLUS Award activity. The OPA is so sought after because there are just eight winners every year – one winner per category.  

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Violet: Student Leader, drag artist, and PLUS achiever!

Bristol PLUS Award achiever and Outstanding PLUS Award nominee Violet Allmark achieved her 70 hours of PLUS activity through working as a freelance drag performer and taking on a student leadership role as chair of Bristol Theatre Department Society InterACT. 

Violet was a freelance performer with drag cabaret ‘The House of Savalon’ during their residency at award-winning Bristol LGBTQ+ venue Queenshilling, proud sponsors of Bristol University LGBTQ+ society. 

A photo of Violet performing in a drag show
Violet performing as Etta Boy, at The House of Savalon

‘My freelance work, as part of the House of Savalon’s three month residency at Queenshilling, gave me the opportunity to develop my artistic costume-making practice, and improve my time management and organisational skills. I spent hours preparing for my acts: sourcing, making and editing my own costumes, props and audio. 

In addition, the regular feedback sessions enhanced my personal reflection skills on my own performances as well as my communication skills through constructive feedback

A crow of people in drag on a stage cheering
The House of Savalon at the Queen Shilling

Kickstarting my drag career this year has led to such amazing performance opportunities, such as performing last week before Divina de Campo at the Creative Youth Network Station and even internationally in Woody’s Bar Toronto, where I was tipped during my performance by a queen recently announced to be on Season 3 of Canada Drag Race and I was even in the presence of the show’s ‘version’ of Ru Paul: Brook Lynn Hytes.’

Violet also developed new skills and experience by chairing the committee of InterAct, the theatre department’s society. 

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