Tag: PLUS Award

The University’s employability award

Outstanding PLUS Awards: Meet the Winners 2021/22!

Posted on by Careers Service

 

The Outstanding PLUS Awards give Bristol PLUS Award achievers the chance to nominate themselves for going above and beyond and making outstanding contributions to their PLUS Award activity.  

In this launch year, we received 109 nominations across 8 categories and now, we’re thrilled to introduce you to this year’s winners!  

These 8 students were selected by the judging panel for meeting the brief in their category, and showing a truly outstanding contribution to their role.

Better World  

Brief: Tackle global challenges in a local or global context, making a better world in a big or small way 

A photo of Antonia, smiling
Antonia Voigt, Year 1 Education (PhD)

Antonia Voigt

Antonia worked on a research project tackling barriers to secondary education in the Asia Pacific region. She helped to bring together academics, international organisations and local practitioners across the Global North-South divide to foster partnerships and share knowledge!  (more…)

Aamir: Barista, Volunteer, Bristol PLUS Achiever!

Posted on by Careers Service

In 2021-22, 1111 students achieved the challenge of completing their Bristol PLUS Award, giving their CVs a boost and reflecting on the value of their extra-curricular experiences.  

We caught up with Aamir Mehmood, 2nd Year Biology BSc, to find out how he built up his 70 hours experience and achieved his PLUS Award.

A photo of Aamir, smiling
Aamir Mehmood, Bristol PLUS Award Achiever 2021-22

‘I have found out I am a lot more resourceful and resilient than I thought. I’m proud to have discovered this through my PLUS award experience’ 

 

Aamir achieved his 70 hours through working a part time job as a barista, and volunteering at Brandon Hill as a gardening volunteer.

‘I wanted to volunteer locally and find something where I could really make some difference, helping other members of my community keeping Brandon Hill pristine and looking its best was the most fun opportunity I found.’ (more…)

International Womens Day 2022 – 5 stories of women working hard to #breakthebias

Posted on by Careers Service

“Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge women’s equality. Collectively we can all #BreakTheBias. Celebrate women’s achievement. Raise awareness against bias. Take action for equality.” – tagline for International Women’s Day 2022

Happy International Women’s Day (IWD)! 

We LOVE hearing your stories, and get to hear so many of them through the various activities and programmes that we run here at the Careers Service; The Bristol PLUS Award, SME internship scheme, Bristol Mentors, New Enterprise Competition and much more.

Today, we are taking the opportunity to highlight and acknowledge a handful of brilliant female students and graduates who have helped to #breakthebias by exemplifying the missions of International Women’s Day through their various projects, start-ups, and volunteering activities. Prepare to be inspired!

IWD mission: To shine a spotlight on activity uplifting and inspiring women to pursue goals without bias or barrier

Arooba Hameed, Year 3 Cancer Biology and Immunology (BSc)

Picture of Arooba
Arooba

Arooba completely embodies this mission and recently won £1000 of funding in the Development Stage of the New Enterprise Competition for the non-profit community group she founded, Higher Education for Asylum Seekers & Refugees (HEAR). HEAR aims to support refugees and asylum seekers in accessing educational opportunities through guidance, training, mentoring & advocacy. (more…)

Could you be one of the next SU Elected Reps?

Posted on by Careers Service

Nominations are open now for the upcoming SU elections, giving you the opportunity to represent your peers and drive change within the University. 

So, what does it take to make a great campaign? We caught up with some current and past Reps, to find out what skills come in handy on the campaign trail and beyond! 

Campaigning and marketing skills 

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City Challenges – Your opportunity to create lasting change in the community!

Posted on by Careers Service

Students have been engaging in a variety of problem-solving activities to help local charities in the Bristol area. So far this year, students have worked with local charities including Brigstowe, Talk Club, and St Werburgh’s City Farm.

(more…)

Ten tips to make the most of your winter vacation!

Posted on by Careers Service

Now that the holiday season is upon us, have you considered how you might spend the break from University? If you want to make the most of the time, this can be a good opportunity to continue your careers and employability journey. 

Have a look at our top 10 tips to help you maximise the break from University: 

A festive dog.
Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

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Bristol PLUS Award Achievers! Could you win an Outstanding PLUS Award?

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Calling all Bristol PLUS Award achievers: have you gone above and beyond in your PLUS Award? Did you make a significant change or impact in a PLUS activity or role? If so, you can nominate yourself to receive extra recognition with an Outstanding PLUS Award.

The Outstanding PLUS Awards, from the University of Bristol Careers Service

Select one of your Bristol PLUS Award Experience activities where you were able to shine and use it to nominate yourself for an Outstanding PLUS Award! With 8 categories to choose from, the Outstanding PLUS Awards celebrate a broad range of achievements.

Did you make a difference to the people in your community? Maybe you helped create a positive change that would not have happened without your efforts? Did you consistently go the extra mile in your role?  

For your Bristol PLUS, you reflected on the skills you developed and how you can articulate these to employers. For the Outstanding PLUS, we ask you to put that into action by telling us how your activity meets the brief of your chosen category and why you deserve to win! 

The Outstanding PLUS Award is open to students who achieved the Bristol PLUS Award this academic year, so if you have not yet completed your Bristol PLUS, this is a great incentive to do so!  

What if I completed the Bristol PLUS Award in a previous year? 

The Outstanding PLUS Award is intended to be completed in the same year as your Bristol PLUS. The Outstanding PLUS Awards are open to students completing their Bristol PLUS Award in the current academic year only.

Applications are open now until 26 March 2022, and winners will be announced in April 2022.  

For the full details on how to apply, including all the categories and briefs, head over to the Outstanding PLUS Awards guide.

MOB Football: The inter-cultural football league tackling racism and integrating student communities

Posted on by Careers Service

Each year, the Bristol PLUS Award recognises students for their hard work and personal development outside of their studies. Obafemi Alabi, Bristol SU’s Sports and Student Development Officer, is a PLUS Alumni whose inspiring work alongside his studies earnt him both the Bristol PLUS Award and an Outstanding Award.

A photo of Obafemi, smiling
Obafemi Alabi, Bristol SU’s Sports and Student Development Officer, and MOB Football founder

Obafemi achieved both Awards after he completed a sustainable energy internship, worked as the sports representative of the ACS (African and Caribbean Society) and co-founded MOB Football, a new inter-cultural football league, tackling racism and integrating student communities.

 

‘The mission of MOB Football is to assist in creating awareness and tackling the problem of racism and representation within football through collaboration with university teams and societies.

‘MOB Football ran a year-long inter-cultural football league tournament which featured different BAME societies such as the African Caribbean Society, among others. Through this, I was able to provide an innovative opportunity for students from diverse backgrounds to understand different cultures by socialising with one another through football, thereby breaking down cultural barriers.’ (more…)

City Challenges: Students Provide Solutions to Real-life Problems

Posted on by Careers Service

 

The City Challenges are an exclusive programme of events which provides you with the opportunity to engage with Bristol’s charity sector, gain informal work experience, and develop your skills through working on real life challenges posed by local community organisations. 

The first City Challenge involved piloting a problem-solving session focusing on reducing HIV stigma within the medical community, which was supported by the Brigstowe charity and the Careers Service Community Engagement team. 

A total of 10 students took part, developing their teamwork, communication, and decision-making skills to create presentations in which they gave details of how Brigstowe could approach raising awareness in the medical community of unfair and untrue beliefs around people living with HIV.  

This City Challenge allowed students to explore their interest in community outreach as well as learn about how they can be aware of and actively combat their own biases around their attitudes to people who are living with HIV. They explored issues such as how General Practitioners and students can destigmatise their work when dealing with people living with HIV. Brigstowe will now be able to use these ideas for possible future funding bids, marketing campaigns and training sessions. 

The next City Challenge will be based ask the question ‘How can we encourage male university students to talk about their mental health?’ and students will be working with Talk Club and the Community Engagement team. This challenge will be eligible for the Bristol PLUS Award and held on Wednesday 27 October from 11.30am to 5pm and you can sign up on myopportunities.