The University of Aberdeen has been announced as a finalist in the National Council for Work Experience (NCWE) awards.
The awards, which are now in their ninth year, recognise the central role work experience plays in business today.
The University has been shortlisted in the Public Sector category for their Aberdeen Internship programme which annually provides 15 students with 12 week paid summer placement opportunities within the institution.
Students are offered the chance to work within administrative departments at the University including IT, Finance and Communications.
The programme has run for two years and the number of participants has doubled in that time.
Peter Fantom, Head of the Careers Service at the University of Aberdeen said: “The University of Aberdeen is committed to supporting our students in gaining vital work experience throughout their time at the institution, which will be advantageous to them when they enter the working world.
“The Aberdeen Internship programme is a strong example of one of the ways in which we achieve this. The scheme allows us to invest in the talents of our students and provide them with opportunities to develop and enhance their employability skills.
“Those students participating in the programme gain an insight into employment in the higher education sector, whilst developing generic skills including communication, IT and financial awareness, which will serve them well wherever their future career may take them.
“To be shortlisted in the National Council for Work Experience (NCWE) awards is a credit to this fantastic programme.”
Examples of the activities undertaken by students who have participated in the Aberdeen Internship programme include:
Working in the New King's Museum at the University, creating resources and providing specialist advice to visitors Creating new student user guides for departments including IT Analysis of information relating to the destination of leavers from the University
Katherine Duncan, a fourth year Law student at the University spent 12 weeks working within the institution’s Communications Office as part of the Aberdeen Internship programme.
Katherine said: “I really enjoyed my time working in the Communications Office. I spent the summer writing press releases for local and national media and helped with the publicity for the graduation ceremonies.
“The internship gave me the opportunity to work in a professional environment and develop my communication and organisational skills. On the whole, the internship has hopefully made me a more attractive candidate for graduate jobs as I have a greater depth of experience from which to draw upon in interviews.”
The NCWE Awards recognise businesses from all sectors and sizes that provide exceptional student and graduate internships.
The winners will be announced on Tuesday March 20 at Merchant Taylor’s Hall in London.
For further information on the NCWE Awards visit www.work-experience.org/awards
The Careers Service Work Placement Team sources and supports students and employers in providing local, national and international work placement opportunities for our students. Further information can be found on our website www.abdn.ac.uk/careers/recruiters/raiseprofile/ or by emailing workplacements@abdn.ac.uk.