Over 100 students, staff and employers attended the inaugural Aim Higher Conference this week (Wednesday 12 February).
Held in Elphinstone Hall, the AIM HIGHER Conference was centred around the theme of ‘employability for all’.
The day featured a dynamic programme of activities including keynote speakers Alex Barton and Blair Bowman. Alex is the founder of Student Designers, an education technology company. Blair Bowman an alumnus of the University is the founder of World Whisky Day and the recipient of Scottish Institute for Enterprise’s (SIE) Young Innovators Challenge.
The event, which was attended by University staff, students and employers, also featured innovative workshops as well as giving students the opportunity to network with professionals from a wide array of backgrounds.
The conference is the first of its kind, being run solely by STAR Award students for all students of the University. The STAR Award is a University scheme recognising students who have undertaken roles which further their development of the ‘Aberdeen Graduate Attributes’ – a set of skills and qualities, outlined by the University, which aim to help students prepare for life beyond their time at University, whether that be further study or entering the world of work.
Reflecting on the day, STAR Project Officer Eloise Leeson said: "The students are easily the reason for today’s success – those who organised the event displayed such commitment and attention to detail and the students who attended the conference really gave it their all. If Twitter is anything to go by, everybody had a fantastic day and is feeling fired up about their futures."
Given that the STAR Award is based around a few of the Aberdeen Graduate Attributes, the STAR students wanted to draw from these Attributes and base the AIM HIGHER Conference workshops around eight of them, all of which were specifically targeted for enhancing students’ employability.