Graduate job hunt: tips and personal experience

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a graduate in possession of a degree must be in want of a job.

But today’s job market is indeed a tough one. Fortunately, it’s not all bad. There’s a recovery on – the overall employment rate for UK and EU graduates from a full-time first degree after six months was up from 68.5% in 2013 to 70.7% in 2014, and unemployment after six months was down from 9.1% to 7.8%. The recession hit us hard but things are looking up.

Improving your chances

Something I wish I had realised earlier on is that the graduate job hunt starts from the minute university begins. Everything you do has potential to be turned to an advantage in your search. For example, if you want to make your first year count, get involved in societies or perhaps even lead one. Securing a summer internship at the end of your penultimate year is also a way of improving your chances in the successive year. But to improve the results of your hunt considerably, be the early bird by beginning your search as soon as possible!

I started applying at the start of November. This might not seem too late since most deadlines are around the end of December/ beginning of January, but some of these positions are first come first served. What’s the more, the earlier you apply the more positions you can apply for.

Refresh your GCSE Maths skills

Most graduate job applications require you to take verbal and numerical tests. I bet you thought you’d never have to work out the percentage of apples in Bob’s fruit basket again! Well, you thought wrong. The numerical tests I’ve completed so far have challenged my grasp on basic percentages, ratios, multiplications and division. This isn’t so bad, however it’s been a while since I last did GCSE Maths. Oh well, time to dig out the old textbooks I say! The verbal tests normally require you to understand a large chunk of writing. Both aren’t so bad – unless you’re pressed for time. Despite this, practice is key. There are plenty of practice quizzes online to help.

Getting Connected 

So which avenues are available and what facilities are there to support you in this crusade? Well there is a surprising amount of very useful information and support provided by the University and further afield.

The Careers and Employability team.

If you are looking for more inspiration to kickstart your graduate job hunt, or want to know how the market works, then the University’s Career workshop on the graduate job search is for you. The interactive workshop will help you discover your job hunting preferences, find out how to structure your research and begin to create an effective action plan. The dates are listed on the events calendar so make it a habit to monitor it daily.

Get LinkedIn.

A good tip is to put a link to your LinkedIn profile on the header of your CV or on any cover letters you write. Doing so allows employers to paint a better picture of you. You cease from being just another resume and employers get a chance to view you as a real person. You would be naïve to think employers aren’t using social media to find out more about you, so why not use social media to your advantage? Again, the Careers team holds workshops on how to make an excellent LinkedIn profile.


Join Careers Sites. 

For example, TARGETjobs offers a Careers Report Tool that offers an assessment of your capabilities through simple behavioural questionnaires.

Check Emails.

Don’t miss out on the buzz as some great opportunities can be found if time is taken to sift through the hay!

Student Forums.

Extremely helpful advice from those who were once in your position, I would definitely recommend you check these out if you need first hand comments on applications from students themselves. The Student Room is an excellent example.

What else can I do after graduation?

Get a Masters Degree. 

Still not ready to enter the big wide world of working life? Then why not think about further education to further specialise and attain another degree? Although it may be beyond your financial constraints, there are ways to get extra funding. The University of Southampton, for example, offers bursaries, scholarships and studentships to the most talented students. The University also has industry partnerships who offer sponsorship opportunities in some subject areas.

What’s more, once you’ve secured a place on a Masters course, you can defer it and work for a year. This way you can earn enough money to help finance tuition and living costs whilst gaining work experience at the same time.

This is just my experience so far. I’m sure everyone else’s is unique so if you’ve got time, why not comment your tips below?

Good luck on the job search!

Rylyn

How to organise your Christmas revision

Remember when you were at school, and a holiday was actually a holiday? Sure, you might have had a bit of homework to do, but for the most part you were free as a bird. Those were the days. For me the Christmas break now seems less like a holiday and more like a couple of weeks to finish coursework and start revising.

It can actually be really difficult trying to organise your work at Christmas; you can either sacrifice the whole holiday - except for maybe Christmas and Boxing Day - to dreaded coursework, or you can do what you actually want to do and catch up with friends and family. For me, it’s tricky finding the balance, particularly as I don’t go home very often. This is my only chance to see people who I won’t see again until Easter, but the workload that comes along with doing a Masters degree leaves little time for doing much else.

My balance comes with accepting that sometimes work is going to have to take a backseat, and I will just relax and try to forget about it for a little while. Other days I’ll have to ignore my Mum’s pleas to help her in the kitchen or go shopping and actually get some work done.

Something that has really helped me is delaying my trip home until the end of this week, giving me a few days to catch up on last minute Christmas shopping, finish tutoring for the year and get some coursework sorted. Whilst my parents aren’t so happy that I’ve decided to stay in Southampton a little longer, at least once I get home I can actually be with my family, rather than constantly having to say ‘oh sorry I can’t come with you, I have to stay home and get this work done….’

Even then, trying to get work done at home is not the easiest thing. Here in Southampton I have the library and my desktop computer. At home I have an endless supply of baking materials, and chickens and ducks to look after. Plus, my parents have told me they are buying micro pigs - so no doubt they will be an endless distraction over the winter break!

There won’t be much room for anything else in my suitcase….

Whatever work you have to do, make sure you enjoy the Christmas break and take some time away from work to de-stress and relax with your family and friends. January exams will be upon us before we know it!

Merry Christmas!

Emma

Remaining productive over Christmas

The holidays are at long last here - whether you choose to stay in Southampton or find yourself heading off to somewhere slightly different, one thing remains clear: there’s now a lot of extra time to play with.

With teaching in all its forms taking a break for a few weeks, it’s now very much up to us students to keep things on track, which can be, surprisingly enough, actually pretty difficult. When you’re left to your own devices without much structure, staying productive can prove to be a bit of a challenge. With January exams and deadlines floating around in the ether, now’s a relatively important time for work.

So, in order to keep things relevant and procrastinate from my own University work for an hour or so more, here are a few ideas for how to remain productive when people keep thrusting mince pies and sparkly trees in your face.

Give Yourself a Break 

It may seem a bit strange having the first tip be basically 'don’t work' but there is method behind such madness, I assure you!

Here my reasoning is that it’s called a Christmas ‘break’ or ‘holiday’ for a reason. It’s been a long and solid semester, so taking some time off to rest and recharge is insanely important. In fact, it’s one of the most important things you can do.

Staying in the productive mindset is obviously still essential (we’ll get on to that a bit later), but so too is approaching things with a fresh mental state and an eagerness to work. If you’re shunning any sense of relaxation and staring in misery as all of your friends and family dance around the Christmas tree, whilst you desperately attempt to get that next essay done, you’re going to be distracted. I’m not saying do nothing, but definitely plan plenty of down-time in between the work. You’re allowed a break. Use it.

Work plan: the Relaxation Edition

Keep Tasks Manageable 

I’ve mentioned before how I find lists very useful in general, and here’s where they come into play again. Following on from what I mentioned above, make sure you plan out your tasks for the day, and make sure they’re manageable. You want to have enough time to relax, but also to keep that productive mindset going; you want to feel like you’re achieving something every day. If you fail to do everything you set out to do for that day, it can be incredibly disheartening, whereas staring down at a to-do list with every item crossed through is very much the opposite.

Make sure that the tasks you give yourself are achievable. There’s no point waking up in the morning and saying you’re going to write an entire dissertation; unless you’re the academic equivalent of Superman, realistically that’s never going to happen. Be reasonable, and understanding of yourself.

Organise Everything Before You Leave 

Obviously for those staying in Southampton over the holidays, this won’t be too much of a problem, but for those jetting off somewhere different, this is another important one. There’s nothing worse than getting home, attempting to start an essay but finding that you don’t have the right book, or that you don’t quite understand the question. You’re suddenly stopped in your tracks and you can’t possibly move any further.

Make sure you plan ahead and take out the relevant books from the library before you leave. There’s even extended loan periods over the holidays so you won’t need to live in fear of having to dash back at any point to return them!

Also, don’t forget that Christmas extends to lecturers as well as students: believe it or not they are human beings too. Therefore, do ensure that you ask them any relevant questions before they’re due to leave their office or you may well find yourself lost without a reply for several weeks.

Of course, everybody has their own methods, so if these don’t quite work for you I fully understand, but hopefully they’ll be of some use.

It’s been an incredible first semester, filled with much productivity and merriment; here’s hoping the next is just as awesome.

Merry Christmas from Ben’s housemates on behalf of Ben because Ben is holding the camera

Otherwise, all that is left to say from me is have a very Merry Christmas, and I’ll speak to you all again in the New Year. Here’s hoping it’s a good one!

Ben

Homebound - my airport survival tips

It feels like it was only yesterday that my countdown for the Christmas holiday was at 55 days, hence why it is a bit surreal that today it’s now 0 days! Apart from the lovely Christmas decorations around campus and in the city centre, it doesn’t really feel like Christmas at all. Can you blame me, when it’s still 10+ degrees outside?

Apart from two deadlines after Christmas, I only have exams left and then Semester One of my second year is officially over. Time has flown by so fast; I keep asking myself why the time always seems to go by so extremely slowly when I’m going home, especially when I’m waiting at the airport.

I imagine most international students here at Southampton going home over Christmas will have to make the trip to one of the London airports, and so I have made a list of my best tips on how to make the most out of the time it takes to get home!

A very familiar view …

Firstly, why not google the airport you’re going from and see what you can do. All webpages have some sort of overview with shops, restaurants and other services. This will allow you to plan a bit ahead if you know you’re going to have a long wait.

Secondly, the obvious one: do some work! As a lot of my required readings can be found online I like to download them in advance and read when I have a spare moment. Remember to use a VPN when you’re off campus so you have full access, or consider the Southampton Virtual Environment (SVE). Airports are full of places to drink a coffee or have a meal and you can get work done too. The time you have to wait at the airport can actually be very productive. I personally wouldn’t be able to write an essay if there’s too much noise around me, but I have no trouble reading. Waiting to board or even being on the aeroplane is a great time for me to get ahead with my reading.

The painful one: window-shopping. This is the way I easily make 30-40 minutes fly by in what feels like a second. Although mostly not affordable, you can find all the high-class brands in almost every airport, so I usually go around looking at nice things I can’t afford and motivate myself to work hard so I can buy something like that in the future. Besides, if nothing else, you’re at least walking around the airport instead of sitting down doing nothing, which is bound to be boring.

The luxurious one: go to a lounge. If you have a lot of spare time or you’re travelling far away, you can go to a lounge. If you don’t have a fancy loyalty card of some sort, you will probably have to pay a bit, but it could be worth it if you want somewhere quiet and peaceful to wait or do work. I know some lounges allows you to have a shower or go to the gym, so why not if you have a good couple of hours to kill before you fly?

Regardless of whether you’re flying, driving, taking the train or walking home for Christmas, I want to wish everyone a happy holiday.

If you’re not going home for Christmas and staying in Southampton or Winchester, remember that there are loads of events going on during the holiday and plenty of festive things to do in the city.

I’m super excited to be back in January 2016, but until then I shall recharge my batteries promptly for the exams and the new semester.

Alexandra

Getting to know Enactus Southampton

When I heard that the Southampton Enactus team won the 2015 World Cup, the first image that came to my mind was – believe it or not – football.

Of course, I have heard of Enactus before but never really understood what it was about.

Well, it most certainly is not about football, I tell you. Enactus is a non-profit organisation that mobilises university students to give something back to their communities using the genius of entrepreneurship.

Enactus is an international group and Enactus Southampton, one of our many student groups, is just one of hundreds of teams worldwide. This year, Enactus students from the University of Southampton won the prestigious World Cup in competition with other budding young entrepreneurs from 36 countries!

The Southampton team won because of the sustainability of their projects. At the moment there are three international Enactus Southampton projects:

SanEco: a sanitation project based in Kenya that delivers re-usable sanitary towels, waste composting toilets and natural soap through local entrepreneurship.

Right Light: offers solar powered alternatives to kerosene light. Kerosene is dangerous; it is bad for the respiratory system and hazardous for young children. Last year alone there were around 4000 kerosene related child deaths in Kenya.

Juamaji: a project which integrates social entrepreneurship with water purification to remote communities across the globe.

All projects are clean, efficient and, most importantly, sustainable!

BeInspired

 

As well as international projects, Enactus also runs programmes right here in our local community. I met Amina who is project manager of BeInspired, a local Enactus project based here in Southampton. The BeInspired team themselves are University of Southampton students doing courses ranging from Biomedical Sciences to Economics.

With Amina, BeInspired Project Manager and Imogen, Vice President of Enactus’ Local Projects 

At this very moment BeInspired are running their Social Impact Programme; a six week course in Southampton City College that supports the integration of young migrant pupils in the school. The course is interactive and is part of the pupil’s weekly timetable. In fact, the team are scheduled to run an entrepreneurial exercise at the school today. The plan is to get the pupils to sell cupcakes with the aim of creating profit. This means that the pupils themselves will have to manage their own production line, pricing and marketing of their merchandise. Afterwards, the students will travel to Highfield where our very own Student Ambassadors will be giving a campus tour and a talk on how to apply for university through UCAS. The workshop aims to make these young migrant students aware of their potential with the hopes that bolstered confidence will make integration into their new community easier.

The BeInspired Team planning their interactive workshop

Success Stories

The team told me about Juan, a motivated and engaging student who is originally from Spain. With the team’s Empower1 after-school workshops, Juan is motivated to make the most of his creative skills and resources – from his phone, to his school’s design software and his wider social network – to start an entrepreneurial business.

How to get involved

Amina got involved after seeing a poster about Enactus. A PhD Student, Amina wants to get into teaching and is interested in the matter of international student integration. Indeed, as an international student herself, BeInspired lets her contribute back into the community and at the same time satisfies her passion for education.

Whether you’re a potential University of Southampton student or a current one, I suggest you look out for Enactus at the Fresher’s Fair Bunfight. Alternatively, you can go to the Enactus Southampton website and apply for membership as anyone can join at any point in the year. There you can specify which project you’d like to get involved in and why you’re interested.

Being part of the Enactus Society looks fantastic on your CV. What’s more, you’re bound to cultivate skills such as networking, leadership and according to them, ‘everything in-between.’

Enactus is about taking action on innovative ideas – so why not check them out and take action yourself!?

Rylyn

My Favourite Winter Recipes

I love food. I love going out to restaurants with friends, and I love cooking at home, for just me and my partner or for a large group. I’m so obsessed that my Canadian friend calls me Betty Crocker and my sister calls me Martha Stewart, so apparently I am a middle-aged woman in a twenty year old’s body.

I wasn’t always this way; when I started University I was pretty much cooking-phobic and relied on ready-meals and the offer of ‘will wash up if you feed me’ to get by. However, over time I started experimenting and cooking new things.

With winter approaching, I thought I would share my favourite winter recipes. This is food designed to suit cold winter nights when you are knackered from doing coursework and just want something delicious but simple for dinner.

Impromptu visit to Ghandi in Portswood after a four hour lecture

A bonus of these recipes is that they can be made gluten-free, something that I do regularly so that my gluten-intolerant friends can join us for dinner.

Wholemeal Bread 

I just adore homemade bread; it tastes better than store-bought and kneading bread is a great stress reliever. I buy Sainsbury’s own wholemeal bread flour and just follow the recipe on the back. It produces great tasting bread every time. If you like seeded bread, Sainsbury’s sell seed packets that you can add to the dough, or if you want a slightly different taste, substitute half the flour with buckwheat flour for a rich, nutty bread, or strong white flour for a lighter taste. If you are going to make bread, remember to use warm water and find the warmest place in your house to leave it to rise (I put mine on top of the radiator).

My homemade bread

Leek and Potato Soup 

This is one of Jamie Oliver’s recipes, so full credit to him! All the ingredients can be bought from the market on campus on a Monday and the soup can be frozen once cooked to enjoy later since this recipe serves four. Plus, this is dairy and gluten free so perfect for everyone! Though I will warn you, if you don’t have a very large pan, try halving the recipe to make enough for two. I’ve also put the rough amounts of the ingredients for those who don’t have kitchen scales.

Ingredients: 

2 Carrots
2 Sticks Celery
2 Medium white onions
400g Leeks (two leeks)
2 cloves garlic
400g potatoes (two medium size cooking potatoes, I like Maris Piper)
Olive oil
2 chicken or vegetable stock cubes
Salt and pepper to taste

Method: 

1. Chop and peel all your ingredients into quite small pieces (if you don’t have a blender, the size of the pieces will be the size of the chunks in the soup, so cut them as you would want to eat them!), set the potato aside.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a very large pan over a high heat until a piece of onion dropped in sizzles when it touches the oil.

3. Throw all your chopped ingredients, except the potato into the pan, stir, and leave with the lid askew for about ten minutes. The veg should soften and it will look like there’s about half the amount that you originally put in.

4. Put the stock cubes in 1.8 litres of boiling water and stir until dissolved.

 5. Add this to the pan and chuck the potatoes in. Season with a good amount of salt and pepper.

 6. Bring to the boil (just leave it on high heat) and then once boiling reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10-20 minutes (depends on how desperate you are for dinner at that point), give it a good stir and check that the potatoes are soft and cooked all the way through.

7. Tadaa - and finished! If you have a food processor or a hand blender you can blend it until smooth if you like, or just serve as is.

My leek and potato soup and homemade bread 

Homemade Pizza 

Okay so this isn’t really a winter dish BUT it’s super quick, tasty, and a great way to use up any leftover ingredients at the end of the week, because you can put basically anything on a pizza and it will be good. Thanks to the base I use this feeds two.

Ingredients: 

For the Sauce:

Half a can of chopped tomatoes
One tablespoon of tomato puree
1 clove garlic (crushed or chopped)
Mixed herbs to taste (or paprika and cayenne if you want to go spicy)

For the Pizza topping: 

Whatever you like, I use:
Sweetcorn
Grilled Chicken
Bacon Red Pepper
Half a red chilli
Ham
Cheese
BBQ Sauce

Base: 

I use ready roll puff pastry because it makes for a really light base to hold the toppings, though you can buy ready-made pizza bases.

Ingredients for the pizza ready to go 

Method: 

1. Heat the oven to 200 degrees (fan)

2. Pre-cook any raw meat (bacon and chicken)

3. Make your sauce by simply mixing the ingredients together in a bowl

4. Place puff pastry on a baking tray and cook on its own for 10 minutes until its puffed up and slightly brown on top

5. Remove from the oven and cover in your chosen toppings (after I put mine on I add some BBQ sauce because it’s the best)

6. Place back in the oven and cook for another 10-20 minutes (will vary depending on how good the oven is and what ingredients you have on top) until the pastry edges are light brown in colour.

7. Remove from oven, garnish with salad if you like (I love adding fresh spinach).

 The final product 

If you are feeling really adventurous, why not try cooking a roast dinner for your friends before you all leave for the Christmas break? This works best as a group effort, however if you want to try it on your own you will need about four hours and in my case a lot of help over the phone from my mum.

My first roast dinner (including regular and gluten free Yorkshire puddings) 

Dessert! I adore Polenta cake and fully recommend Nigella’s recipe 

I hope these recipes keep you warm and fuelled over the next few weeks!

Emma

Society Projects and SUSU Funding

With December now very much up and running, and Christmas cheer still being firmly spread across campus, this week I found myself a little more busy with other things. Top secret things.

Okay, they’re not really that top secret, but the sense of mystery does make it all seem that little bit more exciting. To be more plainly obvious: this week I’ve been working quite extensively on a project to help boost the University’s focus on film and film-making and to encourage increased collaboration between the creative industries. It’s still a little way off but it’s certainly still an encouraging prospect!

What this post is really about though, is my surprise at how straight-forward it is to go about setting something like this up. Without sounding like too much of a hard-sell, the University and the Students’ Union (SUSU) really do hand you the tools to help you realise a whole range of possibilities. Well, it has to be firmly within reason obviously, but the fact is, if you have an idea for an event or project that you think will benefit the University and/or SUSU, there’s nothing stopping you from giving it a go.

This all started a few months ago now at the very beginning of the semester, at the Creative Industries Induction week held by our lovely SUSU Creative team - you’ll find I blogged about said event all those weeks ago! During a team-building exercise, the creative societies in attendance were asked to come up with ways to encourage collaboration with each other, and it was at this point that myself as Film Editor of the University’s entertainment magazine The Edge, and Pippa, the president of the film-making society Wessex Films, hatched an ingenious plan.

 Together we started to brainstorm ideas for a University-wide student Film Festival.

Pippa and I, hard at work on our ideas for the festival

It may have started a little ambitiously, but we soon found that actually, the University itself has everything we would need to run such an event, from a cinema in the form of Union Films, to support staff, a bar and of course, most importantly of all, funding.

Things always seem to become significantly more complicated when money is involved, but SUSU’s funding process was surprisingly pretty straightforward. All you need is access to a society computer account and the forms are all submitted online. After some hefty research to make sure our maths was right, everything was sent off for approval and I let out a huge sigh of relief.

Sending the funding forms off was surprisingly straight forward.

It’s very easy to bat these things away as impossible dreams, but when you sit down and actually begin to plan, it all becomes a lot simpler. The University, its campuses and its many, many societies and services form a condensed version of the wider world. Everything is in one place and within reaching distance (including people to help with the process) making it the perfect time to practice setting up an event or project like this.

So, to end with some wise words from the contemporary poet Shia LaBeouf: “Don’t let your dreams be dreams”. Being at University is the perfect time to give ambitious things like this a go. You’ll always find support around should you need it.

Obviously, keep an eye out for the soon-to-be-named student film festival coming to campus at some point in the new year!

Ben

Visiting Southampton's Christmas Market

Where on earth has the time gone? It feels like it was just Halloween last weekend and now it is suddenly December. I’m going home in less than two weeks, which is crazy and also very exciting. November for me is a month where I find myself missing home a bit more than usual and with all the deadlines I have had in the last month it’s been hard to really sit down and actually realise that my favourite holiday is coming up; Christmas!

Originally, I was planning on writing my blog post on the Winchester Christmas market, because from what I’ve heard, Winchester was the place to go around here for a proper German Christmas market. I don’t doubt it and I will definitely be making my way up to Winchester this week (hopefully). However, I ended up visiting the Southampton Christmas Market this weekend.

This year’s market - they are actually calling it a Festival -  is absolutely worth a visit and, like last year, located on Above Bar Street (just outside West Quay). All the Unilink buses stop in a walking distance to it, if you don’t live in the city centre.

 

The only thing missing from this picture is snow

The Christmas market has something for everyone, no matter your age. For example, when I was there on Saturday they did a ‘Flying Santa Show’ which I can imagine was a fun experience for the kids who were there. Yes, Father Christmas was there and he flew over the market! According to my sources he does this twice a day, so it’s well worth a visit. They even have music!

I can see you, Father Christmas!

With the huge number of stallholders this year, I actually had to use Google to find out how many there are! According to Discover Southampton, there are over 40 stallholders this year. So if you are lost for ideas on what to get family and friends for Christmas, you should definitely visit as they sell proper hand-crafted things like jewellery, coffee beans, scarves and some really fancy hot water bottles!

In addition to this they have loads of places where you can get something to eat or drink. We especially liked the German Bar, which could’ve been taken straight out of any skiing facility in Norway! In addition to this, there were loads of places selling traditional Christmas food like ribs and turkey, so don’t worry about getting hungry either. They also had several stands selling candy, gingerbread hearts and other treats if you are in need of something sweet.

In all honesty, you don’t even need to go there to buy anything. It’s well worth a visit just for the experience and the gorgeous lights they have put up. Next on my list over Christmas markets to see in the nearby area is the one in Winchester and New Forest. Fingers crossed I will be able to see them both before I go home.

I hope everyone is starting to get into the festive mood even with all the deadlines everyone has before the holiday start. Fellow blogger Ben shared some lovely tips on spreading Christmas cheer on campus, so thank you, Ben – my housemate and I are now in the process of getting a Christmas jumper each! We might not be bold enough to wear it on campus, but at least we can spread some cheer around the house.

In the meantime between essays, coursework and reports, we are going to bake gingerbread, eat rice porridge and drink mulled wine.

Happy December!

Alexandra

How to 'winter-proof' your student house

I don’t know about you but there have been countless times that I have walked back from campus in the pouring rain, books clutched in my arms, and then feeling an overwhelming sense of satisfaction upon reaching home.

Knowing that I am now inside the nice, warm and most of all dry fortress I call my house is one of life’s simplest pleasures.

But what happens when this fortress is always so cold?! Unfortunately, there will be problems with student housing in every city. Fortunately, there are people you can go to at the University of Southampton for help when you reach a point when you can no longer take indoor arctic conditions.

Every year, around March and April, a Sustainability fair is held on campus to promote green living in the student population.

 

Maxime working the Sustainability Fair.

I spoke to Maxime Jullian who works with SUSU’s Ethics and Environmental Officer about what their Home Energy Advice Team (HEAT) does to help students warm up their houses and save some much needed funds. With an apt acronym, the HEAT team is entirely student led. They have been sponsored by big names such as EON and are run by the charity called Southampton Hub.

HEAT audit student houses for energy consumption and give insulation all for FREE. The committee are also very keen to get volunteers so get in touch if you want some sustainability experience on your CV! 

The Ethics and Environment team encourage SUSU to operate in a socially responsible and environmentally friendly way. They educate students and staff on relevant issues and campaigns and are responsible for representing the interests of Union members in the development of ethical and environmentally sound working practices and empowering members to take action to achieve this, both with regard to SUSU and the University.

The Home Energy Advice Team are looking to do as many student home visits as much as they can before Christmas break to save students up to £500+ a year (depending on the size of property, i.e. number of bedrooms). They provide the basic and removable material so there is no need for you to involve your letting agencies or landlords as everything can be removed when you move out at the end of the year.

So, what materials do HEAT provide?

Some landlords don’t care about how warm you are. Most of the time, their main priority is to get rent. It is up to you to heat up your new student home. Indeed, a lot of student house windows aren’t double glazed and thus become unbearably cold during the winter.

HEAT provides:

Reflective radiator panels. This is especially effective if your radiator is stuck to a wall facing the outside. It sticks to the wall using double sided sticky take so it is easily taken off and moved to your new student house the year after. All heat that stays at the back of radiator gets reflected back into the room as opposed to “seeping” outside.

Here’s to a nice and toasty home…(photo courtesy of the HEAT Facebook page)

Seasonal double glazing films. This is especially beneficial if you have single glazed windows. The film essentially provides another layer to you windows to prevent heat loss. As stated by the name, the films only last one season. After a year it un-sticks and is not as effective but the good thing about it is that because it isn’t permanent, it won’t damage the property one bit.

Energy saving light bulbs. These use less energy, are more efficient. An energy-saving recommended light bulb will cost you £3-£4 compared to about 50p for a normal bulb, but will put money back into your pocket by saving you around £9 on your annual electricity bill and up to £100 over its lifetime!

Draft proofing tape. This tape sticks onto doors. Like the letter box covers, these little sponges pretty much close the gaps that let draught in.

Who knew how much money you could save per year just by covering these gaps? (photos courtesy of the HEAT Facebook page)

Maxime is a third-year BSc Oceanography student who plans to work with businesses to reduce their carbon footprint and save energy. Coming from a Natural Sciences background, this is something he’s always been interested in, and the University has aided him with his sustainability work experience. If you’re ambitious, there are plenty of opportunities SUSU and its staff can provide for you – for example, Maxime is part of the Business, Ethics and Environment Programme (BEES).

I think all this talk about saving energy gives rise to the massive issue of climate change. The University is doing incredible research on sustainability science and fellow student blogger Emma has written about the recycling projects the University has undertaken.

Unfortunately most of us don’t see the effects of climate change first hand. Most of the changes are so variable and so incremental that a debate even exists on whether or not climate change is true!
But this is the truth: we don’t often make the link between turning off a tap and wars around the world. That’s because most of the negative effects of climate change are experienced by the global south – by poor and, mostly, developing countries.

Sustainability is a pertinent issue. I’m glad the University is investing a lot of mind power and funds into it!

Don’t forget to get in touch with the HEAT team if you are looking forward to going home to a nice, warm house. After all, 'Winter is coming'.

(Sorry, I couldn’t resist…!)

Rylyn

Success at Southampton

On Wednesday 25th November I was wandering around campus at the Postgraduate Open Day, since my initial plan for this post was to write about that. However, I spotted signs for something entirely different and thought I would wander in and see what was going on. It turns out that I had walked into the interviews for the University of Southampton’s SUCCESS scholarship scheme for Civil Engineers. Being from Social Sciences I had never heard of the scheme, so I was interested to learn more about what was going on. Fortunately a few of the students who were waiting for their interview to start agreed to talk to me. I wasn’t able to catch their names, but thank you to those who took the time to chat!

So what is the SUCCESS scholarship?

“It’s not just a scholarship. We are being interviewed by representatives from different companies within the industry who take on students from first to third year for 8-10 week paid internships over summer. Once you are successful in getting a place, you also receive a bursary to help you with your studies whilst at University.”

So what year are you in?

“Most of us are in our first year. Some of us had written our application for the scheme before we even started University in September, because they have to be sent off by the middle of October.”

Wow that’s pretty intense – what made you want to apply for the scheme?

“Loads of different things really; it’s a unique opportunity to gain industry experience and develop a professional network. There are really not many opportunities like this, because work experience is notoriously difficult to get as a Civil Engineer and this is so much more than just experience! We’ve heard from students who are already part of the scheme and they’re in such a strong position when they graduate, as they have on the job training and have created such good links with the company that they worked for. It’s a bit strange to be in first semester of our first year thinking about job security in the future, but this scheme means that the successful applicants won’t have to worry as much about that when they graduate.

Plus unlike a lot of internships, this is a paid position, so getting the experience isn’t a financial burden, which means that everyone is able to apply and doesn’t have to worry about not being able to afford it.”

Dressed to impress – Two of the students who I spoke to

I’m impressed, it took me until third year to feel ready for a formal interview! How has the University supported you in prepping for the interview?

"The Engineering department held workshops to help prepare for the interview, and you can ask for personal help if you need it. The department has definitely set us up to succeed - there isn’t anywhere else that provides you with an opportunity like this right off the bat!"

Thanks – and good luck with the interviews!



The SUCCESS Scholarship team very kindly invited me to stick around for lunch which gave me the opportunity to talk to some of the industry reps and a student who was currently on the scheme.



So from an industry perspective – why are you part of the programme, and why Southampton in particular?

“I think the main point is to improve links between industry and students, and to start making those links when students are in their first and second year. The thing about Engineering at Southampton that makes it so attractive for us is that the department produces good engineers year in, year out. As well this being very good for business, we provide on the job training across a range of developments so when the student graduates, they can start working for us from day one; they know the company and they know how we work, so they are ideal recruits! Of course, because they have such great experience, we have to encourage them to stay with us. Usually they have several companies offering them jobs"

Everyone approves of the free lunch

What do you think you gained from the six-week placement?

"So much I don’t know where to start. I think a big benefit was the friends that I made within the company. As an intern you are treated as a regular member of the team, and that makes a big difference – to feel so valued when you are just starting out. It’s going to have a huge impact on my dissertation as well, because I know people in the business that I can talk to and get advice from. I have such great links with the people in the industry, and that’s invaluable really."

Do you have any advice for people applying for the scheme next year?

"Research the company that you are applying for a position with - sometimes students get confused about which company they are interviewing with. The applicants that stand out are the ones who show good knowledge of the company and what they feel they can bring to the team, even if that’s just enthusiasm. Talk to students who are on the programme in the year above as well; they are the best source of information for those who are unsure what the work will be like and what will be expected of them."

Dedicated student ambassadors directing people to the right place at the Postgraduate Open Day

Tika Widyaningtyas representing social sciences at the Postgraduate Open Day

I know it’s strange for someone studying within the Social Sciences to be writing about opportunities for Civil Engineers but honestly, after talking to everyone, I was so jealous that I was thinking of switching disciplines…! Well maybe not, but still I wish I had been able to practice job applications and interviews when I was in first year!

I would hate to leave without mentioning the Postgraduate Open Day which was on the same day. I really recommend coming to an Open Day if you are interested in Postgraduate study. It’s a great chance to talk to lecturers and current students who can give you a unique perspective on the particular benefits of studying that course at Southampton. For those of you who couldn’t make it to the talks today the Welcome and Finance talks were recorded and are available online, and you can tour the campus using the University’s Virtual Open Day!

Emma

Spreading Christmas cheer on campus

The Christmas lights on the University’s Highfield Campus have officially been switched on, meaning that yes, the Scrooges of the world can stop complaining that it’s “too early”. The time to start getting properly excited about Christmas is finally here!

In fact, this past week has basically been overtaken with thoughts of my favourite holiday of the year for a whole range of reasons.

The Christmas lights switch-on event itself on campus was a perfect way to kick things off, with Surge Radio and some special live musical performances providing plenty of those classic festive tracks to dance and sing along to, whilst the cheery yuletide spirit even spread as far as the next issue of The Edge, which I’m proud to announce will feature plenty of Christmas-themed entertainment fun. Yep, the University is definitely embracing Christmas in all its forms.

Whether you’re a Southampton newbie or a seasoned veteran of Christmas on campus, there’s plenty of new and exciting ways to spread the festive cheer around, especially if pre-exam nerves are getting you down. Below you’ll find just some of the many, many ways you can light up the lives of your fellow students this holiday season. The weather may well be inching towards arctic-level chilliness, but it’s easily counteracted with a smile and a tacky jumper.

Dress To Impress 

Southampton is lucky enough to have a whole range of shops in its City Centre (and there’s the internet too), so you’re never far away from a huge, sparkly piece of Christmas clothing. With the temperature lowering dramatically by the day, now’s the perfect occasion to invest in one of those gaudy jumpers you’ve heard so much about.

Not only will it give you that extra layer of comfort in lectures or in the library (the fluffier the better), it’s also pretty likely to raise a smile around campus too, spreading the joy of Christmas even further. If you’re feeling extra cheery, you could even grab a novelty hat too. Any way to make even just walking to lectures that little bit more fun!

 Tacky Christmas wear is the new black

 

Gaze in wonder at SUSU’s Christmas decorations 

You may or may not have had the joy of wandering through the Students' Union building since last week, but if you have you’ll probably have noticed the gigantic fully-decorated Christmas tree now stands proudly in the main entrance. It’s pretty hard to miss and it really is a sight to behold. But of course, it’s not the only festive-themed decoration that’s just come out for the year.

The Bridge has recently been fully kitted-out with an insanely glitzy winter wonderland theme, so if you fancy kicking back with a Christmas-flavoured drink or snack and escaping the library for a quick break, it’s the perfect place to do so. No word of a lie, there’s enough tinsel in there to keep your eyes sparkling for days. It’s positively magical.

Obviously, we can’t forget the University’s trademark Christmas lights. Switched on this year by the Deputy Vice Chancellor Adam Wheeler and our very own world champion Enactus team, the lights are spread across all of Highfield Campus - but the best place to see them in action is on the green by the Interchange. It’s a simple beauty, but a beauty nonetheless, and it’ll no doubt cheer you on through these cold, early nights.

The Christmas Lights on Highfield Campus are well worth seeing 

Secret Santa 

Finally, why not spread a little more than just the gift of cheer, like, well, a real gift? Whether it’s between your flatmates or course friends, getting together and each anonymously buying each other gifts is a great way to make the gradual build-up to Christmas even jollier.

I’ve actually found from doing this the past two years that it can even lead to the creation of a whole new holiday entirely: ‘Uni Christmas’, where all of the excitement of regular Christmas is brought forward several weeks and celebrated right here in Southampton! What’s better than two Christmases? Nothing - nothing is better than two Christmases.

 The SUSU Christmas tree stands tall and proud

There are of course many other ways of celebrating the festive period and keeping things lively on this last stretch of the first semester, but hopefully these are enough to get you started! 

A very merry Uni Christmas to all!

Ben

Je suis le monde

Although I do a course which involves a lot of politics, discussions and strong opinions, I’m not the type of person to express my personal political opinions too often. You will never find me sharing political stuff on Facebook or in the comment section of an online newspaper fighting with other people via the internet. Apart from an article I wrote for a Norwegian newspaper a couple of years back, I rarely get involved.

Do not misunderstand me – I do chat about politics quite often with my friends, but it rarely leads to any heated discussions. The most heated discussions I have in regards to politics are often with my mum even though we mostly agree on different topics. My point is that I like to take the more diplomatic approach to things; I like to listen to other people’s views and why their views are the way they are. I don’t have a problem with saying what I mean and what I think is correct, but by no means am I an expert (yet) in any field. Thus, why I often leave the political fights up to those who really knows what they are talking about.

I made an exception today, however, when I decided to write this blog post.

It’s probably not shocking that the trigger for this post has been the recent terror attacks the world has seen. They are a reminder that the world is a scary place, but events like these also remind me to be grateful for everything around me. As someone who has friends living in Paris doing exactly the same as me - studying abroad - it is petrifying knowing they easily could have been a victim.

I don’t like using the phrase ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’ because you should be able to go wherever you want to at whatever time without fearing for your life. You should be able to go out and enjoy yourself on a Friday night without ever doubting that you will get home safe.

More than anyone else, the younger generation has a responsibility to turn these horrifying events into valuable lessons. Lessons I wish we didn’t have to learn, at least not in this way. We have a duty not to spread xenophobic and racist ideas further, because I know very well that if every culture or religion on this planet wanted to kill everyone who was outside of their community there wouldn’t be any world today. I know very well that the guy who killed 77 people in Norway on the 22nd of July 2011 and bombed my beautiful city was a right-wing extremist Norwegian. I know that there were communities in Norway who experienced extreme hate the first hours after the bomb went off in Oslo.

This post is here to remind you that answering hate with hate only leads to more hate. It is here to remind you that the world can be so unimaginably cruel, just as it can be so extremely wonderful at the same time. It is here to remind you that you have an important voice in every community or society that you are a part of. Reading different comment sections on Facebook from various newspapers has made me (for lack of a better word) sincerely sad. I’m very happy my mum went to university with someone from Syria, who has taught us both that they are not as different from us as mass-media often like to portray it. I’m also happy I’m doing a course where we learn so extensively from experts on the different issues the world faces today.

The University has exchange opportunities in Paris and luckily all the exchange students from University of Southampton have been accounted for and are safe. At the same time we have students here from France both as students taking their whole degree here and through exchange with the Erasmus programme. Safe, however, does not mean that everything is alright and I’m extremely proud to be a student at a University who takes wellbeing and mental health issues very seriously. Remember that SUSU and the University’s Student Services offer help to everyone who is struggling with issues or concerns - I have only heard good things about the help offered by them.

Last week during the annual Christmas Light Switch On event, the University community observed a minute of silence for Paris and other countries affected by recent events before the lights were officially switched on.

Other societies have also had separate tributes to the victims; the Erasmus society along with the French Society made a book in which to leave a message - eventually this book will be sent off to a French university.

Alexandra

A healthy mind - Wellbeing Week 2015

Wellbeing. It sounds like an HR buzzword doesn’t it?

Actually, no – when you really try to understand it, the word is so much more than unsubstantiated jargon. The definition of wellbeing is essentially a healthy state of mind and physical form. With all the talk about stress management with work piling up, I decided to write about what the University of Southampton itself is actively doing to promote happiness amongst its students and staff.

From the 12th until the 26th of November is the University’s Wellbeing Event for 2015. This fortnight-long event offers workshops, performances and talks for all staff and students for free.

The University is known for its state-of-the-art facilities for ground-breaking research. I went to find out about a project scientists here have been working on…

Have you had a busy day? Your smartphone can help!

One of the talks introduced us to something Southampton health experts have been working on: an app called “HealthyMind.” It is a FREE android app that has been designed using cognitive behaviour therapy techniques and mindfulness theory.

You can get it from the Healthy Mind website or buy it from the android app store.

But don’t I spend too much time on my phone already?

Actually, the app has been designed to integrate to a hectic lifestyle. I do find that I often deal with stress by not even acknowledging that I feel that way. Instead of talking about it to friends or family, I ignore the issue and vent my frustrations in unhealthy forms. This can be through over-eating, drinking, or even losing sleep by staying up till 4 in the morning trawling through social media.

The screenshots below show how the app helps with these problems by encouraging calmness and lifting your mood. It promotes being mindful of your mental state and being able to talk about it as opposed to masking it.

Screenshots of the app. It’s okay to take a moment to take in what’s going on. 

The student lifestyle is fast paced, chasing deadline after deadline. If, like myself, you find yourself easily overwhelmed – as if no matter what task you accomplish for the day it still is never enough – having an app like HealthyMind is your buddy.

Using modern technology to beat the pressures of modern life 

A few years ago, the norm was to give ourselves an hour or so on the computer every day. Today we are connected to mobile internet 24/7. Instead of allocating non-disrupted time surfing the web, we now use it regularly in incredibly short bursts. The app has been designed to work with this cultural change. In fact, instead of making your hectic lifestyle worse, it takes you away from it.

However, one challenge the University’s experts have tried to overcome is preventing its users from finding the app obsolete and deleting it after a few days. Apps are often free nowadays and are thus incredibly disposable. So, the clever developers at Southampton and the US have been working closely with focus groups to make sure the service keeps itself non-intrusive. Instead of sending countless annoying notifications, the app senses when it’s the most appropriate time for you to use its service. This app is just an example of one of the cutting edge researches being conducted by experts here.

What else is going on?

Don’t forget that there are more wellbeing events coming up in the next few days. There’s the theatre performance of ‘Groomed’ which is a contemporary drama that explores the ever pertinent issue of sexual experiences. It is written and performed by Patrick Sandford who was Artistic Director of the Nuffield Theatre on Highfield Campus for 24 years. There will also be a ‘Letting Go of Stress’ course at Southampton General Hospital.

Happy stress-busting!

Rylyn