...achieve the Nottingham Advantage Award

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Employers are increasingly looking for graduates with well-developed competencies and transferable social and learning skills. The Nottingham Advantage Award has been designed to help ensure employers notice you.

Completely voluntary and taken in addition to your academic studies, the Nottingham Advantage Award gives you the opportunity to be formally recognised for your involvement in a range of extra curricular activity and develop competencies and skills crucial for graduate employability.

Your participation in modules which focus on activities you may already be doing, such as career planning, Students’ Union volunteering, work experience, community work, travelling abroad, mentoring, developing skills for the workplace and much more, will help you to gain the Nottingham Advantage Award. You will also have some fantastic opportunities to meet and network with a range of graduate employers. To find out more visit www.nottingham.ac.uk/advantageaward

Are you an undergraduate student? Do you want to stand out from the crowd?

By successfully completing three modules designed to complement your interests or extra curricular activity. Award modules include...

• Volunteering locally or abroad

• Undertaking internships, placements or working part-time

• Being a Student Ambassador

• Studying abroad as part of your course or learning a language

• Career modules or attending employer-led skills workshops

• Activity supported by the Students’ Union

• Supporting other students through mentoring, buddying or awareness raising campaigns

We also offer modules that focus on specific academic areas, such as...

• Inside Employment: Investigation into Legal Careers

• Career Skills in Economics

• Career Skills for Geographers

• GO4SET Volunteers

• NUBS Employer Programme

• Modern Languages Year Abroad Dossier

We also offer employer-led modules designed to help you develop key employability skills...

• Experian: Developing Leadership Skills

• Save the Children: Student Enterprise Scheme

• Enterprise-Rent-A-Car: A Practical Introduction to Corporate Social Responsibility

• Nottingham University Samworth Academy: NUSA Volunteers

For a full list of the modules available please visit www.nottingham.ac.uk/advantageaward

“When I leave Nottingham I will have my degree but I will also be taking with me the skills I have gained through this programme. Experiences like this are things that I will remember long after I leave the University.” Economics Student

“My degree is only one thing I have gained from the University. Having been heavily involved with societies, the Student Ambassador Scheme and other extra curricular activities, the Award is the perfect way for me to demonstrate the transferable skills I have learnt such as leadership, teamwork, communication and presentation skills.” Computer Science student

How do you achieve the Award?

The Nottingham Advantage Award is for you...

Why did you apply for the Nottingham Advantage Award?

I applied for the Award so that my achievements in activities outside of my academic studies would be recognised. I feel that employers today are not just looking for a good degree but also employability skills, and I thought that having the Award on my transcript would make me stand out from the crowd, whilst also teaching me many useful skills along the way that I could apply to future work.

>> Case Study Stephanie Hind

Nottingham Advantage Award TeamCentre for Career DevelopmentLevel D, Portland BuildingUniversity Park Campus

NG7 2RD

t: 0115 951 3281 e: nottingham-advantage-award @nottingham.ac.ukw: www.nottingham.ac.uk/ advantageaward

What was the highlight of the Award for you?

Being taught by professionals was really good as I was able to benefit from their knowledge and experience. I undertook a mock-interview in one of the modules and this meant I was able to practice preparing for an interview and get feedback to help me improve for the future. I also got a DVD of my interview which was really useful as I have been able to see how I act under pressure!

Has it helped your degree study?

The team working and presentation skills I have developed through working with others towards a finance presentation and poster on the Inside Employment module, has benefited the team working I complete as part of coursework towards my degree. I have also been able to incorporate the business awareness I have gained, through researching employers, into my management studies modules.

Has the Award helped with your graduate job prospects or general skills enhancement?

Yes, the Career Planning module I undertook especially helped me understand what employers are looking for so I could tailor application forms. The Award enabled me to develop the key competencies and skills that employers are looking for and I could discuss these with employers in interviews, and I have since successfully managed to secure a position on a graduate scheme!

Would you recommend the Award to other students?

Yes, there are so many different modules to choose from – there is something for everyone. If you’re worried you don’t have the spare time you can spread the modules out across three years so you’re never doing too much at once. It’s the perfect opportunity to show employers you’ve gained and developed valuable skills whilst at University.