Getting involved at Imperial

Student Shapers Arijit Bhattacharyya Electrical and Electronic Engineering (MEng 4YFT))

"I learned about the StudentShapers initiative via a job posting in a Careers Service email. I applied for my internship at the beginning of March and had my interview three days later. I am working on a six-week project which aims to better educate incoming first year students on what opportunities they can pursue in their first year summer holidays.I believe that this experience has helped me to develop my interpersonal and time management skills, and also helped me to expand my own professional network.One of the main takeaways from my project is a quote from a recruiter, “Any experience is experience”, which highlights it doesn’t matter what you do, just as long as you can talk about what you learned from it. I definitely recommend all students to apply for Studentshapers projects, as it will allow them to develop their soft career skills but also give them a great experience to talk about at interviews for future jobs."

StudentShapers

StudentShapers is an exciting scheme aimed at fostering projects which have equal partnership between staff and students, across all Faculties and Departments. The StudentShapers scheme offers students an opportunity to be an active participant within the entire educational process, using your own perspectives and expertise in your discipline to enhance and improve the curriculum in partnership with staff members. Projects in educational research and in central departments and services are also within the remit of the scheme and engage students in partnership in the range of activities which contribute to the College’s educational mission.

Along with active learning and student engagement, partnership has become a key approach within Higher Education thinking in recent years. Adopting a staffstudent partnership approach will lead to better informed and higher quality developments but is also invaluable to students who become involved.

There are benefits to your short-term and long-term experiences, whatever the next steps in your intended career path are. The opportunity to have creative collaboration within your own learning can dramatically enhance your student experience, whilst also improving your professional skills of team work, problem solving and adaptive thinking. Dependent upon the nature of the project, you might also contribute to the field of educational research or present your findings at conferences or to others in the College.

For more information visit the StudentShapers website. and for more informtion on projects already running.

Supporting the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs

“Our mission is to ensure that all students have the opportunity to develop the entrepreneurial skills, mind-set and networks they need to translate ground breaking ideas into world-leading products, services and ventures for the benefit of society as a whole.” Ben Mumby-Croft, Director, Imperial Enterprise Lab

Launched in October 2016, and located in the heart of the university’s South Kensington Campus, the Enterprise Lab is a dedicated co-working space and community for student entrepreneurs at Imperial College London. Open to all students and recent alumni at Imperial, our programmes are designed to help students develop an entrepreneurial mind-set and apply it to their own personal ventures and their professional lives after graduating.

The Enterprise Lab team delivers a range of extra-curricular entrepreneurship programmes, competitions and events that are freely available to all students at Imperial. We work with more than two thousand entrepreneurial students every year. We launched one of the UK’s first university programmes to support female STEM entrepreneurs (WE Innovate) and run Imperial’s flagship student startup competition (the Venture Catalyst Challenge).

Comprising over two thousand square feet, the Enterprise Lab features a reception for hosting visitors; a studio with hang-out area where students can meet and work together; a work-out area for more formal business planning, workshops and events; a dedicated office for management and support staff; and a small, but state-of-the-art boardroom to engage aspiring entrepreneurs and corporate executives alike.

Finally, the Enterprise Lab also provides students with access to in-house expertise at all stages of their entrepreneurial journey. From Idea Surgeries with a member of the team to give guidance on next steps, to professional business coaches and subject specialist Experts-in-Residence, all the way up to mentoring with seasoned startup founders and industry experts via the Imperial Venture Mentoring Service (IVMS).

Visit the Enterprise Lab website to find out more. Contact the team if you would like to support the Lab’s ongoing programmes and activities.

The Graduate Management Training Scheme aims to develop high potential individuals into future leaders. The scheme is designed to provide candidates who do not have extensive professional experience with an introduction to a career in university management. Trainees on the scheme undertake six placements in departments across the College over a threeyear period.

Each placement offers a wide array of opportunities, from leading on projects, to organising large scale events. The College offers a diverse range of placements, including the Education Office, Communications and Public Affairs, Campus Services, Strategic Planning, Enterprise and the College’s academic Faculties and Departments.

The Scheme Director, Kim Everitt, meets with trainees regularly to check on their progress and reflect on the next steps in their personal development. Trainees will also be provided with opportunities to be involved with the recruitment for the scheme.

The aim of the scheme is to provide trainees with the skills and experience necessary to move into a management positions at Imperial. The training element of the scheme is provided through practical, on-the-job experience, supported by the College’s Learning and Development courses. Trainees in the past have also had the opportunity to take on additional, external training such as the PRINCE2 Practitioner Certification.

than three quarters of trainees move into a role within the College immediately after leaving the scheme, and close to 50 per cent of all former trainees are still working in a variety of roles within the College.

For further details and to learn about some of the trainees already on the scheme, please visit the Imperial College Management and FInance Graduate Training Scheme webpage.

Imperial’s three-year Finance Trainee Scheme is designed to give successful candidates both operational and project experience through a series of placements. Although the length of each placement will vary, they usually last approximately twelve months and allow trainees to gain a real insight into the financial operation of a globally-renowned university.

scheme is flexible to allow the needs of both the trainee and the College itself. Therefore, each trainee takes a unique path through the scheme, gaining both knowledge and experience within positions of real responsibility whilst being overseen by the Director of Finance, Tony Lawrence.

Trainees also have the opportunity to gain a professional accountancy qualification. Successful applicants are expected to study for either the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) or the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) qualification. Imperial will meet the full cost of all relevant training courses, membership costs and exam fees assuming first time passes.

So, if you wish to make a significant contribution to a world-class university whilst receiving full support to obtain a globally recognised financial qualification, then please find out more details about the Finance Trainee Scheme (including profiles of current and previous trainees).