1 June 2022
With two-thirds of university life coming to an end and the stress of dissertations becoming real, I decided to take time and look back at some ways potential students can make the most of their university experience as they join the Business School very soon in the fall!
Career advancement events
The Student Development Team provides a number of events every year for students to sign up for free and be a part of job search strategy sessions, alumni sessions, tips on CV building, and more! You can book a session with one of the coaches from the Student Development Team for some career advice either in-person or online. There are different sessions you can book based on what you need. Head to MyCareerHub to find out more.
This year we also had a TEDxUoE conference, which included multidisciplinary speakers coming together and providing us with insights on the topic of discussion. Different course lectures may also include guest lecturers that may either be alumni, a professor from another department on campus, or experts in the field.
Networking events
I was fortunate to have a few networking events in my programme this year. Keep an eye on any talk or session organised by the Business School or your specific programme, and sign up for those! It's the best way to stay back after the event and chat with the speakers of the session to gain a little more from them. I attended a fascinating session organised by the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development—a professional body for HR and people management) on hybrid working and the four-day workweek in the UK and really enjoyed it!
Additionally, the initial Client Sourced Dissertation speed networking event is also beneficial as you'll get to interact with the employers about their respective projects and ask them questions about the project. This will help you gain good exposure from experts in the field, and I would recommend sending them LinkedIn connection requests too!
Extracurricular projects
There are so many extracurricular projects to be a part of every semester. Be on the lookout for anything interesting that comes your way. I attended an initial session by 180 Degrees Consulting during Welcome Week and got an opportunity to intern with them as a consultant for one semester.
Another interesting committee to join is probably the Speakeasy committee, a student-led public speaking group that organises sessions and events that you can be a part of. Whether you're part of the core committee or just someone who wants to learn and improve their verbal communication skills, you should definitely check them out! For all you HRM/IHRM folks, you can sign up to be a CIPD Student Ambassador and be part of the interesting sessions and events they hold.
Clubs and Societies
With more than 290 clubs and societies to choose from, take your pick of a club or society that interests you and meet like-minded people to socialise and develop your interests. This experience will help you meet students from different programmes across the globe, make new friends, and develop your interests!
University Clubs and Societies
Fun activities around campus
Make sure you attend different events organised at Potterrow or Teviot. There are things like the Christmas lights switch-on around December, the famous cèilidh dancing which involves traditional folk music (which, trust me, is an absolute treat to the eyes), as well as the masquerade ball organised at the end of the year. There's so much to love about Scottish culture and many new things to learn and be a part of.
With so many academically inclined events the university offers, make sure you engage and be a part of the fun, dance, and shows! Make the most of your time at the University of Edinburgh Business School and enjoy every moment of it because it will swing past you before you even realise it.
Rhema is studying MSc International Human Resource Management (class of 2022).