Careers Guidance, Internships and Work Related Learning Policy

Principles Underpinning the Policy

1. Northeastern University London (the University) has a central mission to foster a collegial environment in which learning, debate and the sharing of ideas is central, and in which all members of the University treat one another as partners in the quest for knowledge and intellectual enlargement. The students are embarked on courses of systematic study; the faculty advise, assist and challenge; the joint venture is not a matter of de haut en bas but of co-operation.  Encouragement of students to think across the boundaries of disciplines and to see the connection between what we study and our experience of life at large – these are some of the desiderata at the heart of University life.
2. The University wants graduates who are curious and have the ambition and confidence to get things done.  A Northeastern University London programme of study should be the grounding that will prepare University graduates for rich and fulfilling lives. The University’s students will be supported to pursue successful careers.
3. These are the considerations, derived from the University’s mission, that inform not only the specific objectives concerning careers guidance, internships and work related learning, but also the way these activities are undertaken.

Scope and Purpose of the Policy

4. This Policy is intended to give guidance concerning the University’s perspective and commitments on career development to the staff who deliver it, other staff working at the University, to students of the University and to other stakeholders, such as potential employers.
5. The Policy will be reviewed on a three-year basis and the University will adapt its practices so that it operates in accordance with graduate recruitment best practice and the needs of the market.

Strategic Aims

6. The principal aims from the University’s Teaching and Learning Strategy (which informs this Policy) are as follows:
   1. Create a collegial environment in which intellectual endeavour flourishes.
   2. Enhance teaching, learning and assessment to support an interdisciplinary approach to study.
   3. Adapt the “best of the best” approach (“Oxbridge” and America’s leading East Coast Liberal Arts Colleges) to achieve high levels of student satisfaction and outstanding academic results.
   4. Provide students with the capabilities that will enable them to thrive both professionally and personally.
7. Within the context of career development, we additionally look to:
   1. Give students the support and encouragement to develop their plans following graduation.
   2. Provide the assistance that will help students find the best role for their specific needs and aspirations.

Strategic Objectives

Developing Winning Capabilities, Specifically Relating to Flourishing Careers

8. The University will offer LAUNCH as part of its Diploma:
   1. LAUNCH will seek to develop valuable attitudes, behaviours and (where appropriate) skills in University students.
   2. The focus of LAUNCH is very practical, with an emphasis on giving students the confidence that enables them to make things happen.
   3. Many of the activities are designed to build team working capabilities, as a complement to students’ academic studies, which are principally undertaken individually.
   4. While the University believes that in the long run promoting winning attitudes and behaviours is more valuable than coaching a specific skill set, LAUNCH includes teaching specific skills that seem generally applicable. These currently include financial literacy, marketing, selling and statistics, but are subject to review from time to time.
   5. Where possible, the programme will be delivered by a diverse range of practitioners rather than academics.
   6. Moreover, the programme will give exposure to interesting and successful people from a wide variety of fields, providing the basis of a network for students interested in a particular area.
   7. Work related learning is important to the University, which will seek to give students the opportunity to work on real problems faced by real organisations. All examples used in teaching will be rooted in real world cases.
   8. Students will understand the basic principles of the digital economy.
   9. Students will have an opportunity to develop their own entrepreneurial activities.
   10. There will be multiple opportunities to present, giving students the confidence to deliver material.
   11. Students will learn to take responsibility for their own work and to assess the work of others.

Support to Develop Long Term Plans, Including Internships 

9. Careers guidance offered by the University will:
   1. Provide one-to-one individual careers-counselling appointments from the first term at University (documented using a basic Careers Service Management software).
   2. Provide individual advice and guidance through appointments and referral for more in-depth consultations (documented using a basic Careers Service Management software).
10. In addition, careers staff will teach:
    1. The importance of self-awareness, 
    2. The concept of building a personal brand.
    3. The basics of drafting CVs/Cover Letters.
    4. Techniques of starting, building and maintaining networks, including ‘how to work a room’.
    5. Fundamentals of internship and job hunting.
    6. Skills for interview, preparation and presentation.
    7. Preparation of applications psychometric testing.
    8. Importance of commercial awareness and staying abreast of current affairs.
    9. Approach to the world of work: integration after graduation.
11. In supporting internship opportunities, the University will:
    1. Make students aware of work experience and internship opportunities.
    2. Provide CV, cover letter, application, preparation training and review.
    3. Meet and network with employers from sectors.
    4. Attend select industry events, including Association of Graduate Recruiter, Target Jobs and AGCAS events.
    5. Provide interview practice where appropriate.

Steps to Achieve Outstanding Opportunities for Our Students Post Graduation, Including Academic Positions

12. The University will:
    1. Arrange career themed events.
    2. Advise students on the most effective way of developing their academic interests post-graduation, including thorough discussion of the nature of, and best ways to progress in, postgraduate study.  This will normally be done through a session held by faculty on postgraduate study, held once a year.  Faculty will also be available for individual consultation on postgraduate study at any point in a student’s career at the University.
    3. Devise and deliver workshops with employers and industry experts that will teach various relevant elements of professional development planning and management (for example, ‘What to expect on an assessment day’).
    4. Discuss with students the best way to manage their candidacy.
    5. Provide interview practice where appropriate. 
    6. Assist University graduates’ career development, as far as reasonably possible.

Staff Training and Development

13. As set out in the University’s Staff Training and Development Strategy, the University’s staff will be supported in their delivery of this policy by:
    1. Tailoring of roles to areas of individual staff expertise.
    2. Provision of formal and informal training where specific needs have been identified.
    3. Regular appraisals, drawing on insights from peer review, student feedback or reactions from other external partners where appropriate.

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