Preparing for your future

Read a message from Claire Morgan, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Education and Student Experience sent to undergraduate and postgraduate taught students on 29 January.

Hello,

If you’ve had exams and assessments this month, I hope that they went well. My newsletter this month is about how we support you to prepare for your future and other ways in which we help you with your time at university.

An important part of our role is helping you prepare for your future. Have you had a chance to visit the new Student Futures space on the first floor of the Centre for Student Life (CSL)? I visited recently and it was great to see it so busy and being well used.

Our brilliant teams and student ambassadors can help you find a job or work experience while you’re at university, and help you prepare for the career you want when you graduate. University can be a good time to try something new, decide what you like – and just as importantly, find what you don’t like. There are employability skills sessions, careers fairs to meet employers, opportunities to spend time abroad, the Cardiff Award and career mentoring that matches you with industry professionals.

I know that the increased cost of living in the UK has meant making tougher decisions about budgeting. You may worry that some opportunities are no longer possible for you. I would really encourage you to reach out and get in touch through our Student Connect portal or visit the Student Connect desk in CSL. There is financial help available, and we are here to help you make the most of your time here.

There are also plenty of opportunities to work and volunteer with us. Our paid on-campus internships, which open at the end of February, are a fantastic way to get work experience in a huge variety of areas. There are also lots of roles where you can help support fellow students which we recruit to at various points in the year.

Our Student Mentoring scheme has been running for over 10 years and in that time over 40,000 first-year students have been supported by 5,000 student mentors who have provided over 16,000 mentoring sessions. These numbers are a credit to the strength of our student community.

If you want to become a student mentor for the 2024/25 academic year, applications are open from today. You will help support first-year undergraduates from your academic school and having been a first year yourself, you’re the best person for the role.

I hope this month’s letter shows the different ways in which we are supporting you and your future. I do wish you all the best for the new semester and 2024.

Best wishes,

Claire