My name is Rachel Sankey and I am studying Fine Art Printmaking at the University of Brighton. Alongside my studies I work as a Widening Participation Ambassador. There is one particular role as an ambassador which has had a profound impact on my perspective of ‘widening participation’. Working with the AS social group has opened my eyes to the importance of inclusivity and social wellbeing within university life.

The Asperger’s Syndrome Social Group is both for students who have a formal autistic spectrum condition diagnosis, and also for those who feel that such a group is relevant to them whether they have a diagnosis or not. Students get an opportunity to be involved in social events and have a chance to meet new people from different courses studying at the university. The demands of university life and moving away from home can be a disorientating, daunting prospect for anyone. We hold a meet up for an hour each week with the aim to provide a comfortable environment for the students to feel relaxed and able to kick back a little, hopefully forgetting about some of the stresses of coursework and exams!

As coordinators of the social group we are keen to get to know each student so that we can tailor what we do in the meet ups to their interests. During this academic year we have been lucky enough to have a private tour of the Amex stadium (with an avid Seagulls fan in the group this was a great way for the student to share their passion with the rest of the members). We have also been bowling and had a Domino’s pizza evening in the university’s Studio Union ‘The Hive’ (because who doesn’t love pizza?!).

Working with the social group has taught me invaluable skills. Not only have I learnt about the planning and admin that goes into organising social events but it has also got me to really consider the ways in which I communicate. I have massively enjoyed meeting and spending time with everybody in the group. As an already established group before I started I was apprehensive at first, but everyone has been so friendly and welcoming. I will be sad to leave!

For more information please contact Sebastian Beaumont by email on s.beaumont@brighton.ac.uk

Many of our courses here at the University of Brighton offer an optional year in industry as part of the curriculum. The benefit of doing a placement during your degree is that you graduate with a year’s relevant work experience, giving your CV a distinct advantage over other graduates. Work experience is a key part of education and career development, and a work placement can vastly improve your job prospects once graduated.

How to get a placement?

The best piece of advice I can give is to start the search for a placement early. Make use of the placement offices, as they are there to help you as much as possible, whether it’s building your CV or writing your application. The placement office will be open as soon as term begins, so it’s definitely worth popping in at the start of your second year and seeing what placements are open that appeal to you. Once you’ve had a look at some of the opportunities (and keep checking as more pop up throughout the year!), it’s time to work on your CV and make sure you emphasise any experience you have that is relevant to the role. Again, it is worth showing your CV to the placement office as they’ll be able to advise and help with the structure and content, ensuring that it as good as possible. 

Once your CV has been perfected, it is time to look at the applications themselves, and the placement office can help with any questions about different types of roles. Most applications require a cover letter as well, and many placement offices have their own template for these, so be sure to ask about that too! Once all written, an application can be sent off, and it’s time to wait for your feedback and hopefully invites to an interview/ assessment centre.

Assessment centres

An assessment centre is like an extended group interview day, where you will be put through tasks and assessment exercises relevant to the job, as well as an individual interview. The best piece of advice I can give for an assessment centre is to:

Ensure that you research the role you’re applying for, making sure you know what the placement entails, and what you want to get out of it. You will be assessed on your commercial awareness; communication skills; decision making ability and your teamwork and planning abilities, so it is important that you’re prepared to work as part of a team, but make sure you are assertive during the exercises and focus on yourself, not the other candidates. Remember to be friendly and polite to everyone you speak to on the day, as you are constantly being assessed, and make sure you let your personality shine through.

Interviews

There are several different types of interview, and you may be invited to a combination of these as part of your application process for a company. Telephone interviews are generally slightly more informal, talking about your understanding of the company and the role you’ve applied for, and asking questions about your experience and what strengths you have. There could also be a video interview, usually using skype or FaceTime, which will come with similar questions as a phone interview, but your professional appearance and mannerisms can be scrutinised. 

You may then be invited to a one-to-one interview, or a panel, where you would be given an hour or so to speak to one or more of the team you would be joining. This is to assess how you would fit in to the team, and expand on any answers that you have given in previous interviews. At this stage you are often asked what you know about the company, so it is worth making sure you’re familiar with them before this point!
There could also be a group interview as part of the process, and in these it is important to remain professional, not speak over anyone, and remain as enthusiastic as possible.

My last piece of advice is to search early, prepare well and make sure you learn from any set-backs! 

So you’ve had your place confirmed, you’ve got your accommodation sorted and you’re almost ready to go. Your mind is full of ideas, who am I going to be living with? How many people am I going to be sharing a kitchen with? Are they going to eat my food? How am I going to make any friends? I know that these are some of the things I was worried about. I was both excited and anxious at the same time!

The time of applying for accommodation seems like years ago now, and after having your place confirmed you can’t wait to begin your new course and move into your new home for a year. Most Uni’s have a ‘moving weekend’ at the beginning of freshers, and I chose to move in on the Sunday, meaning half of the people in my flat had been there for a day already. After moving my things in with my parents, we decided to head into Brighton (which I hadn’t actually visited before starting Uni) to get some lunch and explore my new home for the next three years. After a little trip to Asda to pick up all the essentials (and the pre’s) that I’d managed to forget we said our goodbyes and it was time for me to unpack and properly settle in.

As soon as my parents had left I realised it was time to go out into the communal areas and meet everyone I was living with. I was in the kitchen unpacking my shop when one of my flatmates came in to make themselves a tea, and he took me around the flat and introduced me to everyone. I soon realised we were all as nervous as each other when it came to moving away from home, and we spent the afternoon chilling out in the kitchen and getting to know each other. That night was the first night of freshers, and going out is a great way of getting to know people in your halls, as the flat next door invited us to their pre-drinks, and everyone came together to get the bus into town.

After the first night, socialising became easier, as you bump into people you meet out and begin to feel like part of a community in halls. Varley Park is a really great place to live in your first year, as you’re surrounded by students all the time, and especially if you are in catered halls you spend a lot of time in the evening with the people that live around you. My flat had two bathrooms between the six of us, which meant there was never really a problem with waiting for a shower or anything like that, and we all decorated with posters our communal kitchen and living area together, changing the generic feel of the flat into a nice homely living space.

Before you know it, it will be Christmas and time to head back home for a few weeks, and you’ll find yourself referring to Uni as ‘home’ (which will annoy your mum) and missing your friends at University. Halls are a great way of settling into university life and making friends and because you are constantly surrounded by people you don’t miss home as much as you think as your housemates become like your family. Varley Park is a really nice Halls to live in, and as it is not on a particular campus it brings you in contact with a lot of people across the University that you may not otherwise meet, creating a huge group of friends and a real community during your first year.