Undergraduate prospectus section 4: Personal Development

Personal development

Personal development at Sussex Personal development and your career
at Sussex
Personal development and your career

T here’s more to Sussex than getting your work in on
time. We encourage our students to be inquisitive,
engaged and entrepreneurial, and to question the
world around them. While you’re here why not get
involved with a society, or local project? After all, you
never know where it will take you.

Josh’s The Students’ Union: clubs and societies Student development projects
perspective The University of Sussex Students’ Union The University’s Career Development and
‘Just three months after graduating
x (USSU) supports, and helps fund, a large Employment Centre (CDEC) offers a range
from Sussex I became the director of
x number of clubs, societies and volunteer of opportunities under its eXperience factor
my
x own limited company, developing projects. Run entirely by students, these scheme that can develop your experiences
an
x award-winning product I had range from Amnesty International to and skills, build your confidence and be fun.
designed, intended to reduce CO2
x photography and rugby clubs. However you
emissions from appliances left on
x The Student Development and Alumni
like to fill your spare time, there will be a club
standby. I was also fortunate to gain a
x Fund offers funding for group projects that
place as an NCGE-Kauffman Fellow on
x or society on campus for you. And if there
contribute to a community or personal
x five-month training and mentoring
a isn’t, start your own.
development goal. Previous projects have
scheme in the USA.
x
‘None of this would have happened
Joining a society is a good way of getting to included establishing a creative writing
x
without the diverse range of courses
x
know people, particularly from outside your magazine, producing a play and sending
x people, extracurricular activities,
and year and subject area. Many societies have musical instruments to a developing country.
x social events that Sussex offered
and a thriving social programme in addition to
Schools Programme allows second-year
during my degree.
x their main activities. You will have plenty of
x passion for the environment
‘My students the opportunity to work in a local
opportunities to find out more during the
x enlivened through debates and
was school alongside a classroom teacher or
Students’ Union Freshers’ Week held at the
discussions with fellow students;
x with individual pupils as a mentor.
x acquired technical knowledge from
I
start of the autumn term. To explore the
studying; and gained commercial
x range of current activities available, visit Another alternative is the work-shadowing
insight from extracurricular seminars
x the Union’s website at programme that provides the chance to gain
x workshops based around
and www.ussu.info/activities an insight into an area of work you wish to
entrepreneurship.
x explore.
‘These, to me, highlight the rounded
x The Union also has an active media produced
experience you can expect to gain
x by students including the popular weekly Relevant work experience is increasingly
from the University of Sussex.’ paper, the badger, a termly magazine The important in securing a graduate position and
Pulse, and a campus radio station, URF – CDEC can advise you on finding opportunities
Josh Seal
Engineering University Radio Falmer. Recent badger and how to use them as part of your personal
graduate journalists have gone on to win national and development plan.
international journalistic prizes, giving them
a helping hand on to the first rung of the
career ladder.
Project V
Project V is an USSU scheme dedicated to
helping students get involved in the local
community through volunteering. There are
numerous opportunities including working in
an art gallery in central Brighton, volunteering
with the NHS and Age Concern, helping run a
drop-in support service for people living with
HIV or AIDS, or taking part in leisure activities
with someone who is visually impaired. By
doing something different and rewarding, you
can help others, develop new skills and gain
valuable experience for your CV. For more
information, visit www.ussu.info/projectv

23

Career development plan

Planning your career First years
Planning your career Personal development and your career

Get involved in student clubs, write
for the student press and volunteer
Personal development and your career in the community through Project V.
Explore part-time work options with
CDEC, attend employer drop-ins and
develop your CV. Talk to a careers
advisor about vacation work or your
CV; try to show how resourceful
you are and that you’re making
the most of personal development
opportunities.
Second years

F or employers, it’s not just what you know, but what you can
do with your knowledge that counts. At Sussex your degree
is designed to help you develop the intellectual flexibility and
Clarify your career ideas with a CDEC
advisor. Attend campus recruitment
fairs to explore work experience
opportunities, employer talks and
career development workshops to
transferable skills that will be invaluable for your career. We work explore your options. Bolster your
CV through student development
with you from the start to enhance your personal and career opportunities such as the
development and the options to earn while you learn. eXperience factor schools and work-
shadowing programmes, student
tutoring and mentoring in schools,
or try something different altogether
through Project V.
Think about how you can make the
The Sussex academic experience – Career Development and most of summer work in the UK or
investing in the future Employment Centre (CDEC) abroad; talk through your ideas with
Whatever degree you take, you will leave The University’s Career Development and a careers advisor.
Sussex with a wider view of the world. Our Employment Centre (CDEC) complements Finalists
interdisciplinary approach to degree study the academic training you receive during Spend time each week moving your
plans forward. Attend employer
ensures that students exchange ideas across your degree at Sussex. Our team of career talks, Gradfair and Lawfair. Attend
the traditional subject boundaries. development professionals can help you to CDEC workshops to learn how
In many subjects you can also learn a foreign identify specific career aims and to develop to make your applications stand

language, giving you the freedom to move in the career planning strategies you will need out and feel confident about
interviews, employer selection tests
the international academic and commercial to achieve them. Then we help you put your and assessment centres. Many
communities throughout your career. plans into action. employers, and study and training
providers, have deadlines early in
Work experience is available with a variety A well-presented and targeted CV can make the year (many before Christmas) so
of degrees, from sandwich years for science the difference between a rejection letter and don’t miss out.
students to school placements for those a first interview. Similarly, an informed Use employer directories to find

interested in teaching. understanding of your potential employer graduate opportunities and check
vacancies on the CDEC website.
can help you make a favourable impression.
By planning projects and giving presentations, Participation and preparation are the keys to Attend the Sussex Postgraduate
Study Open Day, and check funding
and through managing deadlines and successful job hunting, and CDEC is here to deadlines and how CDEC can help
defending your views in written exercises, you help you. you once you graduate.
will develop the intellectual confidence you
need to make your mark in the world of work. To find out more about CDEC, visit
www.sussex.ac.uk/cdec

24

Planning your career Personal development and your career
Careers advisors are available every day But it’s not just the money that counts. Some
during term time for short individual discussions, opportunities can provide specific experience
and group sessions are often available for or training and advance career aspirations.
honing your job hunting strategies. In the recent past CDEC has advertised
CDEC’s large open-access information temporary jobs for computer programmers,
centre provides information on different media assistants and translators. It’s
types of work, career pathways, employers, also important to ensure that your study
vacancies, further training/study, DVDs, commitments don’t suffer − we advise that
reference books and takeaway publications. that full-time undergraduate students work
CDEC also has its own well-resourced no more than 15 hours per week.
website. It includes work experience, part- CDEC promotes over 3,000 temporary
time jobs, finalists’ and graduate vacancies, and part-time jobs each year. You can look
and a regular newsletter The Message, which through vacancies in the information centre,
can be found at www.sussex.ac.uk/cdec or make use of our job vacancies website
Alongside these career pathways and where an average of 300 jobs are advertised
professional development resources, we each week. In addition, we list a selection of
provide a full programme of career events vacancies advertised in the local press.
designed to put you in touch with employers Many jobs are within the University itself, in a
and professionals: from workshops to help range of clerical and administrative posts (as
you secure that first interview, to fairs and well as catering and bar work). Off-campus
employer talks about graduate opportunities. there are varied opportunities in Brighton,
We run skills workshops throughout the year, during term times and in the vacations. Local
covering topics such as career planning job opportunities include the service sector,
and assessment centres, and talks about clerical and data processing, and English
specific careers such as those within the language teaching. It’s good to know that,
media, scientific research, international according to a 2007 survey (the RBS Student
development and the environment, as well Living Index) of 27 university towns, earnings
as different ways to establish your own for part-time work in Brighton are significantly
business. Many sessions are led by outside higher than average.
professionals and give you the opportunity to CDEC can also help by bringing employers
ask detailed questions. to you. There are a range of drop-in sessions
During the year we organise a range of fairs held each term on campus and attended by
focusing on different aspects of graduate a variety of local and national employers who
recruitment – for example, GradFair and the have part-time or vacation opportunities.
Sussex Law Fair are both attended by a wide We run regular drop-in sessions, and staff
range of graduate employers and former are on hand to help you find paid work,
Sussex students. and provide guidance and support with
Part-time work opportunities applications, as well as on issues such
Learning to live on what is often a tight as how the income tax system works for
budget while making the most of student life students. You can also pick up a range
is one of the challenges of being at university, of publications with tips on how to make
and many students work part-time and in successful applications.
vacations to earn extra money.

25

Success after Sussex
Success after Sussex Personal development and your career

Personal development and your career

Y ou can be confident that your experiences at Sussex will
help give you the best start possible in your chosen career.
You will also be entering the company of many Sussex graduates
who have gone on to be highly successful in a variety of fields.
Samantha’s
perspective
‘Being particularly interested in
x
development and conservation issues,
x
x how the two can be compatible,
and
x Geography degree programme
the
Ian McEwan CBE x Sussex seemed to fit my needs
at
Author perfectly.
x
Ian, an English Literature graduate, is one of x was through the University that
‘It
x first came to Madagascar – after
I
the UK’s best-known living authors. Over the
finding out about VSO’s Overseas
x
past 30 years, he has written novels, short Training Programme – and I spent
x
stories and TV and film scripts; a number of x year working with the NGO
a
his novels, including Atonement and The Feedback Madagascar (www.
x
Cement Garden, have also been adapted feedbackmadagascar.org) during
x
for film. Ian has won several literary awards, x degree. This was a life-changing
my
experience, bringing a whole new
x
including the prestigious Man Booker Prize
dimension to my studies and giving me
x
for Fiction for his novel Amsterdam (three of x Madagascar “bug”; I have been out
the
his other novels have also been shortlisted here ever since.
for the same award), and is a Fellow of both x 2005 I was awarded an MBE for
‘In
the Royal Society of Literature and the Royal “services to healthcare and community
x
Society of Arts. development in Madagascar”. We
xx
x continuing to build on our rural
are
development and conservation
x
programmes, and work is forever
xx
challenging and fulfilling – both in the
x
field and in the office.’

Samantha
Cameron MBE
Programme
Coordinator,
Feedback
Michael Fuller Madagascar
Chief Constable of Kent Police
Michael, who started out as a cadet with
London’s Metropolitan Police Service, rose to
the rank of Deputy Assistant Commissioner
(the fourth highest rank in the Met) before
becoming Chief Constable of Kent Police in
2004. He worked in a variety of roles at the
Met, including setting up and commanding
Operation Trident, the unit set up to tackle
gun crime within London urban communities.
Michael, a Social Psychology graduate, has
been awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for
distinguished service, as well as honorary
degrees from the Universities of Sussex and
East London. He is also a qualified barrister
and was called to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn in
2007.

26

Helen Boaden Other high-fliers

Success after Sussex Personal development and your career
Director, BBC News Arts
Helen Boaden, an English Literature graduate, Turner Prize winner and Tate
began her journalistic career with the BBC Trustee, Jeremy Deller; film
as a news producer with Radio Leeds. She soundtrack composer, John
Altman; and musician, Jem
worked as a reporter and presenter on radio Griffiths.
and television before taking on a series of Business
senior management roles including Controller Sir Robert Wilson, Chairman of
of BBC 7, Controller of Radio 4 and, since BG Group and former Chairman
2004, Director of BBC News. Helen has won of Rio Tinto plc; Hannah Jones,
Vice President: Corporate
a number of awards for her work including Responsibility of Nike Inc; Anthony
a Sony Award for Best Current Affairs Carlisle, Executive Director of the
Programme for her report on Aids in Africa. marketing and communications
She is a Fellow of the Radio Academy, and group, Citigate Dewe Rogerson;
Jonathan Catherwood, Executive
has been awarded honorary degrees by the Vice President of Wendy’s Inc;
University of East Anglia (Suffolk College) and Keith Skeoch, CEO for Standard
the University of Sussex. Life Investments; and Gail Rebuck,
Chair and Chief Executive, Random
House Group.
Media
Alexandra Shulman OBE, Editor
of UK Vogue; Jane Root, former
Executive Vice President of
Discovery Networks and General
Zhang Xin Manager of the Discovery Channel
in the US; and TV presenter, Dermot
Property developer Murnaghan.
After achieving a degree in Economics at Public service
Sussex and a Masters in Development Sir Suma Chakrabarti, Permanent
Economics at the University of Cambridge, Secretary of the Ministry of Justice;
Zhang Xin worked as an analyst on Wall Jamie Shea, Director of Policy
Planning at NATO; and Ann Grant,
Street before returning to China to pursue a former British High Commissioner
career in real estate. Her company, SOHO to the Republic of South Africa.
China Ltd, has undertaken a series of stylish Politics
residential and commercial building projects UK Government ministers, Rt Hon
that have made her into one of China’s Hilary Benn and Rt Hon Ben
Bradshaw; and The President of
most successful property developers. One the Republic of Botswana,
of her projects – the Commune by the Great Festus Mogae.
Wall – won a prize at the Venice Biennale, a Science
world-renowned contemporary art exhibition. Georgina Mace OBE, Director of
She also won the 2004 Mont Blanc Arts Science, Zoological Society of
London and Trustee of the Natural
Patronage Award in recognition of her efforts History Museum; Calestous
to promote the development of contemporary Juma, Professor of the Practice
architecture in Asia. Her company was of International Development and
Director, Science, Technology and
floated on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in Globalization Project at Harvard
October 2007. University; and Sir Peter Knight,
Professor of Quantum Optics and
Principal of Natural Sciences at
Imperial College, London.
Sean Phelan
Founder of Multimap
After taking an Electronic Engineering degree
at Sussex, Sean became a programmer for
a software consultancy, designing, building
and debugging computer networks around
the world. With his heart set on a career as an
entrepreneur, however, Sean took an MBA at
the Theseus Institute in France, then worked
as a media and technology consultant before
setting up his own business, called Multimap,
in 1995. The business has gone on to
become a leading provider of mapping and
location-based services with a multi-million
pound turnover. In 2006, Multimap was
awarded The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in
the innovation category. In December 2007,
Sean sold his majority stake in Multimap to
Microsoft for over £12 million.

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Undergraduate prospectus section 4: Personal Development

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