Talent Exchange, an RGU project to widen and extend the pool of work related experience opportunities available to students, has been successful at The Herald Higher Education Awards.
The project was named as the winner for Outstanding Employer Engagement in Universities.
Since its inception, Talent Exchange has worked to engage efficiently with small and medium size enterprises to not only provide access to new talent to address their needs, but also to enhance the employability of RGU’s students.
The project was made possible thanks to partnerships with three industry bodies: Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC), the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), and the Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI).
Through a close working relationship between the Talent Exchange team, partners and academic staff across the university, a plan was designed to increase engagement with businesses which could benefit from student placements.
This process generated an additional 808 work related experience opportunities for students across the university and the overall feedback from students and academic staff has been that these placements have enhanced their personal skills, contributed towards course aims and boosted their career prospects.
Yvonne Cook, Talent Exchange project manager, said: “Enhancing student and graduate employability is a key objective for the university and it is very pleasing to see that Talent Exchange’s impact has now been recognised with this success at the Higher Education Awards.
“We look forward to building on this for the future and ensuring that more students benefit from these key experience opportunities, while small and medium enterprises can grow and improve with the help of our talented and enthusiastic student body.”