Pathways students

Students gain sector insights at Professional Pathways

This June the Professional Pathways Programme enabled students to gain invaluable knowledge and experience in the sectors they were most passionate about.

The programme covers a whole range of sectors including Marketing, Government and Politics, Charity and Arts Culture and Heritage. Running over two weeks the programme is made up of a training week, where students attend a series of talks from professionals working in the sector, allowing them to learn top tips and gain sector insights. This is then followed by a one week internship where they can gain great experience and put the skills they have learned into practice.

Alumni have been key supporters of the programme, from sharing their experience with students at the training week to supporting and offering internships in their companies.

We spoke to Ian Forber (1989) a supporter of the Pathways to Government and Politics programme.

“For the Pathways to Government and Politics programme I supported the training of the students, coming down to Exeter to explain what a civil servant does, this year we also hosted two interns for a week in the Ministry of Defence in London.

"As an individual coming back to Exeter it helped me to understand what student life is like these days. I also got a great deal from being able to act as a mentor and help students understand how they might get to get a job that they may have never thought about doing.

"I absolutely would recommend that other employers and alumni get involved with professional pathways. Not only do you get an intern of a very high calibre but you also get a lot out of it on an individual level by coming down, particularly by being involved with the training week.”

Students have likewise had a great experience of the programme, a student who undertook the Pathways to Arts, Culture and Heritage this year said: “The training is of a kind that is very difficult to get anywhere else and the internship was the most enjoyable and informative working week of my life.”

You can find out more about Professional Pathways Programme on the university’s webpages.

Date: 25 July 2019