Inspired Futures 2020

Posted on: 11 March 2020 by Jade McGee, Employer Connections Team in Connections in action

Our key aim was to engage the disengaged through exploration in a less formal, more relaxed setting to our usual careers fairs and employer led activities.

InspiredFutures2020 was a brand new event for March 2020 designed to showcase typically underrepresented sectors whilst encouraging our students to “be ambitious, be creative and be inspired.”   

We opened the event with a networking breakfast for students, panellists and university staff to provide an opportunity for the whole University of Liverpool community to take some time out to connect and be inspired with an opening keynote speech from alumni Nisha Katona of Mowgli Restaurants. Following this, we ran a series of panel talks with speakers sharing their own personal career journeys and valuable insights into how they found themselves to be in the role they are in now as well as showcasing their sectors more widely. We brought together speakers from a wide range of sectors from across the Liverpool City Region with representation from both SMEs including  BidoLito! and Dot-Art, as well as larger organisations such as the BBC and the Civil Service. Following the panel sessions there were opportunities for more networking to provide students with a chance to make meaningful connections with the speakers many of whom were graduates from University of Liverpool and keen to support current students with their career planning.

In the afternoon, we ran three CareerTreks (see more about the first ever CareerTrek here!) and took smaller groups of students to one of three local organisations who provided a unique insight into their businesses, the types of roles available to students and graduates and office/site tours to provide students with an opportunity to get a feel for the organisations culture. TATE Liverpool, FACT Liverpool and Agent Academy were the three organisations who welcomed us and all provided an excellent afternoon for the students involved.

The Career Treks were a fantastic way for students to learn more about the organisations involved as they truly got a first-hand look at how they operate, and the chance to ask even more in-depth questions.

For me personally, the highlight of this event was seeing it all come together after months of planning and preparing. Watching students interact with the speakers in a new setting and seeing them connect with the speakers was fantastic. We had great feedback from students, with one saying “It helped me feel a lot more inspired and has broaden the types of industries I will consider in my job search”. Overall 98% of students who attended commented that they left the event feeling more open minded to new industries and opportunities. It was great to have this feedback as we really wanted to offer students a different way of learning about new industries that they may not have previously considered.