Undergraduate student wins top prize for his poster at City’s Entrepreneurship and Employability Forum
By City Press Office (City Press Office), Published
Student Leo Salem (BSc International Politics) won the Saddlers Award at the Entrepreneurship and Employability Forum for his poster about bridging academia and employment, earning him a £1000 prize.
The forum, organised by City, University of London, combined a student poster exhibition and a panel event on employability and entrepreneurship.
The Saddlers Company, which is one of the oldest livery companies in London and has a longstanding connection with City, hosted the event at the Saddlers' Hall.
Around 100 attendees attended the event to see the 12 posters created by students and to hear from the panel.
The students presented on the entrepreneurship and employability-focused activities they have been involved with during their time at City, and created detailed posters to accompany their presentations. Guests were invited to examine the posters and vote on their favourite.
Leo's poster entitled: ‘Bridging Academia and Employment: Implementing City’s 2030 Vision Through Career Focus Modules’ highlighted City's impactful career-focused modules and how this has helped him and other students be prepared for future employment.
Following the poster exhibition, attendees heard from a panel made up of:
- Dr Sionade Robinson, VP (Enterprise, Engagement & Employability) at City
- Hugh Taylor, an entrepreneur and the Prime Warden of Saddlers
- Gemma Kenyon, Head of Careers at City
- Das Bhaumik, from the City of London Small Business Research & Enterprise Centre
- Sophie Bannister, from Enterprise Mobility.
Discussing his win, Leo said:
"It was a tough competition and the standard of the posters was very high," said Antonia Clark, Careers Consultant at City. "Nevertheless, Leo excelled by attracting interest from guests, engaging them in conversation and answering their questions."
The event is just one example of how City is commitment to equipping its students with the skills, network and knowledge they need to go into successful and fulfilling careers.
City is among the first UK universities to fully embed employability into its curriculum, making professional experience and career-focused modules part of every undergraduate course.
City's Career Activation programme includes career-focused modules to help students explore a wide range of job options in their chosen field. These modules, led by City’s Career consultants and academics, focus on skills employers want and feature insights from alumni and industry experts talking about their career paths.
Leo's study focused on City's 2030 Vision and Strategy, which highlights the importance of career education.
Leo conducted independent research to understand City students' feelings about their future careers and the support provided by the University.
He surveyed 130 students, finding that those enrolled in career-focused modules report greater confidence and have begun taking steps towards achieving their desired careers.
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