Postgraduate Masters students at Stirling have benefited from a partnership programme which enables them to enhance their employability through work-based dissertation projects.
The Making the Most of Masters (MMM) initiative, which last week won the Outstanding Employer Engagement Initiative award at the Times Higher Education Awards, has so far enabled 17 Stirling postgraduate Masters students to do dissertations on topics proposed by business and third sector organisations.
Projects have included an MSc Environmental Economics student working with Graham Construction to undertake an impact assessment on the development of the new halls of residence and an MSc Information Technology student working with Youmanage HR Ltd, which provides HR software services.
2013/14 is the second year of the programme at Stirling, with more students now embracing the opportunity to do their dissertation projects in collaboration with external organisations. Businesses are now being asked to offer projects that will be undertaken over the summer for this year’s students.
Co-ordinated by the University of Edinburgh, MMM is a partnership between the Universities of Edinburgh, Stirling and Aberdeen, funded by the Scottish Funding Council, which aims to build relationships and facilitate wider collaboration between universities and employers. At the University of Stirling, the programme is run by the School of Natural Sciences in partnership with the Career Development Centre.
Commenting on the Times Higher Education Award the programme received, Dr Eunice Atkins, the MMM Project Co-ordinator at Stirling, said: “It’s wonderful to have received this recognition from such a prestigious body and I must acknowledge my gratitude to efforts of my colleagues, past and present in MMM, and here at Stirling.
“MMM aims to deliver a student that has the skills required to work within the demanding business environment of today, and without doubt, enhances the Stirling postgraduate experience and adds value to the University by making contacts with a wide array of businesses. This major award is recognition of our endeavours beyond that of our own institutions.”
“MMM provides students with a fantastic opportunity. It’s much more than a just a placement for their dissertation, it offers an opportunity for Stirling masters students to develop skills and experiences that they can reflect and build-on to become more employable professionals.”
Student Jason Graham said: “I would absolutely recommend that everyone does a work based project and probably the biggest testament is that I now work fulltime for the company where I did my placement.”
For further information about MMM, please see www.mastersprojects.ac.uk or email eunice.atkins@stir.ac.uk.