However, there will soon be proposed radical changes to the way students apply to universities. Currently students are given offers based on their predicted exam grades, but some would like to see a post-qualification application (PQA) system in place which would mean students would only apply to universities when they have their final exam results.

The reasons behind the proposal are understandable. Currently more than 50% of the predictions that are made are incorrect. A PQA system would be fairer and more efficient; it does not require the check that predicted grades were met. It also empowers students to make more informed choice of which universities they can apply for.

The problems occur when the practicalities of introducing the new system are looked at. Time issues appear the most obvious difficulty to overcome, with neither schools nor universities wanting to yield even a few weeks of teaching time. To fit in viewing universities, applying, the application being considered, being invited for interview, a final offer being made and the student making a final choice, into just a few weeks seems unlikely to even the most optimistic PQA supporter.

Despite the difficulties, the Universities Minister David Willetts is set to raise the issue in the spring, and the Head of UCAS Mary Curnock Cook also wants to revive the PQA debate. However, in the current climate of turmoil that surrounds universities over tuition fees, is now really the time to raise a controversial debate over applications?

Over time these games developed and are now we have a regular booking on an outdoor pitch where we have our weekly “Staff versus Student” football matches, with both academic and non-academic staff playing. Everyone is welcome to play and it’s quite a casual (if at times quite competitive) affair which everyone enjoys. We often have up to 20 people per week coming along to play and demand continues to grow.

Aside from it being an enjoyable distraction for both staff and students it has greatly helped the working relationship between all that take part. Students no longer see the staff as a bureaucratic obstacle they need to overcome; they see them as real people who need to have certain procedures in place to do their job. Staff also have a deeper understanding of the students’ issues and as such can do more to help.

Walking around the university now, you will often see students chatting to staff about the previous week’s game or looking forward to the next one. Some of the staff who play are also non student facing so these events are the only chance they get to see the students.

When it started I had no idea that a simple social game of football would have these added benefits. I think it stresses the importance of seeing students as individuals and not just as problems as one can easily do when under pressure. Seeing students in a less formal setting lends itself to this very easily.

Although the football games that I organise have grown very organically it is very much something I would encourage others to create. I think any form of social activities where staff and students can come together away from their university would have beneficial effects on any institution, even if only in a small way.

Apart from the obvious impact this uncertainty has on prospective students it also leaves staff in HE facing many questions.

With the increased fees how will students expectations change?

As students could be paying £27,000 or more for a degree, they will surely want more for their money than those who have paid £9,000. The problem universities face is how to meet this increased demand with no more money? How do you improve service whilst making budget cuts?

Will poorer students be put off from applying?

Universities want the best students, not just the richest. With the new fees universities charging over £6,000 will have to take measures to ensure they are widening participation for the poor. Unfortunately, HE institutions and their staff have no idea what these measures will be or how effective they will be. How do you ensure that the best students aren’t put off from applying due to fees?

Will different courses cost different amounts?

In simple, practical terms a course such as chemistry costs more to run than History. Although I’m no chemist, the labs, chemicals and safety equipment must be expensive. Therefore should a Chemistry degree cost more than a History degree? If so does that undermine the History course and make students feel undervalued?

I could continue but each question leads only to further questions that cannot currently be answered.

The point is that an effect of the government’s decision on fees is to create an uncertain atmosphere in Universities for both staff and students. The quicker it is resolved the better it will be for all concerned.

Here’s why:

1)    Your foot is already in the door: Even with a temp job, you are gaining valuable exposure and work experience that can apply to the roles you will go for in the future. Your chances are much better than someone’s who’s completely out of the industry.

2)    There’s a good chance you may be noticed: Good temps often end up being offered permanent roles in their institution. Their managers often don’t want to lose them and so, given the chance, they will promote them to suitable permanent roles that are available.

3)    There may be a better chance for career advancement: This exact thing happened to me. I worked for a University on an 8-month contract and after that my experience helped me land my present job with my present institution for a more senior, permanent and much higher-paying position. Not bad for just 8 months!

4)    You have the perfect excuse for leaving your present job: My contract is terminating. Contrary to what most employees have to face when looking for a new job – the all-time classic question: “why do you want to leave your job?”, you will actually have the best, most credible and easy to prove excuse, and you won’t need to lie. Imagine having to cover up your bad relationships with your boss, your bad working conditions, or a redundancy?

What are the challenges of working with a partner institution?

1)   Things may be harder to coordinate as there are obviously more people involved, whose working practices may differ from yours

2)   Because of the above, things may take longer to be completed, so good planning and organisation are essential

3)   Occasionally there may be disagreements as to how things should be presented, how costings should be calculated etc.

4)   Internal institutional issues may affect the partner institution and the overall application

What are the advantages?

The advantages are much more significant, which is why institutions choose to work in partnerships despite any difficulties:

1)   Expertise from different people is drawn together and benefits the project immensely

2)   It is much easier to convince the funding council that the existing expertise is suitable for the grant to be awarded

3)   The responsibility for the project is divided between the partners and work is easier to be done this way

4)   Many minds are better than one alone, so the contribution from many people can be of great benefit

5)   The outcomes of the project are likely to be much more sustainable and have greater impact

The oral presentation

This is a common requirement and can precede or follow after the interview. You may be asked to present on a topic relevant to the role applied for or on a more generic topic. If asked to do an oral presentation, you should expect to be assessed on your confidence speaking in public, the clarity of your communication, your delivery style and ability to engage your audience, as well as the ability to be concise and fit everything within the allocated time limit.

Here are a few tips:

1)      Keep your presentation within time: Never exceed the time limit, as it shows lack of respect to your audience and lack of self-control. On the other hand, a presentation that is too short isn’t a good idea either, as you want to be comprehensive enough and make a good case. Try to be somewhere in the middle. If, for example, you have been allocated 10 minutes, try to keep your speech at 8-9 minutes.

2)      Don’t make too many points: Chances are that you won’t be given more than 15 minutes at best to present. In this amount of time, it’s not a good idea to come across with more than three or four major points, otherwise the result will seem inconsistent, badly-thought through, sloppy and confusing.

3)      Be careful with visual aids: If you are allowed to use visual aids, do so carefully. At all costs avoid animation, very bright colours and anything else that can shift attention away from you. Remember that it’s an aid to your presentation, it’s not THE presentation. You need to have people focus on you. If you don’t feel comfortable using visual aids, there’s nothing wrong in not doing it at all. Distributing handouts with your main points, however, is a good idea.

4)      Engage your audience: Try to show off that you are confident even if you’re not 100% – it really matters. Try not to deliver a flat speech. Smile, make joke or two, use your hands, move across the room, ask questions, encourage your audience to participate. It will be much appreciated.

5)      Practise, practise and practise: I don’t mean learning everything by heart – as this may have the opposite effect and make you look phony. But you need to have practised your presentation at least a few times before delivering it. Your mirror and your family and friends are always a good idea, as they will help you see your mistakes and improve. You will also find that the more you practise, the more confident you’ll start to feel, as you will become familiar with the content of your speech and thus less likely to blank if something goes wrong on the actual day.

A range of events

Our events were well spread to cover the interests of both businesses and students. Here is the list of our events:

1)      Land That Job: a student-focused event with a panel of employers answering questions about graduate careers and recruitment. At the second part of the event, students were given the opportunity to approach and talk to the employers one-on-one.

2)      Enterprising Roehampton Awards: An event focused on local businesses. Awards based on six different categories were given to various small businesses in the area to congratulate them on their performance, good customer service and contribution to the local economy.

3)      Wandsworth Business Support meeting: organized and chaired by our local authorities, with the participation of institutions, charities and local businesses

4)      Wandsworth Youth Event: organizations were invited to attend an exhibition aimed at the students and visitors of South Thames College, and our institution exhibited with a stand that became very popular

5)      Bright Ideas Masterclass: Bright Ideas is a business idea competition offering cash prizes to the winners. This masterclass was aimed at students interested in participating but who needed help developing their ideas, putting them down on paper, finding other fellow students to partner with, filling out the application form etc.

6)      Wandsworth Business Forum: The Business Forum comes as part of creating links with the local community. It is an opportunity for local businesses to showcase their achievements and for all parties concerned to network.

7)      Media Day: This event was split into an employers’ part and a students’ part. In the first part, there was an informal presentation on the University’s short courses for professionals in the Media, while in the second part the employers talked to students about how to get into the industry and what to expect from it.

Needless to say, we were all exhausted at the end of the week. But we all agreed that in the end it’s always worth it.

What is this event?

It’s an entirely student-focused event, where a panel of employers from a variety of sectors, including banking and general business, the media, the public sector, and the creative industries are going to form a panel and give short talks about how interested students can successfully enter their organizations. Students will then have a lot of time for a lively Q&A session, and in the end there will be time for networking between students and employers, as well as for some one-to-one interviews on the spot. So students can actually get a lot out of this event – knowledge, tips and advice, networking opportunities, contacts, and the most capable ones can even end up with invitations for further interviews, this time in the premises of the participating organizations.

Why is it successful?

The answer is very obvious. Students – especially final year undergraduates and postgraduates – are keen to explore career opportunities and meet prospective employers who may open doors for them in their organizations. Thus, taking advantage of such rare opportunities is a wise thing to do – and most students understand that and try to make the best out of it. Especially in challenging times like these, it’s important to take advantage of any opportunity to network and stand out from the crowd as a potential valuable employee.

What does the event involve?

The event is taking place in the evening and is aimed at local businesses – small and medium in their vast majority. During the event, there will be a number of awards presented for seven categories of businesses including catering, environmental services and youth services. The local businesses that are going to win the awards are those who will have received the most votes by the local community as the best ones in their category. Apart from that, the awards aim to offer an extra incentive to all those businesses that have chosen to operate in such a difficult area as Roehampton, plus recognition for the fact that they are surviving these challenging times. All this is going to take place in an impressive-looking room, with buffet supper and drinks, with a jazz band playing for the whole evening, and plenty of networking opportunities among the businesses themselves and representatives of the local authorities.

Why are such initiatives important?

Such initiatives fall under the “building and sustaining links with the local community” aspect of our institution’s strategy, which is very important. Universities can act as major catalysts in their local communities, as they are large organizations, with set structures and a variety of contacts from different sources and are well placed to bring people together. Events like those can have multiple benefits for everyone involved, which is why it’s important that higher education institutions take similar initiatives.

1)      Investigate the alternatives in your own institution: when a restructuring happens, redundancies tend to be made. At the same time though, new positions tend to open up. Existing employees in danger of redundancy are normally given priority for these new positions, so make sure that you know all about them and that you make your interest clear to your superiors. Sometimes certain new positions are “ring-fenced” for certain employees, so be sure to take advantage of such an opportunity.

2)      Work with HR: HR are not anyone’s enemies. And contrary to the common belief, it’s not HR who makes decisions on recruitment and/or firing in higher education. In periods of restructuring, HR usually offer consultative sessions with those employees whose jobs may be lost in order to advise them on what to do next. These sessions are a good opportunity to discuss your skills, experience and professional goals and are also used to alert employees on upcoming opportunities that match their profile.

3)      Investigate outside of your institution: Although there is a good chance that most employees will be offered new positions within their institution after the restructuring takes place, you may find that you are up for a challenge in a new environment. So why not browse the job market, ask around, make your intentions known to your contacts, apply and test your strengths in other institutions? Chances are that sooner or later, you will be offered a position somewhere else.

4)      Don’t forget to network: Inside and outside of your own institution, in conferences and professional events, in meetings, networking is key to success and can open up doors you never imagined it could.

5)      Find out if there’s a voluntary redundancy package: If you have decided that you still want to leave your institution because the alternatives on offer don’t suit you, see if there is a redundancy package which you can benefit from. Some institutions offer incentive schemes for employees who decide to take voluntary redundancy or go to early retirement. The financial incentives can be surprisingly good – often enough for a person to survive a whole year without working. This will take you off the stress of having to find a new job immediately and will give you the time to look better and find something that closely matches your aspirations.