As I come to the end of my first year as Deputy Head of School, I want to reflect on some of the work I have been involved in, with many others, and I particularly want to update you on our work to enhance graduate employability.  

As Deputy Head of School, I have been asked to focus on the future; a future that is made uncertain by the world that we are a part of. One uncertainty is international student recruitment. You will be aware of global trends which are seeing fewer students come to study in the UK from some of our established international markets. There is an urgent need, then, to diversify where our students are coming from. We need to improve the way we present our programmes to the world. We have to engage directly, and in person, with existing and new markets and student groups. We may need to grow our share of the home student market. We may need to explore new opportunities and ways to deliver these, while ensuring that such innovation contributes to the financial sustainability of the School. 

SEED does exceptionally well in research and I believe our teaching is second to none – I want to comment on NSS but this will have to wait until July when we get our results. Our consistent and strong performance in research and teaching ensures high rankings and we remain an attractive destination for both home and international students. However, University fees are high and there is an increasing focus among prospective students on the tangible value of higher education. Students are looking for degrees and universities that will open upopportunities in the ever more competitive world of work. Our home students expect an employability focus that is tailored to their disciplines. For our international students, market research suggests that perceived "return on investment" is key.  

For this reason, going forward, we will be relentlessly focused on employability.  

Our work on employability is coordinated by our brilliant Associate Director of Employability and Professional Learning, Bertie Dockerill. Bertie works closely with departmental Employability Leads, student Employability Champions, SEED Hub staff, the Faculty, the Student Union, DDAR (Division of Development and Alumni relations) and the Careers Service. Bertie is helped, also, by the past and ongoing employability-related work and advice of SEED colleagues such as Shirley Jenner and Miriam Firth, and our SEED School Representative Bo Murphy.    

Yes, Bertie and many colleagues do a lot already. This includes encouraging our students to engage with the careers service and sign up to Careers Connect. There are discipline specific and school-wide careers events with representation from employers. Just last month the SEED Employability Champions initiative was shortlisted from over 200 entries for the Postgraduate Employability Award at the Graduate Futures Institute Awards.   

 A lot of valuable opportunities arise from the professional accreditation of academic programmes, and individual programme teams include an employability focus in both teaching and through extra-curricular events. Moreover, placements opportunities, field courses, and initiatives such as the SEED Change Makers, Sustainability@SEED and UCIL provide further employability-related activity for our students.   

In the coming year, Bertie will accelerate the focus on employability further. We’ll beorganising a programme of events that spans the entire academic year and which will be available to all SEED students. Do look out for this development and do support Bertie however and wherever you can.  

When addressing employability, there is also the challenge of AI. This challenge is immediate and fundamental. Professional Services colleagues got their enterprise version of CoPilot activated last week, academic colleagues will see this sometime in June, and students will get it in the autumn semester. It is fundamental in how it will change our work, the student experience, and – yes - employability. AI literacy will benefit the future opportunities of our graduates. We must ensure that this AI literacy extends beyond “how to use AI”; it must include a thorough understanding of the environmental, social and epistemic implications of AI. 

Taking a step back, I am conscious there is a lot of employability-related work I have not mentioned. To me, this highlights how the student experience, and how SEED prepares students for their futures, relies on what we all do with our students. It also highlights that what we do is never alone. We all deserve credit for making SEED an exciting place to study, with rich and numerous opportunities to develop employability and life skills. Thank you!