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Course creates work experience opportunities for students
12/04/2019
Students from the University of Wolverhampton benefited from hands-on work experience at the TEDxWolverhampton event held recently.
Three final year Creative and Professional Writing degree students from the School of Humanities - Charlotte Ford, Matt Leppington and Chloe Brown - took over the social media channels for the University and live-blogged at the inaugural TEDxWolverhampton event held at the Light House Media Centre in the city.
As part of their course module, 'Writing Futures', the students were assigned to help Light House Media Centre with their marketing, volunteering their time and services for the day. They had backstage access and worked alongside the TEDxWolverhampton volunteers to promote the event on TEDxWolverhampton and University of Wolverhampton digital channels including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The students provided updates throughout the day, attending all talks, chatting to hosts, speakers and visitors behind the scenes, helping to get #tedxwolverhampton trending worldwide.
Louise Palfreyman, Visiting Lecturer at the University, said: “The aim of this module on the Creative and Professional writing course was to give the students some live experience out in the working world and the pinnacle of our achievement most recently was the TEDxWolverhampton event.
“There’s no substitute for actual hands-on experience and there’s a full suite of skills going on in this module that I hope they’ll be able to take forward into a multiplicity of jobs.”
Matt, 24 from Birmingham, said: “I’m extremely grateful for having the chance to cover a prestigious event such as TEDx. Not only will the experience help my future career in writing, it will also go towards my final portfolio this year. I want to say thanks to the University for letting us hijack their social media too. It was great fun and I’d love to do a similar event sometime.
“The day gave me an inside look into a fast-paced work environment. We attended all the talks and wrote up the TEDx Wolverhampton blog in the intervals, barely having time to breathe. Meanwhile, we were trying to capture engaging images of the event, and talk to the speakers and performers. It was quite hectic but it went well and I’m glad I took part.”
Charlotte, 29 from Halesowen, said: “Having the opportunity to flex my writing skills at an event like TEDx Wolverhampton is truly unique. Not only did it give me the professional experience of working with a group of diverse experts, it was great to give something back to the community. The event was co-ordinated and ran through volunteers. I am truly grateful to everyone involved for giving us that opportunity, but also to the University for supporting us with it all. I’m not sure we could have had this opportunity without such support. The whole effort gave me valuable insight into the writing career I want to pursue after graduation, but more importantly, the confidence to do so.”
Chloe, 20 from Wolverhampton, said: “TEDx Wolverhampton has been such an amazing first-hand experience of working with other like-minded professionals. The event has provided me with a deeper understanding of live events and how everything works behind the scenes, from chatting with the hosts to the curator of the event; it has been a defining experience of my time at the University of Wolverhampton. I am so grateful for the opportunity the University has given me by handling their social media accounts, in particular their Twitter feed. I feel honoured to be able to bring more attention to not only our University but also the city of Wolverhampton, and give back to our local communities.
“We would just like to thank the University for giving us the opportunity to be able to cover the TEDx Wolverhampton event on their behalf. Also for the module Writing Futures which allowed us to be at the TEDx Wolverhampton event in the first place. It was such a fun and intriguing event, and we are honoured to be able to say we were a part of it. As we graduate this term it was a memorable way to end three years of University.”
Anyone interested in studying in the School of Humanities at the University should register for the next Open Day on Saturday 15th June 2019.
Picture caption from left to right: Louise Palfreyman, Lecturer, Matt Leppington, Chloe Brown and Charlotte Ford.
ENDS
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