EMPOWER-Islington

On August 3rd we held our fourth workshop “Empower Your Future” on the University College London (UCL) campus. With the help of our speakers and student volunteers, we provided young people from Islington with an experience of higher education, an opportunity to explore various career paths that may be of interest to them, exposure to experienced speakers, and equipped young people with tools to figure out their own career goals and aspirations long after the workshop.

Evi Katsapi, Head of Undergraduate Provision at the UCL Institute of Education kicked off the event as our guest speaker. She shared her journey of pursuing academia. She spoke about the lessons learned from university application rejections, changing career goals, being resilient and flexible, and how she overcame financial stressors whilst pursuing postgraduate studies in psychology and special education. She emphasised the value of persistence, seizing opportunities that come your way, and building a strong support network – as things young people should hold dear today. She also encouraged young people to explore various disciplines, understand their passions, and make informed choices about academic pursuits.

“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to engage with the young people of Islington. Sharing my experiences, joys and struggles allowed me to connect with them and address societal disparities. I hope they have benefitted from this day as much as I have.”

–       Evi Katsapi, Head of Undergraduate Provision at the UCL Institute of Education

The second speaker was Glyn Jones, a UCL Careers Consultant and graduate in genetics studies. Not only did he provide some inside tips on job applications, but he also distributed helpful resources, including resume templates and interview guides. Glyn also shared his unconventional education route and career switch from ‘not being ready’ to pursue university to reapplying to a degree in genetics. Importantly, he emphasised that going to university should not be about acquiring a degree, but rather about gaining knowledge, critical thinking skills, and a broader perspective on the world. He shared alternative ways to acquire skills through apprenticeships and traineeships, which are alternative career paths that do not involve going to university, but that young people may also choose to explore.

“It was great to take part in the Empower Islington event and have the opportunity to interact with young people from Islington. It was really interesting to hear about what young people are considering in terms of potential career routes and help them find the kind of information that can help them with their own career development. I enjoyed getting to know the participants throughout the day and hearing about what they were planning for their future.”

Glyn Jones, UCL Careers Consultant

With an unplanned fire alarm that started going off in the middle of our session, we proceeded to continue with the most highly anticipated aspect of our workshop—the UCL campus tour! Gathering all our young people, we started the tour at the Student Centre, known as one of the top 300 most sustainable buildings in the world. Open 24 hours a day every day of the year, it is a popular hangout spot on campus with both independent study and collaborative learning spaces. Continuing the tour we explored the Main Library, one of the 18 libraries on campus, always packed with a range of books from philosophy to classics, to the humanities and the arts. Martha and student helper Ingrid shared their love of the library with the young people, who were equally in awe of all the books available for them to discover. After which, we headed to the iconic landmark of UCL—the Wilkins Building. Right in front is the Main Quad, where there are always events happening, including, cultural festivals, award ceremonies, society fairs and sustainability events throughout the year. Our research assistants even shared some fond memories of the Wilkins Building. From their first time stepping onto campus and seeing the iconic building, to when they had taken graduation photos. On Gower Street lies the Cruciform Building. It used to be the UCL Hospital, but now houses the teaching facility for the UCL Medical School. To end the tour, we peeked into the Grant Museum of Zoology to see the full display of skeletons, mounted animals and specimens preserved in fluid—a common museum frequented by tourists and students for learning. Speaking to our participants following the tour, they shared that they were delighted to see the areas on campus they would otherwise not have access to. This tour also enabled them to envisiage themselves studying in the libraries, walking with friends to lecture theatres, and eating on campus.

As our legs began to tire, we finally returned to the UCL Institute of Education for lunch, with a lovely spread of FOLD pizzas from the very popular spot on campus! During our lunch break, participants had the opportunity to mingle with UCL students from various courses to find out more about student life at UCL. This seemed to be one of the highlights of our event as the young people feedbacked that they enjoyed talking to professionals and volunteers who are familiar with the industry and educational paths.

Our next activity was the career quiz by the National Careers Service. In this 10-minute quiz, participants answered 50 multiple-choice questions about the things they like to do or are good at. This was an opportunity for participants to discover their interests and motivations, identify their skills, and discover potential careers.

Example questions: On a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), how much do you agree with the following statements

• “I make decisions quickly”
• “I think I am a competitive person”
• “Doing well in a career motivates me”
• “I enjoy working with other people around me”
• “I like to work out complicated things”

Try out the quiz yourself here!

Following this, participants worked together in pairs to complete a career exploration sheet. They had to research the answers to a job or industry they were considering or were recommended by the quiz. Some careers that our participants were interested in included being an astronomer, web content editor, and psychiatrist. They looked for credible information online about the educational qualifications, skills, and training required to pursue these jobs. Other details included the work environment, salary, and related jobs. After this activity, participants shared that it was extremely informative learning more about the career they had selected, as well as from each other. Young people feedbacked that they are now able to efficiently search for jobs and know how to think about their careers. This was in line with our goals for this activity, but participants indicated that they would have appreciated more time. In future, we also hope to provide young people with additional time to explore more than one career to draw comparisons.

To facilitate participants’ career exploration beyond this workshop, a suggestion box will be placed in the Islington West Library. Young people can propose ideas for workshops, speakers, or information about specific careers, university admissions tips, career advice, or even job vacancies anonymously. The idea is to continue to conversation between young people and the council even after our workshop. Our participants began filling the box with their suggestions before the workshop concluded! Some suggestions were a Q&A session with a marketing director, weekly newsletters about job vacancies in Islington, and a sharing by different healthcare professionals from the NHS. We hope this will assist Islington Council in organising relevant future events to engage with its young people.

“Throughout my undergraduate studies in psychology, I have been very certain of my ambition to pursue clinical psychology. The career quiz and exploration activity provided me with an opportunity to systematically compare various career paths in psychology and reaffirm my aspirations. Glyn and Evi’s talks were also especially encouraging as they emphasised the fact that everyone has their own way and time to succeed. I’m sure many of the young people also felt the same as they shared feeling less pressured about their futures as they are now more informed about different career routes. I also really enjoyed the campus tour as I could share all my favourite study and food spots with prospective students!”

Nadia – Student Research Assistant, UCL BSc Psychology Graduate

“The workshop provided young people with valuable and protected time to focus on their strengths and how these could relate to a future career. The young people were grateful to hear about several people’s career paths. They learned that career pathways are unique and do not have to follow a specific trajectory, and they expressed their gratitude to have learned this.”

Martha – Student Research Assistant, UCL MSc Child Development Graduate

A huge thank you to everyone who attended our event. We hope you feel inspired and more confident to embark on your journey towards higher education and/or your future careers! It was also a great pleasure having Glyn and Evi guide and uplift the aspirations of the young people of Islington. Finally, this workshop would not have been possible without the support of UKRI, UCL’s HEIF Knowledge Exchange and Innovation Fund 2022-2023.