Ceremony rewards international work experience

Queen's University Belfast students who gained workplace experience in companies around the world will take part in a special ceremony on Wednesday 14 March.

The event for the 160 students is the 12th City & Guilds presentation ceremony at Queen’s, bringing the total number of candidates who have received Senior Awards to nearly 1,500.

This year’s students will receive their City & Guilds Senior Awards at Licentiateship level for skills and competencies gained during work placements in Northern Ireland, Cyprus, France, Germany, Great Britain, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland and the United States.

The awards are administered by the University’s Senior Awards Office at the School of Education, whose Head, Professor Tony Gallagher, said: “It is a point of pride for us that we were one of the first universities in the UK to become involved in the scheme, and we feel it is an investment that has yielded rich returns. Those who gain the award today follow in an honourable tradition but, more importantly, they are taking a step towards a brighter future for themselves.”

The scheme is based on the recognition of competence and achievement through a combination of education, training and work-based experience, and it provides a progressive vocational route to higher level qualifications.

The undergraduates will receive their Licentiateship (LCGI) Awards in Aeronautical Engineering, Agricultural Economics and Management, Agricultural Technology, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Economics, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Finance and Accounting, Information Technology, Management, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Rural Resources and Structural Engineering with Architecture.

Twenty-three Senior Awards at the higher levels will be presented to lecturers in further and higher education who took part in the “Lecturers into Industry” programme. This scheme offers lecturers the opportunity to review current workplace practices and to embed new ideas and integrate business skills into the higher education curriculum. Among those receiving this award will be Nicole Mezey, Senior Lecturer in Queen’s School of Education. Ms Mezey’s placement was with Glasgow Museums where she worked on developing an Exhibitions Policy for the 12 sites within the city.

She said: “The three months I spent in Glasgow were both exciting and extremely rewarding. Museums are becoming a critical focus for the delivery of education and also in terms of their tourist potential. The insight I gained offers the University and the community opportunities for collaboration with local museums and for new training partnerships.”

(JM/SP)