Spring with TARGETevents ….
It’s been a fun (and busy!) start of the year for the TARGETevents team with lots happening and some new and exciting events taking place. Here’s a run down on what we’ve been doing:
 
AB InBev Best Beer Competition
This was a brand new event where students had a chance to design a concept for a new beer that reflected the characteristics of their university. The competition was open to students at universities in the UK and Belgium, and it proved to be very popular with entries received from over 40 teams. The standard was very high as the concepts produced by the teams were innovative, creative and supported by clear business plans. It was a tough decision to select the teams that were invited to attend the heats and those who were then successful in getting through to the final. The final was held at AB InBev’s offices in Leuven, Belgium on 3 April and the four teams competing for the top prize were from Anglia Ruskin, Brussels, Exeter and Leuven. The winning team were from the University of Exeter and they won €2500 plus €1500 for their chosen charity.
 
FSA Insight event for first years
Competition was high for one of the 20 places available on this event for first-year students. Hosted by the FSA at their offices in Canary Wharf the students were able to spend three days getting an insight into this fascinating organisation. During the event the event there was the chance to network with graduates and senior representatives, work on various case studies, spend time work-shadowing representatives and to participate in skills sessions with the recruitment team. The event was a great success with positive feedback from all involved.
 
IT’s not just for the boys!
Building on the success of previous events IT’s not just for the boys! took place for the third time. It was hosted by Bloomberg at their London offices and there were some new sponsors for this event: Logica, M&G Investments and ThoughtWorks. It was a great afternoon where female students from a technology, maths or IT background could find out more about the opportunities open to them within the technology sector. The students were able to meet and speak to representatives from the companies, put their questions to a panel of successful female technologists and discuss with recruiters about the application process and what they look for in candidates. Many students commented on how they left the event feeling more informed about the opportunities available, with increased confidence and were inspired to pursue their ambitions for a technology career.
 
Schools Brightest Business Brain
A brand new event for year 12 and 13 students that gave them the chance to win cash prizes and find out who is the ‘Schools Brightest Business Brain 2012’! Students from schools across the UK took up the challenge by registering online at www.schoolsbrightestbrain.com and completing specially designed exercises that were fun and also looked at the kind of skills and aptitudes that are associated with successful business people. Over 1400 students posted a score on the leaderboard and those students in the top 60 were invited to the Grand Final. The Grand Final was hosted by RBS at their London offices and on the day the students took part in different exercises with each of the three sponsors (CIMA, National Grid and RBS). The prizes were awarded as follows:
• 1st prize and £500 going to Arjun Rajani from Merchant Taylors’ School, Middlesex
• 2nd prize and £300 went to Zain Iqbal from Queen Mary’s Grammar School for Boys, West Midlands
• 3rd prize and £200 went to Priya Shah from the North London Collegiate School, Harrow
(The same amount of prize money was also awarded to each of the winner’s schools)
 
TARGETjobs National Pupillage Fair
This is the longest running event in our calendar and reached its 14th birthday on Saturday 3 March. It’s the event that’s not to be missed if you are interested in a career at the bar as it is a great opportunity to meet chambers, course providers and key organisations in this field. In addition to the opportunity to speak to the exhibitors, ask those burning questions and get a greater insight into pursuing a career as a barrister, we also ran a series of talks on different practice areas. The talks are always very popular and so as a new development to the event this year they were filmed and can be viewed on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9309ED76708706A2
 
TARGETcourses Postgraduate Study & Funding Fairs
These fairs go from strength to strength and this year saw the highest number of attendees at each of the three fairs since they began. With all fairs taking place in February this proved to be a busy month as we crossed the country from the Scotland fair, to the Wales Fair and then the Midlands Fair. The fairs are an excellent forum for students and graduates to have discussions with representatives from institutions of higher education who are seeking to fill their postgraduate course places, as well as to receive individual advice and news on funding postgraduate degrees. We are already planning the 2013 fairs!
 
 
It’s been a great autumn term with lots of events to keep the TARGETevents team busy…
The first event held in London on Friday 4 November 2011 was IT’s not just for the boys!, a networking event for female undergraduates interested in a career in technology. The event was sponsored by leading employers in the technology sector including Barclays, Bloomberg, British Computer Society (The Chartered Institute for IT), CHP Consulting and Nomura.
 
We delivered two events for the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the first on Friday 11 November 2011 was aimed at ethnic minority students and the second on Friday 18 November was for female students. At both events students networked with graduates and senior representatives, participated in case studies designed to give an insight into the work of the FSA and took part in in-depth skills sessions to help them succeed in the FSA assessment process.
 
Next came Women in Investment Management held in London on Friday 25 November 2011. This was another event aimed at female undergraduates interested in a career in investment management and was sponsored by Baillie Gifford, BlackRock, Fidelity, Henderson Global Investors, M&G Investments and Schroders.
 
The first week of December saw two more events; the first was Barclays Leadership in Technology held in Cheshire on Friday 2 December 2011. The event saw female undergraduates who were interested in a career in technology learn how technology plays a critical role in the operation and performance of a leading global bank. Students networked with graduates and top-level female technologists and learnt about internships and graduate positions within Barclays.
 
The second event was TARGETchances law which took place in London on Monday 5 December 2011 and was sponsored by RPC and SNR Denton. Open to first-year law and second-year non-law students the event gave an invaluable insight into how to prepare for a career in law and included application and interview skills training and participation in assessment style exercises.
 
London, 9 December 2011: Universities' Brightest Business Brain Final
Congratulations to the winner of this year’s Universities’ Brightest Business Brain, David Galbraith a final year student from Queen’s University Belfast studying Computer Science & IT.
 
Over the course of the competition more than 3,000 students registered and took 4 online exercises designed by cut-e to assess the kind of competencies, traits and aptitudes associated with successful business people as well as identifying commercial awareness. Having taken the exercise students were immediately given their score which was posted on to the Leaderboard showing them their position and highlighting if they had made it through to the Grand Final.
 
The top 60 from off the Leaderboard were invited to the Grand Final in London on Friday 9 December to demonstrate further their abilities and commercial awareness through 5 face to face assessment exercises created and run by cut-e and the competition’s sponsors including Cass Business School, CIMA, National Grid and RBS. The exercises reflected important competencies each of the sponsors look for in students as well as giving the Grand Final participants a feel for who the sponsors are and what they do. Exercises included a debate, team working and communication exercises and a business case study.
 
With students attending from all over the UK the competition throughout the day was intense yet friendly as everyone knew they were in with a chance of winning the £1000 first prize. In the end though there could be only one overall winner with 1st prize going to David, 2nd prize went to Will Spain from the University of Exeter and 3rd prize went to Philippa Naylor from the University of Cambridge. The day finished with drinks and networking and lots of excitement around next year’s competition.
  

LONDON, 11-14 July 2011: CSET Summer School ...
The CSET Summer School initiative was launched in 2008 by a group of the City’s leading law firms. The firms joined together to establish a residential event to identify and encourage university students from a diverse range of backgrounds to consider a career in law. After the success of the events in 2008, 2009 and 2010, this year saw CSET offer 100 students the chance to participate in this unique programme.
 
Over the four days the students took part in a variety of activities that included case studies, guest speakers from all areas of the legal profession, debating workshops, skills and aptitudes sessions and a visit to a City firm. The guests during the week, in addition to representatives from the City law firms who sponsor the event, included Barristers, an in-house legal team, the Government Legal Service and the Financial Services Authority.
 
It was a very busy four days for all involved but it wasn’t all hard work for the lucky students who took part. There were also social activities laid on like a meal on the first evening and a boat trip on the Thames on the Wednesday evening. Both of these were very enjoyable and great fun but also a chance for the students to network with representatives from the City firms and start making valuable contacts for the future.
 
The feedback from the students has been very positive and they left the event with a greater insight into the incredibly diverse opportunities available to them within the legal sector.
 
 
LONDON, 7-10 June 2011: TARGETchances City law for ethnic minorities …
Another great year for the TARGETchances City law event! This year saw 14 leading City law firms sponsor the two-day event which is aimed at first-year law and second-year non-law students. It was an all-expenses paid event in London and was hosted by the law firms at their city offices. Competition was high for the available places with the selection process included application and CV screening and telephone interviews.
 
TARGETchances City law is designed to give students the opportunity to find out exactly what it is that recruiters look for in applications and at interviews, and get tips on how to be an outstanding candidate and avoid those common pitfalls. It really does let the students see beyond what they can find out from brochures and the web
 
It was a busy and challenging event which also lets the students take part in a legal case study, this gave them first-hand experience of what they might experience at an assessment centre, but with the added benefit of working with trainees to get that all important feedback on their performance. They also took part in an in-depth presentation skills training exercise that incorporated a debate on a topical issue … this proved to be a fun session that generated lively discussion amongst the students and trainees! There was also the chance to ask questions during a panel discussion with representatives from the firms and the panelists included senior partners and associates. As with all our events there were many opportunities to network with trainees, associates and graduate recruiters, and make valuable contacts for the future.
 
100% of students who attended said that they would encourage students to attend other TARGETevents in the future, and as some of them said:
“This was a fantastic opportunity, not only to learn about the career but also to identify and improve on the skills required – excellent!”
“The event allows you to see first-hand about life in City law and provide you with skills that are necessary to stand out in the competitive nature of law.”
“Almost everything I've ever wanted to know about City law firms I managed to learn in 2 days - not only learn but experience!”
“Since starting on the 30th floor of Clifford Chance's offices with an unbelievable view over London, everything has been amazing. The two days have provided such a fantastic opportunity for REAL networking and I have gained a better view of which firms are for me, thank you!”
 
 
RUTLAND WATER, 9 April 2011: University of Bath wins the 8 Task Challenge
A team from the University of Bath won The 8 Task Challenge on Saturday 9 April in Rutland Water. With 480 participating students forming 120 university teams, The 8 Task Challenge was a unique test of stamina, motivation, commitment and intelligence and involved the active participation of the cream of graduate recruiting organisations.
 
The event was held in partnership with Grant Thornton and supported by BAE Systems, CIMA, Clifford Chance, E.ON, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Deutsche Bank, The Financial Services Authority and The Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
 
The eight tasks which give the event its names consisted of mental tests at each of the firm’s checkpoints designed to assess the competencies which they look for in students. In order to get to these checkpoints students had to complete the physical elements of canoeing for half a mile, cycling for 12 miles and running for another three.
 
Team Over the Hill from University of Bath was crowned 8 Task Challenge Champions 2011 and took home £1,200 for themselves and a further £1,200 for their Snowsports Club. Second and third were teams from the University of Oxford and the University of Manchester.
 
The winning Bath team said: ‘The event gave us an opportunity for some friendly competition with the other teams while also allowing us to get to know the sponsors and their companies. We will definitely be back next year to defend the title!’
 
Further information can be found at www.8taskchallenge.co.uk
 
 
TARGETcourses National Postgraduate Study & Funding Fairs
The 2010/ 2011 series of the National TARGETcourses Postgraduate Study & Funding Fairs has just finished with a bang!
 
The Midlands Fair was, once again, the prestigious event attracting 60 exhibitors and over 600 students over the afternoon. The always-popular seminars didn't disappoint with over 250 attendees clamouring to get an expert’s perceptive of postgraduate study and funding. The event isn’t just geared to the student; the exhibitors also gained an invaluable insight into the student perspective of postgraduate study via the TARGETcourses Postgraduate Study & Funding Forum. This consisted of a presentation on the results of a student survey as well as a student panel discussion.
  
The Midlands event followed on from the Wales and Scotland Fairs earlier in the academic year which proved to be successful, smaller events, each with around 30 exhibitors. Both events attracted a good number of potential postgraduate students, most of which found the seminars a very useful source of information that they wouldn't have ordinarily been able to access. 
 
 
Due to the success of these events, TARGETcourses plan to run the Postgraduate Study & Funding Fairs again in the 2011/ 2012 academic year. If you are an exhibitor wishing to book a stand, please contact Brendan McGrath on 01491 828900.
 
MANCHESTER, 9 & 10 December 2010: Female students visit Barclays’ Technology Centre …
This two-day event ‘Barclays Leadership in Technology’ invited female students to see for themselves how vital technology is to global business success and the roles open to them within banking technology. Despite the cold, snow and ice 31 students travelled to Manchester to spend two days working with representatives from Barclays on specially designed activities.
 
It was an event full of interactive exercises that challenged the students, developed their skills and gave them an insight into Barclays and their technology division. As the event was held at Barclays’ technology centre it was also a unique chance for the students to meet technologists and see their working environment.
 
Barclays had timed the event to coincide with their application deadlines for internships and graduate positions. This meant that students had the opportunity to register their interest in the positions open to them and benefit from the knowledge and guidance gained from the event. All attendees said they were now considering a career with Barclays, with many also commenting on how the event had changed their perceptions of a technology career.
 
In conclusion, the students’ found the event informative and inspiring; with the two days opening their eyes to the opportunities open to them within technology and Barclays. They were encouraged by the positive messages from the representatives who attended, and valued their advice and guidance.
 
“This event helped me change my view of a technology career and build my confidence. After this experience I discovered the reason why Barclays has become the leading international bank; people who work there love it.”
“Networking, insight, leadership, motivation, mentorship and technology – all the key learning outcomes from this fantastic event at Barclays.”
“I was in awe of some of the inspirational women who work for Barclays. I would encourage anyone to attend the event if you want a real insight into the technology behind a bank. They made me feel very at home.”
 
LONDON, 29 November 2010: Students meet leading law firms …
Reynolds Porter Chamberlain and SNR Denton sponsored an interactive one-day event designed to:

• Inform students about the opportunities available to them in the legal sector.
• Give students ‘real life’ exposure into working life within leading City law firms.
• Provide students with necessary skills to perform well in the application process.
• Explain further the different areas of law practised in the City.

 
It was a popular event with over 170 applications received for the 40 places available. Competition for the places was high and the selection process included application and CV screening plus telephone interview.
 
The successful students overcame the problems of getting into central London on the day of a tube strike to take part in an activity filled day which also included visits to both law firms. Building on the success of the 2009 event a number of new initiatives were introduced and this helped raise the calibre of the students attending, enhance the experience offered to them and give the sponsors more opportunities to see and meet the students.
   
LONDON, 5 November 2010: IT’s not just for the boys! ...
Female undergraduates from universities across the UK and Ireland attended this new event designed to give an insight into careers in the technology sector. With the support and involvement of leading employers; Bloomberg, Barclays, BCS The Chartered Institute for IT, CHP Consulting and HP; it was an opportunity for students to find out first-hand about what a technology career can offer them.
 
The event included presentations from successful females in the industry, a skills workshop with recruiters, a panel discussion with senior technologists and a chance to network with all five sponsor organisations. The feedback from the students who attended was extremely positive. Many commented that they were inspired to continue in their ambitions for a career in the technology sector, they felt more confident, had a greater understanding of how to be a successful candidate and had made valuable contacts with the representatives attending.
 
“Extremely informative, a great opportunity to meet employers and get an insight into the industry.” Shauna, University of Nottingham
“Interesting and effective networking session which opened my eyes to a career in technology.” Michelle, King’s College London
“Gained confidence during the event and learnt that technology has many opportunities to offer.” Priya, Loughborough University
“An excellent event to get an inside view of the industry and expand your network.” Devanshi, Cardiff University
 
LONDON, 20 October & 5 November 2010: FSA Insight programme ...
The FSA Insight days are well underway and TARGETevents were directly involved with two events, the first for ethnic minority students and the second for students from non-visited universities. Both events took place at the prestigious offices of the FSA in Canary Wharf London. Candidates were carefully selected from initial applications and telephone interviews to attend these one-day expenses paid events.
 
During the day candidates were given a comprehensive overview of the interesting and diverse work of the FSA as well as invaluable advice on the application and interview processes. There was plenty of opportunity to network with recent graduates and more senior people from within the business as well as spend time with the graduate recruitment team.
 
At the end of both events the candidates were buzzing and eager to put all they had learnt into good use when making their applications. Comments included: ‘I think the programme gave a great insight and allowed me to expand my knowledge of the FSA. It also showed me the FSA was a very dynamic, challenging yet friendly environment.’
 
There is still time to apply for the final two events, an Insight into internship and placement programmes on 9 December and a three day Insight for first year students taking place in March 2011. To apply please click on the following link http://www.fsagraduates.co.uk/
 
DERWENT WATER, 15-17 October 2010: npower Future Leaders weekend in the Lake District ...
The eight teams participating in the challenge spent an activity filled weekend in the Lakes. Over the fun but intense few days the teams took part in a variety of activities that helped develop their team building and leadership skills.
 
The teams represented universities from across the UK; Exeter, Imperial, King’s, Loughborough, Manchester and St Andrews; and were from a range of degree backgrounds. All 32 students threw themselves into the challenges set for them with great energy and enthusiasm, and although everyone left more tired and muddy than when they arrived they were still smiling!
 
"We were delighted to be short listed for the npower Future Leaders Challenge. It was a brilliant weekend with great people, fantastic team building opportunities and a lot of laughing at people falling in bogs. It’s also made me realise how small actions and projects can make a real impact on the environment.” Matthew, University of Manchester
 
The successful teams who will win the amazing prize of a trip to the Arctic Circle will be announced at the final in December.
    
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