Today we review some of the most exciting work experience programmes available at King’s! Whether you’re already thinking about your future or simply looking to experience new things and maximise your time at Uni, we’ve got some great stuff for you…
Getting experience during your time at King’s
Here are King’s we are all about you and helping you achieve your goals! That’s why we have a dedicated Careers & Employability team helping you build success. We are invested in ensuring that you have every opportunity during your time with us to explore your career options and gain valuable experience to help you on your career journey. The variety of opportunities which are open to King’s College London students is so wide that it might be a bit overwhelming, but don’t worry! We’ve pulled together and explained some of the opportunities below.
Complementing your degree: Introducing King’s Experience and KURF
Whether you do volunteering, complete an internship or engage in societies at King’s, these activities are springboards to develop important skill and attributes – and they are worth realising and celebrating!
This is where King’s Experience comes in – to help you reflect and make those experiences count. Our King’s Experience Awards last for the entire academic year, offering students formal recognition of the activities you do alongside your degree. Through events, workshops and online learning, you unpack, reflect and realise what you offer, and how you can present your employability to employers.
Also on the King’s Experience portfolio, The King’s Undergraduate Research Fellowship (KURF) is our popular academic work experience programme that runs during the summer months. During this time, undergraduate students have a chance to experience how real research is done, network with academics and develop those all-important workplace skills. If you’re interested, read more on our KURF blogs!
Alongside your university journey: Introducing King’s Internships
There’s no one way that you can get an internship and what King’s Internships will help you realise instead is that there are many meaningful work experiences that you can get involved in while at King’s. That’s right, internships are just a small part of them.
Whether you want to gain insight into the workplace, build your networks, gain valuable experience and develop key skills, King’s Internships offers access to projects, accredited internships and exclusive programmes focused on groups underrepresented in higher education through cutting edge careers education. We are here to help you identify your strengths, interests and support you to make a plan for your next steps, when you first join, to during, and after your time at King’s!
Built-in with some degrees: Introducing Global Placements
In the King’s Business School and the Departments of Chemistry and Informatics, most Undergraduate students have the option to undertake a Year in Industry / Year’s Professional Placement. A Placement is where you go to work for a company, doing a normal full-time job (similar to graduate level) in a role or sector that interests you, between years of study. You benefit from having on the job experience, getting a full-time wage, creating a professional network, and finding out what you want to do when you graduate. Sounds interesting? Read our student blogs to know more! Plus, statistics show that students who undertake a Placement year are:
- 16% more likely to get a first class degree
- 16% more likely to be in graduate employment
- 17% more likely to be earning £25,000 or above after graduating
Disclaimer: Find out if your specific degree programme is eligible for Global Placements. You may also have placements built in your degree through your faculty or degree programme that lies outside the Global Placements programme.
Support every step of the way
We’ve covered a range of different work experience programmes – now let’s talk about how we support you through them.
When you undertake work experience with King’s Careers & Employability, alongside your actual activity you’ll benefit from on-boarding beforehand, support and check-ins during the work experience, as well as chance to reflect on what you’ve gained afterwards – so that you can really put into words the knowledge, attributes, skills and experiences that you’ve gained. Alongside this, our careers service offers one-to-one support with careers consultants, workshops, events and online e-learning resources to help you continue your learning.
If you have any questions about King’s and your Career, just get in touch with us at Careers@kcl.ac.uk, we can’t wait to hear from you!