An article from Aiste

“What does the process of ‘becoming a graduate’ mean for a university student?, what are the graduate attributes and how to get them?“  This is what I was asked to present at a recent interview for the scholar position for the Greenwich Graduate Student Network (GGSN).

Maybe 10 years ago it was enough to get a University degree to secure yourself a very good job, but nowadays there are nearly two million undergraduate students going to university each year! Therefore, having even a 1^st class honours degree will not necessarily secure you a job.  Employers are looking for graduates with a bunch of other skills; skills that are not usually developed as part of their degree course, but from various other activities, such as volunteering, part time work, even belonging to a society or sport club may give you a lot of skills, if you know how to recognise these skills and are able to present them to others.

But for me the first example coming to my mind of an activity giving the most experience and skills is TABLEtalk.  It is not just a meeting happening every Tuesday night; it becomes part of everyone’s life.  You always meet the same people on campus, during the World Café, you go together on trips, gather for the Bring & Share in Lynne's house or for Sunday lunch in other local people’s homes.  If you still have energy, you are always welcome to volunteer in local community events!  All these people become not just your friends, but they become your family.

And all this is not just about having fun.  By learning about British and other cultures that the different students represent, by playing games together and sometimes even going out of your comfort zone when presenting your opinion or delivering a talk on the specific subject you are given – you develop skills such as team work, communication, public speaking, critical thinking.  We become more tolerant and open minded, we learn to distinguish cultural differences and adapt to them, we improve as people and it definitely contributes to the successful future, if … you want it.

So if you want to become an exceptional graduate, develop a lot of skills needed for your future job, if you want to meet an army of new people from countries you might have never heard of, if you want to find a new family here, at Medway, while being away from your own – TABLEtalk, World Café, Bring & Share lunches are the events that should never be missed.