Edinburgh Napier University

An Edinburgh Napier staff member has returned to Scotland with a “head bursting with ideas” after a successful week-long visit to Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU).

Supported by the Staff Global Mobility Fund, Student Futures career development consultant Emma Hill spent five jam-packed days with TMU’s central careers service, gaining an insight into how the team supports students across all areas of the University.

During the trip, Emma also spent time at the Yeates School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (YSGPS) to see how they supported their postgraduate and PhD students. Her final day was spent at the Ted Rogers School of Management allowing Emma to compare their career support programmes with her own work within the Business School at Edinburgh Napier University.

Emma also had a chance to take in some of Toronto’s top visitor attractions including the CN Tower as well as a catch-up with Edinburgh Napier alumnus Calum Stuart, a 2020 Architectural Technology graduate who is now working in the city.

Emma has now returned to life at Edinburgh Napier and has done so with a head full of ideas and a book full of notes as she aims to share the knowledge she gleaned from her trip.

She said: “I had an amazing week there – I genuinely loved every minute. Everyone was so generous with their time and I had a jam-packed few days.

“I have about 75 pages of notes that I still need to edit and make sense of! There is a lot of great support that happens in the TMU careers space. They have quite a focused approach to ensure all equity-deserving students have access to careers support. They build communities effectively and understand that certain groups of students face quite specific challenges, so focus resources on targeted support. Mentoring is an established element of their provision and the importance of peer support was evident across the University. They use creative approaches (e.g. GRAD Art Hive, GRADTalks, GRADBreather) to develop connections among students, increase engagement and improve overall wellbeing.

“There were a lot of similarities between ENU and TMU – their student body is similar to ours and they face the same challenges of competitive job markets and student engagement. The central careers service is faculty aligned which is similar to Student Futures, and the people working there really care about their students which is the same here! The Co-op programmes (placements) at TMU are really well-established too and the support they have in place ensures that students are prepared for their transition into the workplace.

“I am often on the lookout for development opportunities, so the Staff Global Mobility Fund seemed like an amazing chance to see how HE careers support is delivered in another country. I discussed it with my very supportive manager and head of service - Helen Wareing and Adam Watling - who were both very encouraging about me applying. I reached out to a couple of connections who work at TMU (I have LinkedIn to thank for that) and they were delighted to host me.

“I don’t think I can recommend it enough and encourage people to find out what is going on elsewhere in the world. It felt a bit scary to travel, meet new people and find my way around a big city but I learned so much and feel inspired to try new things now I’m back. I have made some really great connections and I’ve no doubt I may see some of them again as they were very interested in how they might set up a similar staff fund there!

“Thank you to Edinburgh Napier for providing me with this incredible opportunity and a hope that it will continue to be offered to all staff across the University.”