DINNER WITH INDUSTRY

MARCH 2009

 

In the midst of a recession, it is getting more and more difficult to get recruited for graduate jobs and with increasing competition, it is essential to know what employers are looking for in graduates.

On 12th March, Swansea Bright Futures Society held their flagship event ‘Dinner with Industry’ in the Marriott Hotel in Swansea.

Thirty five companies and influential guests and fifty nine students attended. Representatives ranged across a multitude of different industries, and the students also had various degree backgrounds and years of study behind them. Between the delicious four course meal, we had students move tables in order to create a speed networking element to the evening, and this worked fantastically, with both students and corporate representatives enjoying the new conversations throughout the evening.

The night commenced with introductory speeches from the Bright Futures committee and members of staff from the Research and Innovation Centre. They also introduced the Dragon Innovation Partnership that were our sponsors of the night who put in a substantial amount of money, along with our Student Union, to enable the event to proceed. Next we had one of the highlights of the night which was a motivating speech from the Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Rachael Flannagan, who at 21, owns her own cleaning business and employs thirty members of staff. We also had a ice breaking game, which helped raise money for our charity of the night, Macmillan Cancer Care, along with our raffle in which many companies donated some fantastic prizes to be won.

The end of the evening, we had the final talk by Tim Phillis from ExpIndia, who after the event said,

“A successful evening. I had the chance to talk to many students and to introduce them to ExpIndia. The format allowed for a good number of meetings, whilst also keeping it informal and unrushed. I thought it worked very well.”

When the night turned to open networking, it was the concluding statement of the evening that both companies and students had a fantastic time. Then the Swansea Bright Futures committee had many students to talk to about being part of the committee next year which is fantastic progress, and consequently, an event that we hope will continue each year and be just as successful.

There were 59 student attendees, including the Swansea Bright Futures committee.

Speakers of the evening

SUBiz (Entrepreneur society in our University.)

ExpIndia

Young Entrepreneur of the Year

Dragon Innovation Partnership (Our Sponsors of the event.)

 

Charity

Macmillan Cancer Care

With special thanks to those who donated raffle prizes:

KPMG

GradIntel

Swansea Alumni

Tesco

Debenhams

Whittards

Enterprise Rent-A-Car

Ratemyplacement

Coors Brewers

IBM

Companies who attended:

Dragon Innovation Partnership
Young Entrepreneur of the Year
RateMyPlacement
GO Wales
ICAEW
IBM
Remploy
Afan FM Radio
PwC
KPMG
Swansea Alumni
GradIntel
Member of a political party
BCS
MOD
ExpIndia
Ex HSBC/Uni Mentoring
Marble Recruitment
CBI Wales
Village Hotel
Ex GE Healthcare
Coors Brewers
Enterprise RAC
Uni-Bus
SUBiz

 

PHOTOS!!!

ABOVE & BELOW: Gemma Bubb and Jackie Jobes introduce the event on behalf of their committee

ABOVE: The Swansea Bright Futures Committee, June 2008- July 2009

ABOVE & BELOW: Guest speakers keep the guests entertained throughout the evening

(ABOVE: Tim Phillis, ExpIndia / BELOW: Tim Mccaffrey, Dragon Innovation Partnership)

 

ABOVE: Student guests changed tables so that everyone could maximise their networking opportunities.

 

 

CLICK HERE to go back to Swansea Bright Futures' Society Profile Page