Graduate Ambassador Scheme – Targeted Outreach Project. Four of the University‟s new graduates are employed each year, on a one-year full-time contract, to work as Graduate Ambassadors in collaboration with our student recruitment and widening participation teams. A major part of their role will be to carry out visits to schools and colleges throughout the UK to give presentations and interactive workshops to pupils about: the benefits of investing in their future through participation in Higher Education; student finance issues, including the bursary scheme; student life (to dispel myths and misconceptions); and the „Newcastle experience‟ about which, as very recent undergraduate students, they will be able to give credible and contemporary information. This scheme was successfully piloted during 2005-06, and continued in a slightly revised format from 2006-07. The Graduate Ambassadors are fully trained, and undertake many other relevant roles, including work with local schools and colleges, involvement in the PARTNERS Programme and Summer Schools, contributing to relevant University recruitment publicity materials, and the development of projects, resources and materials to support our widening participation work. They also contribute to post- application events, offering accommodation tours and talks on student finance to visiting applicants and their parents. In the process, they gain valuable employability skills preparing them for their own future careers. The Graduate Ambassadors are carefully selected to ensure that they are credible ambassadors in the context of our widening participation target groups. The Graduate Ambassadors have enabled the University to extend the reach of its widening participation activities beyond the North East region. Since October 2005, the University‟s widening participation and student recruitment teams have also worked closely with our School of Education and Communication Studies to ensure that each year‟s cohort of PGCE students is fully trained and equipped to promote the benefits of Higher Education, and the range of subjects available, during their periods of teaching practice. The Graduate Ambassadors Targeted Outreach Project is supplemented by a new (University core- funded) Student Ambassador scheme. Approximately 60 current undergraduate students are employed on a part-time contract each year. They support the wide range of widening participation and student recruitment events on campus and also attend schools and colleges to talk about higher educat...
Graduate Ambassador Scheme – Targeted Outreach Project. From 2006-07, four of the University’s new graduates will be employed each year, on a one-year full-time contract, to work as Graduate Ambassadors in collaboration with our student recruitment and widening participation teams. A major part of their role will be to carry out visits to schools and colleges throughout the UK to give presentations and interactive workshops to pupils about: the benefits of investing in their future through participation in Higher Education; student finance issues, including the bursary scheme; student life (to dispel myths and misconceptions); and the ‘Newcastle experience’ about which, as very recent undergraduate students, they will be able to give credible and contemporary information. This scheme was successfully piloted during 2005-06, and continued in a slightly revised format from 2006-07.
