QM Volunteers: build your skills and make a difference

The beauty of volunteering is being able to build your skills and experience in an industry that you want to learn more about. Plus of course, you have the pleasure and satisfaction of knowing that you are making a genuine difference – either to an individual or greater cause. It's a win-win situation. 

QM students have a huge range of volunteering opportunities to choose from – from internships with not for profit organisations, to volunteering for charities and even volunteering within the University itself. 

QM students volunteering with Thames21, London's leading waterways charity

Examples include: 

• Research team volunteers: Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry need volunteers for many of their research groups. You get a taste of life in an leading research environment, and play a part in some potentially exciting work. 
• PASS student mentors: PASS (Peer Assisted Study Support) is a scheme where third-year students mentor first-years, helping them settle in to university life. Mentors are trained by QM's 'Widening Participation' team, and benefit in many ways: from gaining more in-depth knowledge about their subject to learning how to bring out the best in others. 

See QM Careers for more information. 

QMSU - Provide volunteering

The Queen Mary Students' Union (QMSU) is responsible for Provide Students volunteering – a fantastic source of over 800 volunteering opportunities with charities and non-profit organisations across London. 

The QMSU is also actively involved with SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise). An international non-profit organisation, SIFE works with students to help them develop the skills to become socially responsible business leaders. Over the last academic year (2010-11) QM students established four social enterprise projects in East London. See the QMSU website for more information.