QM Futures is a programme that provides students who are under-represented in higher education, with an opportunity to engage with taster lectures and support with their preparation for university-level study. Students will also benefit from tailored academic skill development sessions, as well as enhanced information, advice and guidance about the career opportunities that exist. The purpose of QM Futures will be to provide students in Year 12 with an opportunity to gain an insight into their preferred subject areas at Queen Mary's Mile End campus.
"The Queen Mary Futures programmes is a key part of Queen Mary's overall Widening Participation strategy. We wanted to give talented, local students from disadvantaged backgrounds an opportunity to find out about the range of study options available at Queen Mary, and support to develop key skills for success at university, something we felt was particularly important given the lost learning opportunities for students that have resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. We're thrilled with how the pilot programme has gone, with nearly 150 students participating in 24 unique sessions covering various academic disciplines, study skills and careers." - Gideon Woldeslassie, Student Recruitment and Widening Participation Manager.
The School of Business and Management is proud to have contributed three interactive sessions to the programe.
We kicked off the programme with a taster lecture from Dr Mustafa Ozturk on How can managers motivate employees? An Application of Maslow's Hierachy of Needs. Students then went onto a study skills session which focussion on critical thinking.
The second week included a taster lecture on The 'Future' Accountant by Dr Ishani Chandrasekara. She spoke about how an accountant creates value and sustainable growth for the future, in our current digital age. This session was followed by a public presentation skills session.
We asked Ishani why taking part in the programme was important to her and she said, "The goal of my work in partnership with the accounting industry, is to identify and remove barriers to entry and to support progression in to Higher Education for students from our local community."
One of the students left Ishani amazing feedback stating "It was amazing! Ishani was incredible. She was absolutely amazing and taught me so much more about accounting and she opened my eyes to a potential new career path as I am now thinking of becoming an accountant in the future."
The third week saw a taster session from Dr Tana Licsandru on The nature and scope of marketing. This interactive session gave the students a chance to talk about their favourite brands and the reasons behind their choices. The study skills portion of the day included a session on finding trustworthy sources.
We asked Tana what she thought about the programme "It has been a great pleasure meeting and teaching the very ambitious and bright students enrolled onto the 2021 QM Futures programme. This is a fantastic opportunity for our future generation of students, and I am very happy and honoured to have been a part of it."
The final week included a Q&A panel with Queen Mary, University of London Humanities and Social Sciences Alumni, this gave students the chance to get a feel for what studying at Queen Mary, University of London can truly look like. Our diverse panel included Bushra Haanee, Alsan Crandon, Georgi Stoyanov and Naveena Dhera. They all shared their unique student experiences and mentioned the range of support and opportunities Queen Mary was able to provide to them.
We asked the students who participated to provide feedback on their experience on the programme and we were amazed by the comments: "This course gave me an insight of what taking a business management course would be like in Queen Mary university and it helped me see the campus and has had an impact on my decision in being interested in going to university as QM had proven to be an environment I see myself in in the future."
It is important to the School of Business and Management to get involved in this programme because the taster sessions allow students to get direct experience of what a real undergraduate lecture entails, this experience is beneficial to the students as it helps them to take steps towards choosing the right university course. Many of the students on the programme are first in their family to go to university which, is why the programme is so important, it raises their aspirations by allowing them to experience university culture. For some of the students, this programme is their first opportunity to set foot on a university campus and that is why the programme is valuable, we are giving these students experiences and opportunities they may not have had access to otherwise.
The School is looking forward to contributing to the next series of QM futures.