The Careers and Employability Service run a number of programmes designed to equip students with the necessary professional skills for success. A large number of these involve engagement and partnership with University staff.
Maynooth University Careers and Employability Service
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The Summer Programme for Undergraduate Research
The call for Project Proposals for the 2025 Summer Programme for Undergraduate Research is now open! Please submit completed SPUR project proposal forms by 5pm on Friday, January 17, 2025.
Are you interested in nurturing Undergraduate Research Talent?
The Summer Programme for Undergraduate Research is an experiential learning programme that provides full-time non-final year undergraduate MU students with the opportunity to pursue a six-week (full time) funded research placement at MU. Successful students work closely with faculty mentors on active research projects, thereby providing an opportunity for academic staff to progress elements of their research, whilst giving undergraduate students exposure to postgraduate studies and a future career in research.
Benefits
Being a SPUR Academic mentor provides you with the opportunity to mentor the next generation of researchers. The UpSkill Team aims to support our academic colleagues in their engagement with students by:
- Managing the recruitment and onboarding of student candidates
- Covering the student’s stipend (€1500 for 6 weeks work)
- Connecting students to their peers and PhD Supporters
- Supporting students via Orientation event and Developmental Day, where they articulate the skills gained
- Facilitating student reflection and skills gained
- Coordinating the Undergraduate Research Symposium, an opportunity for SPUR students to present their research
This allows your student to have a programme of activities alongside their research experience that are designed to foster professional success.
Timeline
To Apply
Please submit completed SPUR project proposal forms by 5pm on Friday, January 17, 2025. Heads of Department will be asked to rank their project submissions, and then the proposals will be reviewed by a committee for the final selection. This deadline is strict, as a judging panel will convene shortly after to determine the successful projects. Information regarding the criteria used to select projects for funding can be found in this document.
To Note:
- Projects should run for six weeks during the summer months (June – August) and can be conducted in person, hybrid, or remotely, based on the preferences of the mentor and student.
- Academic mentors are expected to be available for the entire duration of the project.
- Multi-disciplinary projects are encouraged.
- The SPUR student application process will be managed centrally by the UpSkill Team at the Careers and Employability Service. After the deadline, student applications will be forwarded to the successful departments for candidate selection and ranking (refer to the SPUR Timeline above). The selection process must be competitive, and projects should not be tailored to specific students.
- Final-year students, part-time registered students, and non-Maynooth University students are not eligible to apply.
Information Sessions
For anyone interested in hearing more about the programme, please join one of our online information sessions below:
Tuesday, December 10, 2024: 11.00am – 11.30am: Click here to join the meeting
Wednesday, January 08, 2025: 12.00pm – 12.30pm: Click here to join the meeting
Micro Internships
“The internship and its effects have vastly exceeded my expectations and I encourage any student who resonates with me to apply for similar opportunities.”
“I’ve gained a lot throughout my internship. Communication skills, report writing, project management, independent thinking, analysis and presentation skills…. But most striking to me is my newfound confidence and belief in my own resilience and capabilities.”
What is a Micro-Internship?
A Micro-internship is a paid, short-term (100 hours maximum) internship delivered in partnership between MU professional service units and students.
It offers undergraduate and postgraduate students the opportunity to contribute to defined student success projects or activities within the university, thereby enhancing their employability skills whilst collaborating with Professional Service offices and staff. The scheme gives professional staff an opportunity to increase their own professional development while mentoring that student and projects benefit from the insight gained by a current MU student.
The programme is managed and supported by the MU Careers and Employability Service and funded by the THRIVE Initiative’s Student Engagement through Partnership (StEP) Fund.
What are the benefits?
Each role is 50% funded by the THRIVE Initiative’s StEP Fund and 50% by the host office. Payments are also administered by the Careers and Employability Service, reducing the burden on your team.
Roles are advertised using the Careers and Employability Service Careers Connect portal and marketed via our social media and Student Success Ambassadors. Furthermore, all applications will be shared with each unit for their candidate selection and ranking. Advice will be provided to each unit on shortlisting and interviewing.
Units will have the support of a current MU student on a project where students can provide insight from their lived student experience. You will also be offering students an opportunity to develop their professional skills.
Why Partnership?
Students and staff working in partnership has been demonstrated to impact the university experience through:
- Fostering in students a sense of belonging while building confidence and capacity to articulate their perspectives
- Supporting staff in their professional development
- Developing creative and innovative ways to enhance the impact of the university’s supports and services
- Contributing to the evolution of an institution into a place where members of the community feel a meaningful connection
While your partner will not have your service expertise, they will be an expert in being a Maynooth student. Working with a student in partnership offers you a new lens through which to view your service, understand student dynamics, and be affirmed in your work. The student partner gains a level of empathy and understanding for university services and develops transversal skills and professional experience in the process.
Timeline
Applications for the Student Success Micro Internship scheme will reopen in early 2025.
Who does it involve?
We invite Maynooth University staff from any professional service unit in the university to apply.
How do I get involved?
Applications for the Student Success Micro Internship scheme will reopen in early 2025.
Learn more about the projects that have taken place by reading the student blogs here:
Maynooth University Student Experience (MUSE) Award
The Careers and Employability Service coordinates the Maynooth University Student Experience (MUSE) Award which aims to recognise and reward students' contribution to non-credit bearing opportunities.
If your Department/Office hires students, has student volunteers/workers or offers extracurricular opportunities, please submit a description of the activity here to have it added to the campus activity list. Adding your activity to this list is a fantastic way of ensuring students get the recognition they deserve and is a wonderful opportunity to promote the variety of ways students can get engaged on campus.
For your reference, below are some key facts about the award. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. Email: [email protected]
Key Facts
- Students can start the award at any stage of their MU journey - 1st Year, 2nd Year, Final Year or Postgraduate. The only stipulation is that the activities they are evidencing for the award are those which they undertook while a registered student at the University and are activities they are not already receiving credit for.
- Activities undertaken during summer periods between years (e.g., 1st Year into 2nd Year) can be counted on for the award.
- There are four levels, each with slightly different requirements.
- In May students receive an award for where they have stopped in the process.
- Students can get started on Careers Connect.
Enhance Student Employability Skills
Every student at Maynooth University has access to mySkills on Careers Connect where they can start to build their own unique portfolio of development experiences and reflections.
We can support you in embedding mySkills Development courses into your modules. Liaise with your assigned faculty Employability and Skills Coordinator to discuss embedding these digital resources into your module.
Topics include:
- Digital Proficiency
- Enterprise and Entrepreneurship
- Ethics, Diversity and Sustainability
- Adaptability/Flexibility
- Resilience
- Teamwork
- Interpersonal Skills
- Career Development
- Personal Skills
- Critical Thinking
Two 5-credit Skills for Success Electives are available to all 2nd year undergraduate students from any discipline which cover a range of careers and employability related topics.