Each year the Faculty of Science and Technology Student Engagement Team hosts the Science and Technology Careers Fair on campus which usually attracts around 65 organisations and over 600 students. The challenges presented by Covid-19 meant that the usual event could not go ahead in 2020 so the team had to establish new ways to allow organisations to engage with the students over a virtual platform.

Our team established a full week of interactive sessions for any student interested in working in a Science and Technology sector. ‘Sci-Tech Careers Week’ took place between 9th-13th November 2020 and was made up of 16 separate events over the 5-day period. The events consisted of ‘Sector Specific Panels’, ‘Insight Sessions’ and ‘Employer Presentations’ featuring organisations such as Dyson, Morrisons, Lina Energy, The Environment Agency, Fujitsu, National School of Healthcare Science, Covance and EDF Energy.

All sessions were bookable through our online platform TARGETconnect, were facilitated live through Microsoft Teams and had an open Q&A element meaning that all attendees had the opportunity to engage directly with the organisations and ask questions in the same way they would be able to do so at an in-person careers fair.

The team was delighted with the outcomes of the event:

• A total of 580 individual bookings for the events across the week
• Over 1,000 students participated, either by attending live sessions, or by accessing recordings of the sessions after the event
• Every Science and Technology student (UG and PG) was reached via Moodle with recordings of the sessions
• Over 40 individual speakers attended, giving in-depth presentations about their sectors and areas of work
• Companies and organisations with household names such as Dyson, Amazon, the Civil Service and Fujitsu joined the event where previously this was not possible
• Attending students were able to access the email addresses and LinkedIn profiles of exhibiting employers, opening up opportunities for networking and collaboration

This event was more successful than any ever previously hosted by the faculty, demonstrated by the attendance, booking and engagement figures outlined above. It has set a precedent for future events and represents the agility of the team to react positively to perceived threats to previous ways of working. Their adaptability, flexibility and courage to try a new formula has brought unexpected and substantial benefits to students across the university as well as opening up new channels of communication which are increasingly attractive in a post- pandemic, climate-change aware world.

This development of the team’s offer has also ensured greater inclusivity, as all students, no matter what their circumstances, have equal access to the event and the employers who exhibit. The same format is planned for Autumn 2021, with the possibility of an in-person event should companies show a desire to take part and should conditions allow.

The team is keen to hear from any organisation wishing to engage with our excellent students – interested parties can email us at scitech.futures@lancaster.ac.uk

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