Heriot-Watt Dubai Campus hosts Careers Day yet to help pave the way for students into industry

Heriot-Watt University’s Dubai Campus hosted its Annual Careers Day this week with organisations from a wide range of industries in attendance. Representatives from oil and gas, finance, IT, marketing, fashion, the built environment, and even life coaching, gave talks and conducted workshops, offering invaluable advice to students on taking the first steps into the daunting world of work.   

The Careers Day gave students direct exposure and networking opportunities with organisations such as Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, Weatherford & Majid Al Futtaim, as well as supporting the development of their networking and employability skills, which the Careers Advisory service promotes on a daily basis. 

Kathryn Taylor, Student Experience Officer, responsible for careers advice at Heriot-Watt Dubai Campus, said: “This year’s Careers Day was the most successful yet with a large number of renowned companies in attendance offering expert advice to Heriot-Watt students, helping them to make the all important decision of what steps to take after graduating from university and seeking employment.” 

Iba Masood, Co-Founder & CEO of Gradberry, hosted a workshop for students advising them on how to get their dream job. Iba said; “Heriot-Watt’s Career’s Day went very well and we are very happy we participated. Our main aim was to interact with students, hear concerns and give career advice. In doing this we have already received over 150 job applications, which is great news.” 

Shameel Ahmed, Human Resources and Administration Director for Jones Lang LaSalle, MENA said: "This was the first time that Jones Lang LaSalle has participated in the Heriot-Watt University careers day at their Dubai campus. It was well attended and a successful exercise for us - we had over 200 students stop by the stand and a further 30 attended the two employability workshops, which we ran. At any one time, we have 4-6 interns working with us across the MENA region and next year we are hoping to start a formalised graduate training programme. At Jones Lang LaSalle we look for bright, intellectual, hard working students from a diverse background that have a willingness to learn. In return, we will offer them an exciting and fulfilling career with opportunities to work across MENA, Europe, Asia and the Americas." 

First year student Akbar Hossain studying Civil Engineering attended the fair and was one of the first students to secure an internship at the event. Akbar said: “This is my first time coming to a event like this and I thank Heriot-Watt for organising this for us students. I am very excited about the opportunity and will definitely attend next years event”.

Heriot-Watt University is increasingly introducing new ways to assist students and graduates seeking employment and internships within their respective fields. The recent partnership with Gradberry is one such initiative and with increasing numbers of applications to Heriot-Watt University the Careers Advisory Service is continually seeking new employers to link with.