Published: April 16, 2010 @ 16:55

Word abroad with Global Experiences

If you have sunnier climates or fast paced cities on the brain then an international internship could be for you.  Global Experiences offers a unique selection of exciting international destinations to graduates looking to set sail. 

Global Experiences set out to design packages for people who want to work, study and live abroad. They cater for a wide range of industries, with everything from politics to fashion. So anyone can do it! You needn’t travel too far either, the destinations on offer range from Dublin to Australia, with many in between.

 It is reassuring to know that Global Experiences’ advisors have all worked, lived or studied abroad themselves so they will be able to offer both expert advice and speak from personal experience. They say:

 “We are a group of “do as I did” people, not “do as I say” posers.”

 Working abroad can be an adventure and an amazing contribution to your CV too, working overseas shows courage, ambition and gives you priceless life experience.

 For more information on the internships they offer visit their website.

 

Published: Mar 8, 2010 @ 14:09

Money, money, money

 

Worried about paying your student loan back after university?

Confused about how much you owe and how much interest you’re paying? Well start listening because The Grade has all your answers.

For those of you who have taken out a student loan since 1998, you will have what is known as an “Income Contingency Loan”.  In simple English, it means the amount you pay back when you start working will depend on what you earn.

You will only start paying back your student loan once you have graduated and are earning at least £15,000 per year, or more.  After this, 9% will be deducted from your wages.

However, it is only deducted from the amount that you earn over £15,000. For example if your annual salary is £20,000, you will have 9% deducted from the extra £5,000 of your wages.

The loan payment is also taken before tax making it more money efficient for you… not bad hey?

If you are money smart and want to pay back your loan early; you can do this online, by post or by setting up a standing order or direct debit through Direct Gov. You can make payments from as little as a fiver, however, this will not reduce your monthly payment.

Paying extra money towards a student debt does have its advantages as the balance is accruing interest  whilst the debt is outstanding. It’s not all bad as the interest rate on a student loan is substantially lower than what you would find from any bank in the High Street.

There is also great news on the finance front for students at the moment. The government decided not to apply any interest rate between August 2009 and March 2010, giving you guys 6 months free anyway!  That’s not a bad deal.

Don’t forget if you have any queries or want a little more information regarding the repayment of a student loan, you can find it at www.direct.gov.uk.

 

Published: Mar 4, 2010 @ 18:28

Lonely Planet hits Birmingham

 

Leading travel guide organisation, Lonely Planet ,has teamed up with Student Birmingham to produce a guide to the city of Birmingham, for students and graduates.

After months of researching every corner, crack and hideaway in the city, Lonely Planet has managed to put together a guide that will have students fighting over places in Birmingham universities.

With 175,000 copies being distributed across the country, we can all find out what Birmingham is like from a trustworthy Lonely Planet perspective.

The guide not only proves the endless variety of things to do in Birmingham, it also highlights the success of many of the people that live in the city or who have moved away from home to study and start their careers here.

Student Birmingham, who have been running their ‘Live and Learn’ campaign,  operated by Marketing Birmingham, teamed up with the renowned Lonely Planet to produce a guide that represents all that they have worked towards.

‘Live and Learn’ is a website aimed at students and people who may be considering studying in Birmingham, offering a wealth of information about studying, graduating and getting around the city.

At the launch of the guide guests heard from many professionals involved with its creation, talking about what they hoped it would achieve and how they intend to reach out to students.

Neil Rami, Chief Executive Office of Birmingham Marketing, who gave his thoughts at the launch night, said:

“The guide will hopefully help people to realise that Birmingham is an exciting and ultimately rewarding place.”

The Grade also caught up with Matt Gibbs, Senior Product Manager for Lonely Planet who was heavily involved in the design of the initial project.

Matt told us what went in to making this guide so useful:

“We looked at industry, interviewed students who studied in the city and chose to stay on and become successful. We chose what demonstrated the great opportunities available in Birmingham.

“We actually had to cut a lot of the content out, which just goes to show how much there is here for students.”

With two thirds of students already staying in the city as graduates, Lonely Planet looks set to keep them where they are and encourage others to do the same.

Victoria Bull, a Marketing and Events Management graduate from the University College of Birmingham, is an international student from Dubai who has stayed in Birmingham and is now works as part of the marketing team for international students.

Victoria said, “I think this is a fantastic in encouraging students to study in Birmingham and it covers lots of important areas. As an international student myself, I feel that this would have been a really helpful aid to me when I was choosing where to study.”

For your free copy of the Birmingham Lonely Planet guide, visit the Student Birmingham website.

Published: Mar 3, 2010 @ 21.12

A hit with Birmingham City University students!

 

The Grade’s “Welcome to the Real World” campaign proved to be a huge hit with Birmingham City University students today, as they took advantage of expert careers advice and free cakes.

The campaign was launched to help students and graduates with their career options after university. Students were invited to visit The Grade’s stand in the Baker Building foyer at City North Campus, with their CV to receive advice from a Career Zone consultant.

We had a great turn out and kept our very own CV checker very busy. All in all, it was an enjoyable and successful day.

For those of you who didn’t make it, you can book an appointment with a Career Zone advisor at Student Services, 1st floor of Baker Building, City North Campus. Or visit their website for more information.

 

Published: Feb 25, 2010 @ 17.52

‘Welcome to the Real World’ Campaign

The Grade are giving graduates and students of Birmingham City University an official ‘Welcome to the Real World’ on Wednesday 3rd March.

We are inviting students to come along to the Baker Building (North City Campus) from 1pm to receive free advice and information on finding a job after university.

There will be an expert on hand to check your CV’s are up to scratch. And what’s more… we will be giving away a FREE CAKE to every student who uses the CV checking service.

The advisor will also be able to help with preparing for an interview and provide you with any other information you may require.

Hope to see you all there!

 

Published: Feb 22, 2010 @ 19:55

Thank you, please

Sometimes we forget our manners, it happens to the best of us -but your graduation dinner is not the time to falter. That’s why The Grad Mag is giving you the dot to dot in finishing your graduation meal in sheer style. 

Dating back to when I was shipped off to my first children’s’ Birthday party I can still remember my Mum’s words to me before I left, the same words that come back to me at most social events – “don’t forget your manners.” And we mustn’t! 

As we get older the party dress turns to a glamorous ball gown, the food becomes much tastier and the cutlery range more extensive. Who’d have believed we would evolve into our adult lives needing nine items of cutlery to finish just one meal – rather than the perfectly designed plastic spoon we enjoyed as kids? Anyway no use dwelling, time to get learning…. 

Let’s begin on the right side of your plate… There you will fine three items, the one closest to you is your service knife (to the rest of us, this is the dinner knife), followed by the fish then, then a soup spoon. 

“But what do I butter my roll with?” I hear you cry. This takes us to the left. You will find a smaller plate there, with a perfectly placed butter knife over it. From the outside in will be the fish fork, dinner fork and salad fork. 

If you’re anything like me, you’ll be wondering about what’s for dessert, even more cutlery! Not to worry, it’s just a cake fork and desert spoon up top. Not too difficult to get your head around – probably for the best considering the wine will probably be flowing quite nicely by now. 

During dinner, if a lady leaves the table the men should stand as a mark of respect… but let’s not kid ourselves. However, an “excuse me” wouldn’t go a miss from anyone who feels the need to leave the dinner table at anytime. 

If you find yourself being the only person at the dinner table who knows how to navigate their way around the cutlery battlefield, it’ll be worth it for the smug feeling you get and proof in itself that you really did deserve that First!