This year’s Futures Festival, held at the Brampton Road campus from 4 to 6 February 2020, was the best one yet. Students and graduates from the Institute of the Arts came together for three days of employability workshops, industry talks and events to improve their employment prospects.
Speakers included BAFTA award winning wildlife cinematographer Sophie Darlington, award-winning drama editor Tom Strachan, photographer Katy Hundertmark, artists Clare Stephenson and Neil Bickerton, authors Andrew Hurley and VC Lancaster, and many more from all areas of the creative arts. Several of the speakers were returning alumni from the University of Cumbria, who were able to share with students how their degree helped them achieve their dream jobs.
Students and graduates also took part in workshops to improve their creative resilience, presentation skills and confidence. The Students' Union were also on hand to help students find out about how they can be supported in their extracurricular activities – along with Big Ted, a life-sized teddy bear, that students had the chance to take home with them.
The event was organised by academic staff from the Institute of the Arts, supported by the Careers and Employability Service. The careers team ran drop-in sessions and workshops throughout the week, offering advice on CV writing, interview skills, searching for funding, and finding opportunities to gain work experience in the creative sector.
If you couldn’t get to the event, there are lots of resources available on the website at https://my.cumbria.ac.uk/Student-Life/careers/ and through My Career Enriched, the careers hub for students and graduates, which can be accessed here: https://mycareerenriched.cumbria.ac.uk/.
Planning is already underway for the 2021 Futures Festival – it’s going to even be bigger than before! If you want to get involved with this event, or want to support our students in other ways, you can contact the alumni team via alumni@cumbria.ac.uk.