October - Hannah Wilson, LEAP Programme Manager discusses the origins and launch of Pembroke's new skills programme
This month Pembroke College soft-launched the Leadership, Enterprise and Adventure at Pembroke (LEAP) programme. LEAP aims to provide our students with support to build their confidence and enhance their careers once they leave Pembroke. This exciting new initiative is led by Hannah Wilson and they share their thoughts as we prepare to welcome the first students onto the programme.
LEAP started with a conversation and an observation. Serial entrepreneur and LEAP founder Andy Crossley (1986) discussed with our Development Director, Matthew Mellor, what he might be able to do to help current students. Matthew noted that some of his tutees were lacking in confidence, and that this prevented them from making the most of their time in Cambridge and potentially affected their career prospects after graduating.
An idea was born, could Pembroke develop a programme that addresses some of the hurdles that students face when securing their first job, and give them the skills and tools that enable them to thrive in a career they love?
A period of research and development followed, led by our Head of Admissions, Dr Caroline Burt, the Senior Tutor, Professor Robert Mayhew, and Dr Kate Parsley from the Corporate Partnership Programme. The research identified three main areas to address – a lack of skills, a lack of experience, and the lack of a professional network. The LEAP programme will provide activities and opportunities that seek to support students with all three.
In our soft launch year we are building on some successful pilot activities conducted last year by Kate and Katy Bennett from the Corporate Partnership Programme. At the moment we are resource limited and still learning the best approach, so some activities will only be available to a smaller cohort of students – but our aim is that ultimately all students will be able to access LEAP and get the support they need.
At the launch on October 12th, the Master of Pembroke College was joined by Eben Upton, Founder and CEO of Raspberry Pi, and Rhianna Ilube, playwright, in a panel discussion on what they wished they had known when at University and setting out on their careers. Students were able to ask questions and some extremely interesting discussions followed. It was heartening to hear from three very different people’s experience and reflections, and I am sure our students were reassured that there is a world of different opportunities out there for them, whatever their passion – and that LEAP can help them find that passion if they don’t yet know what it is.
LEAP is bringing in experienced facilitators to deliver sessions providing both hard and soft skills that will help students both now and in the future. Secondly, LEAP is helping students link to a mentor from our alumni or corporate partnership community. Thirdly, LEAP is supporting students to find an internship or travel opportunity that helps them to gain experience and confidence. The three strands are interwoven, and we are linking with the Careers Service and other initiatives in College, such as Life Beyond Pembroke, to make sure we are making the most of existing support and leveraging our network.
I am excited to see LEAP, and the students taking the programme, growing and developing. We cannot do this alone, so if you are able to support the programme by mentoring a student, running a skills workshop, or providing an internship, please do get in touch. Link to email address: LEAP@pem.cam.ac.uk
To find out more about the LEAP programme, visit www.pem.cam.ac.uk/LEAP
Hannah is the Programme Manager for LEAP. She previously worked as a Senior Development Officer at Pembroke, and before that as a fundraising consultant for NGOs. Earlier in her career she was a Programme Manager at Amnesty International UK and Oxfam GB, predominantly working with students and young people. She is delighted to be developing and launching the LEAP programme at Pembroke.