Events Management and Marketing BA (hons) student Tamiko Ross has recently undertaken a five week work placement with Royal Caribbean International (RCI), as part of a team launching their new cruise ship Harmony of the Seas which set sail from Barcelona earlier this year.
Tamiko is a second year undergraduate student at the University College Isle of Man (UCM). As part of their degree Tamiko and her peers undertake a five week work placement in an industry relevant position to work on a project selected by the company. The Work Based Learning module can be carried out on or off island. However with her spark for adventure and previous experience working in Ibiza, Tamiko decided to take the opportunity offered through UCM and the University of Chester to work and study abroad for five weeks.
On the activities she undertook and the experience of her international work placement Tamiko commented 'The placement with RCI was an incredible experience. I couldn’t have asked for a better work placement. I was treated extremely well and I got to experience an extraordinary ship launch as well as other events. It allowed me to learn about the different stakeholders RCI has and their relationship with them, the different departments within RCI and how they all work together towards a common goal. I thoroughly enjoyed being assigned a project to work on during the placement as I learnt a lot more about their marketing and was given the opportunity to present the findings to the senior management of RCI. Throughout the placement I was able to build up my connections within the travel industry which will be of use to me on completion of my degree. I think this was an amazing opportunity, and it has also helped me identify what I would like to do on completion of my degree in 2017.'
Higher Education Manager at UCM Gail Corrin stated 'As part of our UCM graduate guarantee, we believe it is important to give our students the opportunity to undertake some aspect of their UCM studies off Island. We recognise the importance of our students to think globally and have experiences in an international setting that will enhance both their employability and personal development. Tamiko has spearheaded this international work placement initiative for UCM.'
The work placement is designed to not only give students an insight into working within their chosen industry, but is also a great opportunity for them to put the skills they are learning whilst studying at higher education to good use. It is very different to school placements as the student is expected to undertake a live project for which they would have some semblance of responsibility over. Working with a number of businesses on the Island to gain work placements and internships for students, UCM offers their students an unrivalled opportunity to make industry contacts, giving them a greater opportunity to gain employment in their chosen field as soon as their degree is completed. Additionally UCM students contribute nearly 6000 hours each year to local business through this placement, a figure that continues to grow as more students chose to undertake their degree on Island at UCM.
Gail continued 'We often see a great surge of confidence in our students, when they return from their placements, particularly in their own ability and knowledge. What is even more satisfying is the personal links and contacts with business our student gain; last year 91% of our students were offered employment related to their degree after they completed. This year one of our Accountancy and Finance students will be starting a consultancy contract with a large Island firm while he continues to study for his final year.'
Companies interested in hosting a placement or engaging with final year students to undertake a research project should contact Gail.Corrin@ucm.ac.im.
You can find out more on undertaking a UCM degree by visiting www.ucm.ac.im
Issued by: University College Isle of Man
