A graduate from De Montfort University (DMU) Leicester has just taken up a full time position at one of the country’s most prominent charities thanks to the university’s pioneering Graduate Champions scheme.
Callum Bergin, who graduated earlier this year with a BA in Advertising and Marketing Communications, is now working as Marketing Executive for the Matt Hampson Foundation, based in Leicestershire, after working as a Graduate Champion for the last six weeks.
Callum says every DMU student should know about the Graduate Champions scheme because of the incredible opportunities it creates.
The Matt Hampson Foundation, whose motto is ‘Get Busy Living’, was set up by former Leicester Tigers and England prop Matt ‘Hambo’ Hampson after a rugby accident in 2005 left him paralysed from the neck down and breathing with the aid of a ventilator.
The charity provides support, advice and treatment mainly for those who have suffered similar sports-related injuries or a disability.
Callum said: “I am working with everything concerning digital marketing, such as the website, as well as tying up with social media, specifically what to post and when to post it. It is a big tool for the foundation as obviously we run on quite a tight budget.
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“So far I have made several improvements to the website both functionally and visually with the aim of increasing traffic to the website following the principles I learned at university such as search engine optimisation.
“I have also managed to increase the total social media following by more than 30 per cent so far.”
Callum has also established a forum for beneficiaries and their families to share advice and to support to each other in the aims of creating more of a community, as well as creating a YouTube channel.
The innovative Graduate Champions scheme offers recent graduates the chance to take up a six week-long internship with a leading UK organisation to enhance their skills and help them stand out from the crowd in a furiously competitive jobs market.
For DMU graduates, these placements bring sought-after opportunities to gain valuable insight into graduate-level work that is relevant to their chosen career path, and business people have free access to some of the brightest and best young talent in the UK today. Those on the scheme are paid the living wage by DMU.
“I would say the scheme is fantastic, to be honest,” added Callum. “Obviously employability is a huge thing because these days the only positions going, at least when I was looking, are unpaid internships and you cannot really afford to do that, especially if they are based in London.
“The Graduate Champions scheme has been massively helpful and luckily I have been offered the full time position, but even if I hadn’t it would be something great to put on my CV.
“Everyone should know about it.”
Posted on Thursday 26 February 2015