A short summary of your project

We are raising money for our graduate networking event 'Connection through Conversation' due to commence in January 2022. This event is created by students FOR students, we want to provide opportunities for those graduating in 2022 and we felt that a community-based networking event would be a fantastic way to connect with businesses that offer a wide range of internships, work experience, further education and more.

Who are you?

We are third year Bath Spa University students studying Business Management due to graduate next year! Our names are Emma Smith, Keri Kennett, Emily Ash and Jack Guidotti. We are conducting this event off the back of our 'Creating and Hosting Festivals and Events' module, we are passionate about helping our peer students feel less nervous about moving into the world of work and felt that an event like this would not only satisfy our degree, but also help ourselves and others around us for the future.

Our story

We want this to be a community-based event that brings us closer together. During the pandemic lots of opportunities were lost and we want to regain students trust by showing what is available at their fingertips through networking with the right people. It is hard to not feel de-motivated by how the pandemic set students back. After many placement cancellations, studying abroad limitations and feeling closed off from the world, we want to open our doors to prove that we can achieve our goals together.

What we are trying to achieve is:

• Short 1:1 meetings you can sign up for with the Bath Spa careers team to discuss any job applications, interview questions and other professional goals.
• Raffle consisting of donations from local businesses for students, the idea being that once they sign up to the event, they are automatically entered into the competition to be in with the chance of winning some great prizes. Further raffle tickets can be bought for a small fee on the day of the event.
• Specialist advice from individuals working in industry for students to converse with about how they can break into the subject area of their choice.
• Subject-based zones for those interested in their specific industry so that people can connect based on their desired area of employment. And much more.

Where will the money go?

The money that is raised for our event will go towards the following: Production Costs We want to produce an event that is fun and interesting, something different to the usual networking event. We have plans for entertainment and interactive experiences (if we raise enough!). Catering We don’t want to let out guests go hungry, so financial support for our plans to provide canapes and drinks would stop everyone’s stomachs from rumbling. Event Design We want the look of the event to wow everyone! We want there to be clear signs of industry/sector-based areas so students and businesses can connect with those interested in the same area. We are planning on using the commons building at Newton Park campus, so being able to make our main room look completely different will make the feel of the event more exclusive.

Rewards

We want to communicate to the University our gratitude for those that donated to support our event. Upon reflection of our event, we will make a special mention to a list of those that donated which made the event possible for us. Furthermore, those that do donate to us will also be entered into the raffle to win some fantastic prizes! We will contact businesses in the surrounding Bath area and offer them an opportunity to provide vouchers, experiences, and gifts as a special thank you for all those involved in making our event happen.

Find us here

Check out our Instagram: @connectionthroughconversation to see live updates of businesses coming to join us! We will also mention new raffle prizes up for grabs and any further announcements about entertainment for this special event.

Help us succeed!

Contact emma.smith18@bathspa.ac.uk if you want to get involved! If you have any ideas, donations for our raffle, or interactive experiences that you want to offer to our fantastic selection of students, feel free to contact us as we want all the help we can get. Thank you so much!