The School of Biological Sciences operate one of the largest and most successful Work Placement programmes in a UK or Irish University.  The School model is recognised as an example of good practice due partly to the embedded nature of the work placements within the curriculum and reflective learning components that our students undertake. The success of our work placement programmes depends on establishing strong external partnerships with host organisations, both locally, nationally and globally. Our employer relationships are key to supporting our students to develop vital employability skills to ensure they are career ready. 

Mentoring is a great opportunity for students to gain real insight as to what career options are open to them and it is a rewarding experience for industry professionals to help someone progress and achieve their full potential in their future career.

Mentoring involves sharing your knowledge, skills and experience to help your Mentee progress, to seek new opportunities and have a clearer idea of their career direction after graduation. 

As part of placement and graduate preparation we offer the opportunity for organisations, and our Alumni, to engage with students via talks, site visits and networking events.

This is open to all businesses, and Alumni, even if your current employment isn’t science, field based or related, as we also organise insight sessions exploring ‘careers outside science’.

If interested, or for more information, please get in touch: Contact Careers Team

We host two annual careers fairs exclusive to The School of Biological Sciences. Our Agriculture, Food and Life Sciences Careers Fair and Environmental & Conservation Careers Fair see prominent organisations, that work closely with the School, attend and have an opportunity to engage with students on careers, volunteering and placements.

Engagement is across all students, from first to final year undergraduate, postgraduate taught and our postgraduate research cohorts.  

We welcome the opportunity to take our students out into industry to allow them to experience first hand the wealth of potential career areas that exist within industry, both lab and non-lab based. 

Queen's University is ranked in the top 170 universities in the world for graduate job prospects (QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2022), and 7th in the UK for Biological Sciences Graduate Prospects (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024).  Our Graduates go on to achieve great things, equipped with the confidence and skills to explore the various job markets related to the life sciences and beyond. View our latest Alumni Profiles.

We have dedicated platforms which are well utilised by our upcoming graduates and alumni. If you would like to advertise a vacancy we would be happy to do this for you.  Please contact the Careers Team or upload details to our form.

The collaboration of this group informs how we can develop our courses and learning opportunities to ensure our students are equipped with the skills, knowledge and competencies needed for industry.

We are very fortunate to have great organisations and members who support our goals, students and graduates. Together, we can build a brighter future for students and a more dynamic, skilled workforce for industry. We are also open to individual stakeholder consultations if preferable. 

To register your interest in joining the group, or for more information, contact the team here.

We have a monthly newsletter which is shared with all students and recent graduates. The newsfeed promotes any upcoming events or activities that are happening from the Career Team, within the School, the wider University and externally that may be of interest and relevant to their careers. We also highlight graduate roles, experienced roles, training opportunities, and volunteering opportunities.

Opportunities to be shared in our Newsfeed can be submitted here.