13th maggio 2011
Salford MSc graduate highlights economic value of universities
A national project to promote the impact that students and universities have on the economy has highlighted a Salford graduate.
The More than a Degree: stories of empowered students campaign is being run by the University Alliance group of 23 major business-focused universities which includes Salford. It demonstrates the role universities have in delivering work-ready graduates to the economy and creating career opportunities for individuals.
Salford graduate John Muirhead, 24, is one of the students being highlighted a part of the campaign. He graduated from Salford in 2010 with a degree in MSc Information Security and the Mike O’Hara prize for top student.
When he completed his studies he took on a Knowledge Transfer partnership (KTP) with the University and The Foundry, a creative marketing and advertising agency.
John said: “A KTP is basically a three-way project between a graduate, an organisation and a university. KTPs are a great opportunity as I've been able to stay involved in academia whilst working on a real-life commercial project. The project I am working on is called POS Store; creating a system that will allow clients to customise and personalise point of sale materials.
“As Digital Developer I like having oversight of the whole project and having total control of it! The management and leadership training I did at the KTP residential modules was also really good because they are skills that you normally learn on the job, so getting them on the KTP has been great.”
University Alliance members educate 25% of all UK students and have some of the highest graduate employment rates.