Alumni Events and Mentoring – Pathways to Professions Project (P2P)

Main idea

Outline

The Pathways to the Professions project is a UCD University for All initiative which looks at how we can remove barriers to access, participation and success at each step along the pathway to a profession. 

The Pathways to the Professions project extends access beyond the university and academic success to career preparation and achievement. It aims to provide wraparound support for students throughout their learning experience before and at university and which extends on to early career success.

The project strands therefore map to the student lifecycle: from pre-entry outreach, to university and academic success and on to early career progression and professional achievement for our graduates.

The Alumni Events and mentoring opportunities are initiatives in the early career progression project strand which aim to build cultural capital and networking skills to ensure easy transition into professions. 

For example, the Alumni Breakfast is a Pathways to the Professions collaboration between UCD Access and Lifelong Learning, UCD Careers and UCD Alumni Relations.

It is held on the morning of the UCD Internships Fair where employers promote summer internship opportunities.

The Breakfast event aims to support UCD Access students (students entering UCD via HEAR, DARE, Mature, QQI-FET, and part-time pathways) with an opportunity to meet and network with UCD graduates in a relaxed and friendly setting.

Students can ask questions and hear from UCD Alumni on their career experiences to date, the importance of doing an internship and how such experiences can enhance and build skills. There are tips on how to get the most from the internship fair and the job market and information on disclosing disabilities to employers or requesting extra supports.

Goals

To create opportunities for students from underrepresented groups to network and build their personal/professional development skills.

Target group

Obstacles targetted:

• Economic obstacles
• Social obstacles

Students involvement

Networking events and mentoring opportunities for students.

Inspiration and evidence

Background:

The importance of Diversity has been well demonstrated (LSRA, Law Society, and The Bar of Ireland). Irish law firms have made commendable efforts to increase diversity in the legal profession, to name a few, UCD Sutherland Opportunity supported by Mason, Hayes and Curran and Matheson D & I Scholarship. 

However, findings from law students and graduates suggest that significant barriers to entry persist. 

Through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with Access students on UCD law programmes, we generated interesting insights into the barriers to the legal profession and the challenges that graduates from underrepresented groups face in their early career progression into the legal profession. UCD Access students are students from diverse backgrounds, including. 

• socio-economic groups that have low participation in higher education
• first-time mature students
• students with disabilities
• part-time/flexible learners
• lone parents
• further education and training-award holders.

Below are some of the focus group findings:

• There is a belief that Who You Know/ not What You Know is an advantage to progressing into the legal profession.
• Minority Tax – a burden to be diverse.
• Backing A Lost Cause – harder for those who are from rural areas and have less connections. 
• A Disembodied Profession – Firms need to do more outreach so that the profession feels more attainable. 
• They Love the story not Diversity – law firms do not know how to talk or train people from diverse backgrounds. 
• Fallacy of Meritocracy – hard work and high grades do not necessarily equate to progression in the legal profession. 
• Matching the Room – there is no room for diversity in the profession – you have to match the room.

Inspiration:

That there would be a sense of continuity of access meaning that the idea of access and widening participation went beyond just university setting but continued as the student progressed from their studies into their careers. 

The evidence suggested that there was a problem in terms of low numbers of access students progressing into the legal profession. 

In addition to the focus group, below are other materials that informed the project:

• LSRA (2019) The Pathways to the Professions: The LSRA First Annual Report on the Admission to the Legal Profession.
• UCD Careers Graduate Outcome Survey (GOS)
• University for ALL toolkit
• Who Counts? University for All Data, Metrics, and Evidence 2020-21
• Open Doors Initiative Inclusivity Employment toolkit 
• Law Society of Ireland Annual Reports (2020-2021)

Success criteria

• Having more access students gain internship/traineeship opportunities by engaging in more career events and networking opportunities so they can feel more connected to the profession and deepen relationships with those working in the industry. 
• Supported by professional bodies/industry partners 
• Leverages alum

Effectiveness

See information in overall Pathways to the Professions (P2P)

• Having more access students gain internship/traineeship opportunities by engaging in more career events and networking opportunities so they can feel more connected to the profession and deepen relationships with those working in the industry. 
• Supported by professional bodies/industry partners 
• Leverages alum

entry.

Would you recommend this to other institutions?

strongly agree

Evaluation

Yes – Through stakeholder questionnaires

Communication

• Social Media 
• Direct emails to students 
• Flyer 
• Webpage 
• Communication to relevant faculty and industry.

Timing

Will depend on the context. Events held prior to internship and careers fairs can build knowledge on how to get the most from such events.

Resources

• Budget 
• Project Co-ordinator to drive project and foster stakeholder engagement. 
• Promotional material – flyers, posters, social media 
• Resources for e.g. dedicated space to run events
• Administrative costs

Extra information

• Alumni Breakfast

Transferability

We think it is easily transferable to other contexts or groups.

This initiative follows the principles of universal design.