From placements with a local TV studio to assessing the fitness levels of Southampton FC footballers, Southampton Solent University offers students a wealth of opportunities to follow their dreams.
The university has established wide-ranging ties with local employers as it seeks to give students and graduates the best possible chances of realising their career ambitions.
Film and TV production students have the option of placements at Woodcut Media, a leading TV documentary maker based nearby, while those studying sports science and sports therapy benefit from the university’s close ties with Hampshire Cricket, Southampton FC and other sports clubs.
Strong links have also been cultivated with the local NHS, arts organisations, the city council and many other employers in the area. These connections are key to preparing students for the world of work, whether they are studying media, sport, business, law, engineering, nursing practice, or any of more than 200 courses on offer at Southampton Solent.
“One of our main objectives is to make sure that our courses are led by teachers and academics who have excellent contacts with their industries and keep their finger on the pulse of developments in that sector,” says Will Cope, deputy dean for education in the school of creative industries, arts and music.
Aside from his academic role, Cope also works in sports production and used to be a sports journalist for Sky Sports. He says many of the university’s teaching staff are practitioners in their industries. “That is hugely important, because that professional knowhow and practical experience is crucial in helping students to learn how to turn their studies into a career, so they can earn a return on their education.”
The school of creative industries offers a wide range of BA and BSc courses, from film and TV, music and media to makeup, hair design, prosthetics, fine art, animation and illustration, among many others. There is also a substantial master’s programme.
All of these courses benefit from access to state-of-the-art facilities, so graduates entering the workplace are familiar with commonly used equipment from day one.
Professional-standard audio recording and film facilities are available to students on creative industries courses. Students get to work with Dolby Atmos recording equipment, in mix rooms and well-equipped music studios. There are rehearsal and performance spaces and a virtual production studio with a curved LED backdrop, 10 metres wide, to film against. Among many other facilities, there’s a dedicated multimedia journalism newsroom, eight radio studios kitted out for video and a Dolby Atmos surround sound cinema, believed to be a first among UK universities.
Study courses, especially in the third year, feature real-life challenges, which involve working with industry practitioners and companies to model situations faced in their daily business.
“As you’re learning and particularly as you’re nearing graduation, there are lots of live briefs with employers and a heavy focus on work experience and placements,” says Cope.
Offering students hands-on experience with the latest equipment is also key for degrees in sports science and therapy, says Lynsey Northeast, Solent’s course leader for sport and exercise therapy. “We have unbelievable facilities,” she adds. A multi-use sports hall offers tiered seating, and on higher floors there is a gym, a physiology and biomechanics lab and a 3D camera system for assessing athletes’ movements.
“An important factor when we purchase equipment is making sure that it is what students will use in practice,” she says. “Our teaching style is very practical. These are not just facilities students are allowed to use – we need to see them putting the equipment to use in a real-life setting.” The students get to practise therapy with sports clubs that come in to use facilities as well as with Solent’s own sports clubs.
Northeast works as a sports therapist at Reading FC and with the Future Lionesses, supporting talented female footballers. “A lot of our students tend to go into a professional team environment, and we have strong links with sports teams,” she says.
Students are encouraged to make contacts across the industry as they pursue their studies. “One of the things we push is to set up a LinkedIn profile from day one,” she says.
In the third year, sports therapy students take a module with 200 hours of placements, some at the in-house injury clinic and the rest in industries they hope to work in. These could be placements in the NHS with an eye to becoming a musculoskeletal clinician or with the military for those looking to work as rehabilitation instructors. For students wanting to set up their own private practices, the university offers business grants.
Northeast says there are massive opportunities for therapists with the growth of women’s sports such as football, especially with the increase in knee injuries among women, who are up to eight times more likely to sustain ACL injuries than men.
Key to Solent’s approach is to help students feel at home in their chosen fields by giving them daily exposure to professionals in those areas and to get them used to the processes, practices and facilities common in those industries.
As Cope points out, this gives graduates the confidence to go into their industry of choice and feel self-assured when talking to professionals. “Our aim is to put an end to impostor syndrome in the workplace, and Solent’s hands-on approach offers a leg up for students as they find their footing on the career ladder,” he says.
Find out more about Southampton Solent University’s range of industry-focused courses – and how to apply
