Russell Lockie UWS ICAS Brand Ambassador

Paisley Business Society

Linda McFadden and Michele McFadyen of the Paisley Business Society discuss the speakers that the society has attracted over the last term and the plans for the future

Social Media for Success

Positioning Yourself for Social Media Success
Increasing numbers of employers are using Social Media for recruitment. There are tactics you can use to make the right connections with people in your industry and career field to present yourself professionally online.

Networking Before You Need To It's important to communicate with people in your industry, even when you don't need them. Starting when you need a job is too late! Take regular time to connect with who you know, and who you don't know - yet. Be engaged and pro-active in your communications. Use your online connections to connect with 'real people' on

90% of New Jobs Will Require Excellent Digital Literacy Skills By being actively engaged in a professional manner with Social Media, you are proving to prospective employers that you have this key Employability Skill as well as building a professional reputation.line. These connections may help you get a foot in the door at companies of interest to you.

The Top Three Social Media Platforms for Career Management Results of a recent survey showed that of those organisations using Social Media for recruitment
:• 92% use LinkedIn
 • 43% use Facebook
 • 32% use Twitter

LinkedIn - The largest professional social network. This of it as your online CV - set up a complete profile including keywords that a recruiter might use to find someone like you. Connect with everyone you know and join groups to build your connections and visibility.

 Facebook - Many prospective employers have Facebook pages that you can 'Like' to keep up to date with useful information and job vacancies. Put keywords in your interests. Let your connections on Facebook know you are job hunting.

Twitter - While it might seem frivolous to some, Twitter is a great resource for following industry leaders, career experts and recruiters tweeting about real job opportunities. Remember what you say on Twitter is not private and is not retractable.

For further information contact our careers website at: http://www.uws.ac.uk/about-uws/services-for-students/employability-link/virtual-careers-library/

Student Voice first Meeting 30th October 2015

The Students’ Voice is the decision making body of the Students’ Association of the University of the West of Scotland (SAUWS). It is the forum for UWS students to voice their concerns and where they can make decisions about the direction of the Students’ Association and the University. Students' Voice is the successor to Students' Council and has been implemented as part of our wider Governance and Accountability changes (please see our new Constitution here for full details of our changes). Any registered student at UWS can attend and participate in Students' Voice. What does the Students’ Voice do? Students’ Voice is responsible for: • Representing the voice of students, • Debating and setting the policy of the Association, • Making, repealing and amending bye-laws jointly with the Board of Trustees, and • Promoting any elections and referenda in the organisation. All issues affecting students may be taken to the Students’ Voice to be discussed, debated and acted upon, this can include: SAUWS activities Education issues NUS Campaigns SAUWS campaigns Library opening hours SAAS funding Union events ICT facilities Student Housing Sports and Societies Contact hours Employment Dates for Student Voice 2015-16 Students' Voice will meet 4 times per academic year. This is the first meeting of Student voice, being held as follows by Video Conference: Friday 30th October 2015, 1.15pm. Venues: Ayr - LT2 Dumfries - R217 Hamilton - A216 Paisley - P118 Other dates as follows: Wednesday 25th November (pm) venues TBC Wednesday 24th February (pm) venues TBC Wednesday 30th March (pm) venues TBC Venues to be confirmed Students' Voice is only as strong as the input from its members. By getting involved, you are giving the students a stronger voice and ensuring that all issues are solved in the best and most democratic way. For more information on the Students’ Voice and the Students’ Association, pop into your Students’ Union offices or visit the web page at: http://www.sauws.org.uk/getinvolved/sauwsstudentsvoice/

UWS supports Macmillan Coffee Morning

Congratulations to staff, students and friends around UWS who have raised £2000 for Macmillan Cancer Support. The funds were raised as part of ‘The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning’, the annual initiative sees Macmillan ask people from all over the UK to host their own coffee mornings to raise funds for the charity. Staff from the People and Organisational Development (P&OD) team arranged a Macmillan coffee morning at Paisley Campus and thanks to the support of colleagues from across the University they managed to raise £2000 for the important charity. Caroline Baynham, one of the key co-ordinators of the fundraising event, said: “A dear friend and colleague of ours recently lost her battle to cancer and we all thought that this event was the perfect way to do our small part and raise valuable funds to help in the fight against cancer. We were delighted by the fantastic response we received from colleagues who were keen to raise important funds for the charity.” UWS are proud to support MacMillan and many staff were involved on the day providing a large array of home baking that was shared throughout offices on the day (and a few days later!) A great deal of time and effort was put into this and this is reflected in the sum raised. As of June 2013, there were 3,942 Macmillan nurse posts across the UK, both in hospitals and in the community. All Macmillan nurses are registered with at least five years' experience, including two or more years in cancer or palliative care. They have completed specialist courses in pain and symptom management, and psychological support. Most of the nurses work in NHS hospitals or the community. A small number work in hospices and private hospitals, but do not charge for their services. As specialists they do not routinely undertake nursing care but are there to assess complex needs, give advice to other healthcare professionals and support people with cancer to understand their treatment options. for further information visit the MacMillan website at:http://www.macmillan.org.uk

UWS hosts Digital Commonwealth showcase event

UWS recently hosted an event at its Ayr Campus to celebrate the success of its Digital Commonwealth project.

The event, which took place on Thursday 8 October, saw a number of short speeches by key players involved in the Digital Commonwealth project, culminating in a special screening of a documentary which chronicles the success of the project. The University’s Digital Commonwealth project was funded by The Big Lottery Fund and ran from September 2013 to June 2015. It was established before the Glasgow Commonwealth Games to develop, support and curate a Scotland-wide creative and community-led response in the lead up to, during and after Glasgow 2014. The documentary – which is available to view via youtube – covers the four key elements of the Digital Commonwealth project: schools, community media, creative voices and the #citizen2014 alternative media centre. It was produced and edited by Peter Murray, Community Outreach Manager for the Media Trust in Scotland. The ambition of the Digital Commonwealth project was to enhance the capacity of individuals and groups to use freely available mobile digital (and social) media tools and techniques to ensure their voices are heard in a saturated media landscape. The Digital Commonwealth project focused on lowering the threshold for involvement for individuals and groups so that they could be empowered to exploit creative tools and technologies to tell their stories, digitally. The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games provided a unique opportunity to enable (and support) individuals and communities to explore and articulate their own stories. The Games brought attention to issues of global citizenship and identity as a focal point and the project provided a space for a conversation to take place (and be recorded) that included individuals and communities less well represented in mainstream media narratives. Professor David McGillivray of University of the West of Scotland’s School of Media, Culture and Society was the project lead on the Digital Commonwealth project. Professor McGillivray said: “We are delighted to have hosted this showcase event which celebrated the success of our Digital Commonwealth project. “The documentary which was screened at this event is the culmination of our successful project, reflecting powerful stories produced by our project participants and partners. “The project has met its key aim of enhancing the capacity of individuals and groups to use digital media tools and techniques to ensure their voices are heard even without access to mainstream media platforms. Alongside a digital storytelling handbook, a creative writing anthology and an album of co-produced songs, this documentary acts as a fitting finale to this successful project.” For more information regarding the Digital Commonwealth project visit www.digitalcommonwealth.co.uk

SMILE- new online resource through UWS Moodle

Welcome to SMILE

The academic study methods required to earn a top-class degree can be a daunting step-up from other educational experiences, and still mean little without then applying the skills that employers commonly look for.

That's where SMILE comes in. The SMILE package has been tailored to help you get the most out of your time studying here at the University of the West of Scotland, allowing you to enhance the academic skills you’ll need to succeed - both at university and beyond.

Don't let your studies get stuck in a rut. Enjoy university and SMILE!

Each section is broken down into bitesize chunks for you to work at your own pace, when you need the help most.  At UWS we are here to help our students and our commitment to you is our number one priority.

Here are the areas that Smile covers:

·         Making the transition- different types of learning styles, finding your learning styles and the challenges of University life

·         Understanding the Question- What are you being asked to do? Answering the question and knowing your audience

·         Organising your time- being aware and realistic, making plans, action planning, prioritisation and motivation

·         Gathering information- why do we need information, what is information, what does information look like and information timeline

·         Finding information- what information is needed, planning a search, library resources and other resources

·         Evaluating information- why is evaluation important?, relevance, reliability and validity and currency and accuracy

·         Managing information- acquiring information, storing and organising your resources

·         Plagiarism- what is plagiarism?, originality, types of plagiarism and how to avoid plagiarism

·         Harvard referencing- what is referencing?, why do we do it? Citing, reference lists and bibliography’s

·         Numerical referencing- what is referencing?, why do we do it? Citing, footnote/endnote lists and layouts for your footnote/endnote bibliography

·         Communicating information- writing skills, oral communication and electronic communication

·         Your online presence- what is your Digital footprint?, personal and professional branding, managing your footprint and netiquette

To access this excellent resource, log into your Moodle account and get started.