12 November 2009
Dundee Students get into new pyjamas
The new pyjamas campaign to raise funds for the new Sick Kids hospital in Edinburgh is supporting the University of Dundee’s unique new intern certificate - the Scottish Internship Graduate Certificate (SIGC).
The new pyjamas campaign will offer a six month placement to three participants in the SIGC course every year. The placements will offer students an opportunity to learn the business of fundraising, event management and marketing in an increasingly competitive environment.
The University of Dundee is the first university in the UK to offer graduates an internship certificate. The Certificate will allow them to gain practical experience in the workplace, which is essential if they are to compete in the current jobs market.
The new SIGC comes at a time when the Low Pay Commission is to investigate whether interns are being exploited by public and private sector employers.
There are concerns that graduates who cannot find employment are working unpaid simply to gain work experience. The new SIGC will provide interns with a recognised qualification at the end of a course which includes paid employment.
Nairn Marnie is one of the postgraduate students on the SIGC course, with a six month placement at the new pyjamas campaign office in Edinburgh.
Nairn says: ‘I am very much looking forward to starting my six month internship at the new pyjamas campaign. What they are trying to achieve is remarkable and a worthy cause which I am privileged to be a part of.
‘I also feel that the experience gained whilst working there, in conjunction with the training and skills provided through participation in the SIGC course, will be invaluable with regards to enhancing my future career prospects.’
Graham Nicholson, director of the Careers Service at the University of Dundee, says: ‘We’re delighted that the new pyjamas campaign, which is at the forefront of third sector activity in Scotland, is joining us in this innovative way forward for the employability of Scottish students and graduates.’
The new pyjamas campaign to raise £15million for the new Sick Kids hospital is the biggest capital campaign in Scotland at present. The Sick Kids provides world class healthcare for children and young people from all over Scotland and the funds raised by the campaign will be used to buy state of the art capital equipment which is not yet part of standard NHS budgets.
Elaine McGonigle, director of the new pyjamas campaign, says: ‘At the new pyjamas campaign we have a strong belief that we should embrace and assist graduates entering the workplace. We want to support this initiative in a meaningful way and believe that working with the new pyjamas campaign will give interns a good opportunity to see and experience the workings of a charity.
‘The new pyjamas campaign will benefit from the creative input of young people who are keen to demonstrate their skills and to have those skills and ideas taken seriously. Our interns will not be coffee making, post fetching ‘juniors’ - they will be important assets in a tight knit and hardworking team.
‘When they leave after six months’ internship, they will have gained a range of skills and experience that will be of great benefit to them in their future careers.’
Students who have an ordinary degree, or equivalent, from a UK university or college are eligible to apply for a place on the SIGC course. Further information is available from the Careers Service, University of Dundee, telephone: 01382 384 017.
To find out more about the new pyjamas campaign, look at the website www.newpyjamas.org or join the new pyjamas networking site at www.network.newpyjamas.org.
For further information, please contact Patricia Hess on 07 500 829 226
Notes for editors
Funds raised by the new pyjamas campaign will pay for medical equipment, facilities for patients and their families, research and training at Scotland’s new Royal Hospital for Sick Children (Sick Kids) in Edinburgh.
The Sick Kids, built in 1860, was the first children’s hospital in Scotland.
The Sick Kids treats 100,000 children and young people from all over Scotland every year
One in every four children will be admitted to hospital before reaching 14 years old
The new pyjamas campaign relies solely on voluntary donations.
For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07800 581902 |
