Category: The Study Skills service

Now Recruiting: Bristol Futures Student Advocates 2024/25

Posted on by tim.worth

Be part of a dynamic team promoting and delivering Study Skills support and Bristol Futures in the 2024/25 academic year. 

As a Bristol Futures Student Advocate you’ll be an ambassador for Study Skills and the other elements of Bristol Futures, promoting them to members of the University and public alike. You’ll also support fellow students by running Study Skills drop-ins and workshops, staffing pop-up stands, attending events and having input into online learning resources and more. You’ll develop skills in organisation, teaching, support, public speaking and team working, all of which will be valuable for your future career development. 

We’re looking for applications from any student at the University of Bristol to join our Advocate team for the 2024/25 academic year, whether you’re undergraduate or postgraduate, home or international, as long as you’ll be a registered student in 2024/25. We’ll train you in all the skills you need and work with you throughout the year to ensure you develop and gain the best experience possible from working with us. We are also seeking students with skills in coding to assist at our weekly Coding Clubs. 

Bristol Futures is a university-wide initiative which enhances and enriches education at the University of Bristol, ensuring that students have the skills, knowledge and attributes to succeed in their lives at university and beyond. These skills, knowledge and attributes lie within three themes: Innovation and Enterprise, Global Citizenship and Sustainable Futures. For more information visit https://www.bristol.ac.uk/bristol-futures/ 

Core duties of the Advocate Role:  

  • Act as an ambassador within your faculty to promote Study Skills and Bristol Futures. 
  • Deliver one-to-one peer support sessions to students for Study Skills. These may take the form of drop-in sessions at the Study Skills Hub in Senate House, or peer support in regular study groups.  
  • Facilitate workshops on Study Skills. Workshops may run face-to-face or online. 
  • Advocates with skills in coding may assist with our weekly Coding Clubs.
  • Attend and assist in organizing promotional activities (such as pop up stands and lecture ‘shout-outs’).
  • Assist in utilizing social media to promote Bristol Futures’ activities and events.  
  • Assist in gathering feedback from students and academics in your faculty to help develop and shape Study Skills and Bristol Futures.  
  • Meet regularly with your Study Skills faculty tutor. 
  • Work collaboratively with Bristol Futures staff to help develop Bristol Futures events and resources.  
  • Co-create marketing materials and help publicize Bristol Futures. 
  • Additional activities will be required as the role continues to develop.  

Benefits of the role:  

  • This is a paid role (see wage details below). 
  • You will be provided with comprehensive training that will equip you with the knowledge and skills to carry out this role. Ongoing training will be provided throughout the duration of your contract as the role develops.  
  • Work experience to enhance your CV i.e. marketing, group-work delivery, time management, leading and influencing. 
  • An opportunity to shape the development of an ambitious, innovative university-wide project. 
  • The source of a reference for future employment / LinkedIn recommendations. 
  • This role can provide evidence that will contribute to the Bristol PLUS Award / Bristol PLUS Outstanding Award. (All team members are encouraged to participate in this award).  

Wage:  

Advocates are paid a wage of £10.90 per hour. This role attracts a holiday increment of 12.07% per hour (so total paid per hour is £12.21). Workshop delivery (expected to start in the autumn after training) is paid at £17.76ph, (£19.90ph with holiday pay). Wages are paid monthly in arrears via the Temporary Staffing Service (TSS).   

Hours / Contract: 

  • Working hours will be discussed at interview, but will range from 0 – 6 hours per week (you will not be expected to work during University holidays or assessment periods)  
  • Training will begin in September 2024 and continue throughout the year. Contracts will begin in September 2024.
  • Please note that to be eligible for this role you must be a registered student at the University of Bristol in the 2024/25 academic year.

How to apply: 

Please apply with a CV and covering letter outlining your suitability for the role. You can find our advice on writing a cover letter here.

Submit your application to Dr Tim Worth (Study Skills Coordinator) at tim.worth@bristol.ac.uk by 11.59pm on Friday 22 March 2024. 

Further information: 

If you require clarification of the above information or have further questions about the role, please contact study-skills@bristol.ac.uk 

Closing date: 11:59pm Friday 22 March 2024 

Provisional interview dates: Monday 15 – Friday 26 April 2024.

Cover letters written by ChatGPT and other Artificial Intelligence programmes: the results, dangers, and what to do if you’ve submitted one

Posted on by tim.worth

Please note: this article was been updated in February 2024 to include details for our latest round of advocate recruitment for the 2024/25 academic year.

We’re recruiting! See this blog post for information about becoming a Bristol Futures Student Advocate for 2024/25. Then read on to find out what we’re looking for in a cover letter, a key part of your job application.

We know job applications and cover letters can be difficult to write. Sometimes the pressure and stress leads people to look for shortcuts. In recent months we’ve seen an increase in people using Artificial Intelligence programmes such as ChatGPT to help them write their University assignments. Some may also be tempted to use these programmes to write their applications and cover letters for jobs like the Bristol Futures Advocate roles.

Let’s take a look at some of the potential weaknesses of cover letters written by AI, and think about what you can do to write a successful application yourself instead.

Cover letters written by AI programs can often be:

  • Generic: they use similar phrases and sentences, which we then see repeated across multiple cover letters. This results in cover letters which are…
  • Impersonal: they do not tell us much about you as a candidate and as a person. Why do you really want to apply for this role? What is it about the job that interests you?
  • Unevidenced: they make claims for possessing skills, abilities and experience but don’t give us real examples or show how you gained them.
  • Plagiarised: in some instances AI programs copy sentences word for word from the job advert. This leaves an impression of an uncreative and potentially dishonest candidate.

What we look for in successful cover letters:

  • Good cover letters are personal. They introduce us to you as a candidate and as a person, telling us about what attracted you to this job, and how it aligns with your skills, interests and experience.
  • They are also evidenced, giving us specific examples of where you have gained experience, and actual evidence for the skills that you possess.
  • Finally, they are informed: they engage with the themes and elements of Study Skills and Bristol Futures beyond just the summaries given in the job advert. This shows us that you have researched the role: you’ve looked into what we do as a service and what the role entails. Your decision to apply then demonstrates your confidence that you are well suited for the Advocate position.

You can find more guidance on writing good cover letters on this page from the University Careers Service.

What to do if you have submitted an application written by an AI

If you have used an AI program such as ChatGPT to write your cover letter for the Bristol Futures Student Advocate position we strongly urge you to reconsider and potentially resubmit your application. Even if you haven’t used ChatGPT you may find the following steps useful:

  1. First of all review your cover letter and CV and think about the points we’ve listed above. Are you demonstrating to us who you are as a unique individual candidate? Have you provided specific evidence for your skills and experience?
  2. You may then want to revise or rewrite your cover letter to make improvements.
  3. Finally, you are welcome to resubmit your application to us. Please be assured that we will not take this as an admission or indication that you have used AI to write your original application. You will be considered as a candidate on the merit of your latest application alone. We will be accepting applications until 11.59pm on Friday 22 March 2024.

If you have any questions about the Student Advocate role or the application process you can contact us at study-skills@bristol.ac.uk. If you want to further improve your job application skills remember too that the University Careers Service will be very happy to meet with you and provide support.

Now Recruiting: Bristol Futures Student Advocates 2023/24

Posted on by study.skills

Two students wearing Bristol Futures students sitting behind a table. They are talking to a student with their back to us.

Be part of a dynamic team promoting and delivering Bristol Futures in the 2023/24 academic year. 

As a Bristol Futures Student Advocate you’ll be an ambassador for Study Skills and the other elements of Bristol Futures, promoting them to members of the University and public alike. You’ll also support fellow students by running Study Skills drop-ins and workshops, staffing pop-up stands, attending events and having input into online learning resources and more. You’ll develop skills in organisation, teaching, support, public speaking and team working, all of which will be valuable for your future career development. 

We’re looking for applications from any student at Bristol to join our Advocate team for the 2023/24 academic year, whether you’re undergraduate or postgraduate, home or international, as long as you’ll be a registered student in 2023/24. We’ll train you in all the skills you need and work with you throughout the year to ensure you develop and gain the best experience possible from working with us. We are also seeking students with skills in coding to assist at our weekly Coding Clubs. 

Bristol Futures is a university-wide initiative which enhances and enriches education at the University of Bristol, ensuring that students have the skills, knowledge and attributes to succeed in their lives at university and beyond. These skills, knowledge and attributes lie within three themes: Innovation and Enterprise, Global Citizenship and Sustainable Futures. For more information visit https://www.bristol.ac.uk/bristol-futures/ 

Core duties of the Advocate Role:  

  • Act as an ambassador within your faculty to promote Study Skills and Bristol Futures. 
  • Deliver one-to-one peer support sessions to students for Study Skills. These may take the form of drop-in sessions at the Study Skills Hub in Senate House, or peer support in regular study groups.  
  • Lead workshops on Study Skills. Workshops may run face-to-face or online. 
  • Advocates with skills in coding may assist with our weekly Coding Clubs.
  • Attend and assist in organizing promotional activities (such as pop up stands and lecture ‘shout-outs’).
  • Assist in utilizing social media to promote Bristol Futures’ activities and events.  
  • Assist in gathering feedback from students and academics in your faculty to help develop and shape Study Skills and Bristol Futures.  
  • Meet regularly with your Study Skills faculty tutor. 
  • Work collaboratively with Bristol Futures staff to help develop Bristol Futures events and resources.  
  • Co-create marketing materials and help publicize Bristol Futures. 
  • Additional activities will be required as the role continues to develop.  

Benefits of the role:  

  • This is a paid role (see wage details below). 
  • You will be provided with comprehensive training that will equip you with the knowledge and skills to carry out this role. Ongoing training will be provided throughout the duration of your contract as the role develops.  
  • Work experience to enhance your CV i.e. marketing, group-work delivery, time management, leading and influencing. 
  • An opportunity to shape the development of an ambitious, innovative university-wide project. 
  • The source of a reference for future employment / LinkedIn recommendations.  
  • This role can provide evidence that will contribute to the Bristol PLUS Award / Bristol PLUS Outstanding Award. (All team members are encouraged to participate in this award).  

Wage:  

Advocates are paid a wage of £10.49 per hour. This role attracts a holiday increment of 12.07% per hour (so total paid per hour is £11.76). Workshop delivery (expected to start in the autumn after training) is paid at £16.27ph, (£18.23ph with holiday pay). Wages are paid monthly in arrears via the Temporary Staffing Service (TSS).   

Hours / Contract: 

  • Working hours will be discussed at interview, but will range from 0 – 6 hours per week (you will not be expected to work during University holidays or assessment periods)  
  • Training will begin in September 2023 and continue throughout the year. Contracts will begin in September 2023.
  • Please note that to be eligible for this role you must be a registered student at the University of Bristol in the 2023/24 academic year.

How to apply: 

Please apply with a CV and covering letter outlining your suitability for the role. You can find our advice on writing a cover letter here.

Submit your application to Dr Tim Worth (Study Skills Coordinator) at tim.worth@bristol.ac.uk by 11.59pm on Friday 24 March. 

Further information: 

If you require clarification of the above information or have further questions about the role, please contact study-skills@bristol.ac.uk 

Closing date: 11:59pm Friday 24 March 2023 

Provisional interview dates: Monday 17 – Friday 28 April 2023 

Meet the Advocates in the Health Sciences team

Posted on by study.skills

Emma, the author of the blog postby Emma Ford, Bristol Futures Advocate

I am very excited to introduce you to your new Health Science Bristol Futures Student Advocates! We are a small group of six, very friendly, current University of Bristol students. This year we hope to share our years of experience with you. You can participate by signing up for our workshops, attending our peer support sessions, and reading our blog. So, watch this space!

 

Carys James

  • Year and course: Veterinary Science – 4th year
  • Fun fact: I have a pet African pygmy hedgehog
  • Study tip: Make sure you go back over lectures throughout the whole course of the year instead of leaving it until a few weeks before exams to cover all of the content. This will keep your memory refreshed and improve it long term.

Sina Gilannejad

  • Year and course: Dentistry – 5th year
  • Fun fact: In first year I featured in the dental school’s YouTube video “a day in the life of a Bristol dental student” and now 33,000 have seen my terrible haircut at the time…
  • Study tip: Ask for help and advice from the older years! They’ve been in your position, got the grades to prove it and can give you pointers on how to pass with flying colours!

Molly Jackson

  • Year and course: 2nd year PhD student – translational health sciences
  • Fun fact: I sold a necklace to the comedian Jon Richardson when I had a job at a jewellery shop.
  • Study tip: Split down your revision into 5 steps to help manage your workload: record, reduce, recite, reflect, and review!

Chelsie Bailey

  • Year and course: final year vet.
  • Fun fact: I have a first degree in animal behaviour and welfare from Bristol.
  • Study tip: Study over longer period (e.g., months) instead of cramming lots into a few weeks to allow my very dyslexic brain to have time to process it and understand.

Jess Mounty

  • Year and course: 4th year Veterinary Science
  • Fun fact: Before starting at Bristol, I studied Zoology at UCL
  • Study tip: I have found it helpful to treat University like a full-time job, sticking to 9am-5pm working hours

Emma Ford

  • Year and course: 4th year veterinary science
  • Fun fact: No one can ever guess where I am from because my accent is quite uncharacteristic from growing up in international schools.
  • Study tip: Make your own questions when going over your notes! It helps your brain work, and the better you get at it, the more your questions will start to resemble the ones you could get on your exams! It’s especially helpful if you can get other students involved so you make a database of questions! It’s a great resource to build over the course of the year so when you get to exams you have a lot of questions to practice!

 

You can find current drop-in times & locations for Health Science students on our Peer Support page on Blackboard.

 

 

 

 

Meet the Advocates in the Social Sciences and Law team

Posted on by study.skills

by Michelle Kafe, Bristol Futures Advocate

This year the Study Skills department has some amazing new and returning Student Advocates. The Social Sciences and Law division has a dedicated team of students, all of whom are more than excited to dive into the year ahead.

Up first, we have Michelle Kafe, who is a second year LLB Law student. The aspect of Law she most enjoys is finding and applying as much legislation as she can to support her arguments. As a first-time advocate, Michelle has already had great experiences teaching workshops and looks forward to further engaging with this in the future.

Corrin Bramley is in her third year of postgraduate research study at Bristol, working towards a PhD in Politics with a project about political leadership in the United States. An interesting fact about Corrin is that she is quite the voyager and has lived in multiple places across England and Scotland -not including her exciting year abroad in California! Corrin most enjoys the independent nature of her studies and has a deep appreciation for how this allows her to apply the skills from previous education into creating her very own passion-project.

Ali Strokova is a third-year student in BSc Education Studies. This is Ali’s first year as a Student Advocate and she has already shown her enthusiasm and a readiness to support her peers and show them that they are not alone in their educational struggles. A fun fact about Ali is that she likes to microwave her ice-cream before eating it!

Anaya PriceAnaya Price is from Trinidad and Tobago and is in her second year of undergraduate LLB Law. Anaya credits the pleasure of her course to her specifically chosen modules -namely Family Law, Medical Law and Crime Justice and Society- which she feels have real-life appeal and are expressed daily in our society. As a first-time advocate, she is excited to meet new people, help, and also learn from others.

 

 

Born and raised in Italy, our next advocate, Manshika Arjoon, is a third year Economics and Finance student. This is Manshika’s second year of being a Student Advocate and she delights in her ability to share her university experiences and insights with other students. She also looks forward to holding in-person sessions, as this was not possible in her last year.

Tala YouhanaTala Youhana has joined the Student Advocate team this year and looks forward to being part of a friendly team and community of students, as well as engaging with the breadth of activities we have planned. As a second-year law student, Tala values the distinction between black-letter law and the open nature of its applications to society. Tala has already shown her enthusiasm via her involvement in writing articles and running workshops for the Study Skills team. A fun fact about Tara is that she has never won a game of Monopoly!

 

Evidently, the entire team is excited to begin the new academic year, take on new challenges, and provide support for our peers. This fantastic group of students -and a few more- are ready to run workshops, host drop-in sessions and lead tutorials in the most encouraging and useful way possible.

You can find current drop-in times & locations for Social Science & Law students on our Peer Support page on Blackboard.

 

 

 

 

Meet the Advocates in the Life Sciences team

Posted on by study.skills

We are Bristol Futures Advocates from the faculty of Life Sciences. Our role is to support you in your studies and help you expand your skills.

Aisling MahonyAisling Mahony

Hi, I’m Aisling! I’m currently in my third year at Bristol studying Biochemistry and this is my second year as an advocate on the Life Sciences team. I decided to work in the Bristol Futures team after the pandemic caused a switch to online learning. I had used the Personal Development Plan throughout my first year of university to help plan my growth both within my studies and in my career journey, so I understood how beneficial Bristol Futures and Study Skills can be to students. My experience as an advocate has been really rewarding and I’ve really enjoyed working with other advocates in the Life Sciences team to deliver workshops and run peer support sessions.

Breanna Goff

Hello, my name is Breanna and I am a third-year Psychology student. I have been working as a student advocate for a month now and I am loving it so far. I was interested in becoming an advocate as I wanted to contribute to the ever-developing learning environment we offer to Bristol students. The job itself is also really flexible for anyone looking for a job within uni. Since being a student advocate, I have worked with the amazing Life Sciences team to create workshops and develop future plans for Study Skills as a whole. Not only has this been an enjoyable experience so far but it has also allowed me to refine my own study skills to apply to my degree.

Carol HuangCarol Huang

Hey, I’m Carol. I’m a year 2 Plant Sciences student from the School of Biological Sciences. Throughout my first year Study Skills tutorials have helped me break down reports and essays, it really helps to have a look from a generic perspective to stop me from getting carried away in subject knowledge and forgetting the basics.

 

 

Emily Thomas

Hello, my name is Emily and I’m a year 3 student in Biomedical Sciences. I started working as an advocate this year, I thought it would be a great way to develop professional skills whilst contributing to the wider university community. I really valued the opportunities offered by Bristol Futures as a whole such as the Bristol Plus Award and found the online resources on Blackboard have some helpful tips on how to adjust to university-style learning and learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. This made me keen to get involved as I already had experience with Bristol Futures as a student.

Martina MattioliMartina Mattioli

Hey, I’m Martina! I began my journey as a student advocate in September and it’s been a great experience so far! It’s really rewarding to be able to help students both in drop-in sessions and workshops. I really enjoy the sense of community Bristol Futures tries to build; it isn’t always easy to feel a part of something at university because there is so much going on. I decided to become a student advocate because during my first year Study Skills tutors helped me a lot in my studies and adjusting not only to studying at university but also online learning and I wanted to be able to do the same for other students.

Jasmin Rahman

Hello, I’m Jasmin, I’m in my 3rd year of Cellular and Molecular Medicine. I have been a Bristol Futures advocate for a year and since starting my advocate role I have definitely become a more self-aware learner. It’s taught me to experiment with my learning rather than sticking to old revision methods as a force of habit. I’ve really enjoyed engaging with so many different students last year and I’m looking forward to doing more in-person advocate work this year!

Sabrina ChoongSabrina Choong

Hi, I’m Sabrina! I’m a 3rd-year Biochemistry student. This is my second year as a Bristol Futures advocate, I joined because I wanted to try something new and to feel what being a part of the university community is like as not just a student. It’s been really enjoyable being able to meet new people and help other students like myself integrate better into university life. As a student what I found the most helpful thing about Study Skills are the workshops. If you don’t use any other services or features in Study Skills, I urge you to try out workshops you think might be useful to you because it has helped me immensely throughout university.

 

Book a workshop with us or come find us at our Drop-in sessions from 1pm-2pm on:

  • Mondays online
  • Wednesday in the Biomedical Sciences Café
  • Friday in the atrium of the Life Sciences building

We look forward to meeting you!

You can find current drop-in times & locations for Life Science students on our Peer Support page on Blackboard.

 

What to expect from an online Study Skills workshop

Posted on by study.skills

Photo of Tala, the author of the blog postby Tala Youhana, Law student and Bristol Futures Advocate

Whilst it is now second nature for groups to arrange meetings remotely, this has hardly been common practice for long. In fact, for many, these online venues can still feel like unfamiliar territory. “Is my mic switched on? Will my Wi-Fi hold?”, you probably resonate with these if you are no stranger to using Zoom, Teams, Collaborate etc.

Nonetheless, negative connotations aside, online workshops can have numerous plus-sides that shouldn’t be overlooked, and a good way of experiencing them first-hand is by attending an online study skills workshop. So, what exactly can you expect from an online study skills workshop?

  1. Guidance on using Collaborate

Firstly, the hosts will often assess whether anyone is having any issues with using the platform and are always happy to help if you are! These sessions are often held via Collaborate and login instructions would be provided beforehand.

  1. Unpacking of the intended learning outcomes

To ensure the most productive outcomes for the session, it is common for hosts to assess what participants’ want to achieve by attending the workshop. A slide will normally appear detailing the objective intended outcomes, but feel free to contribute your targets here, as even if the workshop may not wholly deal with them, your contribution would be considered by the team for a future session! 

  1. Lots of questions – no wrong answers

A workshop, unlike a talk or a lecture, is completed only insofar as the participants are responsive with the host- therefore, it is as much your contribution as it is the facilitator’s. Most importantly, it is an environment where you can expect no wrong answers- a safe space to exchange your personal experiences and ideas, because by doing so, it will yield optimum results for you and others in the session. These discussion-based skill-building exercises are unique because they result in a bank of resources and ideas, and it will be up to you to simply find out what works for you!

  1. Plenty of live engagement with the option of anonymity

The unique aspect of an online-based study skills workshop is that tools such as Mentimeter, Padlet, and polls truly shine in this environment. The ability to retain some anonymity throughout the session whilst still being fully engaged makes online study skills workshops unique in sharpening the skills you are looking for. For me, these tools really helped promote reflective and critical engagement with my study habits and routines.

  1. A welcoming environment

I think it’s crucial to reiterate what a friendly and welcoming environment you can expect from these workshops. They are open to all students and are designed in a way that is accessible to those who speak English as foreign language, have learning difficulties, or are still getting started on intensifying a particular skill.

You now, hopefully, have a better idea of what to expect from an online study skills workshop, but the best way to really get that insight, is probably to try it out yourself!