Celebrating Leeds volunteers

National Volunteers' Week is an opportunity to celebrate volunteers and give thanks for all they do.

Leeds volunteers offer students a unique insight into a career and can help them navigate life after Leeds. They can draw on their own experiences to inspire students and give them opportunities they wouldn't otherwise have.

This year, we're highlighting just some of the ways our alumni and supporter community have given their time, knowledge and expertise to our University community.

Read on to discover how our volunteers make a difference at international recruitment events, through 30-minute mentoring sessions, at careers talks and events, on the Alumni Leadership Mentoring Programme, and through the Michael Beverly Innovation Fellowship.

In the video below, Professor Jeff Grabill, Deputy Vice Chancellor Student Education, and Ella Williams, Activities and Opportunities Officer, Leeds University Union, discuss the impact volunteers have on the student experience.

They say a big thank you from everyone here at the University.

Leeds volunteers are a global community who use their knowledge and experience to impact the lives of both current and future Leeds students. One way they do this is by attending recruitment fairs and offer holder events.

At these events, our alumni answer questions and ease concerns about moving to Leeds for study. Who better to do this - after all they’ve been there, done that and got the T-shirt.

Thank you to our wonderful volunteers all over the world. Your passion for Leeds is truly remarkable.

Ujjval Lakhotia recently volunteered at an offer holder event in Ahmedabad, India. Read about his experience below.

Engaging with the prospective students and offer holders was truly heart-warming. Their enthusiasm and curiosity about life at Leeds reminded me of the excitement I felt when I first set foot on campus.

I shared stories about the vibrant student community, the rich academic environment, and the endless opportunities for personal and professional growth. It felt like passing on the torch to the next generation of Leeds students.

Not only are these events a great way to give your time to the University, they’re also a fantastic way to reminisce about life at Leeds, and reflect on all that’s come after.

We talked about our memories with Leeds - from the countless nights at the libraries to the effort of waking up early to secure your favourite spot.

It was a nostalgic journey down memory lane, filled with laughter, memories, and conversations about the good old days. What made the evening even more special was the chance to connect with potential students and offer holders, eager to embark on their own Leeds adventure.

The evening was not just about reminiscing, though. It was also a celebration of our achievements since graduating from Leeds. As alumni, we had the chance to inspire and motivate the potential students, assuring them that their time at Leeds would lay the foundation for a bright future.

As an alumnus, I am proud to be part of the University of Leeds family. The event reignited the flame of my Leeds spirit, and I am reminded once again of the impact this remarkable institution has on its students. Here's to the past, present, and future Leeds students—may your journey be filled with cherished memories and endless success!

Mentoring opportunities come in all shapes and sizes here at Leeds. The 30-minute mentoring programme offers students from the University Plus Programme a 30-minute one-on-one session with a mentor.

The mentor might have experience in a particular sector, or can share knowledge of professional skills such as networking, decision-making, confidence building, and interviews.

We asked Clare Himmer, CEO, Berkely Re UK, about her experiences on our 30-minute mentoring scheme. We also spoke with one of Clare's mentees, Abbey Tsang, second year BA Business Management with Marketing, about the opportunity to connect with an industry professional.

By giving talks and attending careers events, volunteers can offer students an insight into industry that they wouldn't otherwise have.

Navigating life after Leeds can be difficult - knowing what to do and how to get there can be overwhelming for students approaching the end of their time at Leeds. That's where our wonderful community of volunteers come in.

Matt Wheeler, Digital Director at madeby.studio, is one such volunteer. Matt presented at InLeeds, a careers event for students wanting to stay in Leeds after graduating (and who could blame them!).

In collaboration with Leeds Beckett University, Leeds Trinity University, Leeds Arts University and Leeds Conservatoire, this event gives final year students the chance to learn more about employers in Leeds and the wider West Yorkshire region.

Matt describes his experience below:

As part of the InLeeds event, I have the pleasure of giving a presentation to soon-to-be graduates from the Leeds universities on how to get into the creative industry within Leeds. Volunteering my expertise within the creative industry enables me to highlight all that Leeds and madeby.studio has to offer.

As a graduate from the University, having this sort of opportunities was great to help me find my way. This volunteering is a way to give back to my university and the past, present and future students from Leeds. I hope my volunteering helps individuals find their way into employment and to figure out what career path they want to take in both the short and long term.

As well as helping out students at Leeds, as a small scale company, we’re always looking at opportunities to reach out to the creative talent in Leeds. Many of our current and past employees have been talented alumni from Leeds. We want to continue providing graduate opportunities in the future.

The InLeeds event was a brilliant opportunity for us to showcase opportunities for graduates in a creative space and highlight our future job opportunities.

The Alumni Leadership Mentoring Programme matches senior professionals from a broad range of industries with students who aspire to become leaders in their field.

Not only can mentors offer a unique insight into their industry, they can also provide opportunities that students would otherwise not have access to, such as help with applications and interviews, and opportunities to connect with others in their network. Being alumni, they have a unique bond with their student, and can truly understand their experiences.

We asked some of this years mentees about the impact an alumni mentor has had on them.

Molly (Fine Arts)

My mentor has really enhanced my degree experience. Knowing the places I could go to look for funding and different options I had was really helpful.

She has been able to introduce me to networks in the area - she's introduced me to so many people, it's been fantastic.

Otto (Economics and Geography)

The mentoring experience helped me understand which career I want to go into, and then using that I can think what aspects of my degree are most relevant to my career.

It's helped me be confident when speaking to people who are more experienced. It's helped me realise I'm not that different to these people.

It's been encouraging to know that I'm not alone, I'm not an outsider.

Vonnie (Mechanical engineering)

I think having a mentor to guide me in the process of going from university to work really helps. I gained a lot of knowledge about how everything works in the UK and how the recruitment process works.

It helped me gain a lot of confidence in deciding what I want to do in the future in my career. I'm really thankful for all the support and the networking my mentor has done with me.

Valentina (International Business and Marketing)

Being part of the mentoring scheme help to reduce the imposter syndrome that lots of students have. My mentor has been a great ally, a great person to talk to and a great person to give me words of encouragement.

I'm very thankful and I appreciate their time and vast experience.

The Michael Beverley Innovation Fellowship helps the next generation of Leeds academics progress their research into new, practical ideas with real benefits to society - and each fellow benefits from three trusted mentors.

The programme, funded through a £1 million donation from Leeds alum and Yorkshire business leader Michael Beverley, is designed to support early career researchers achieve impactful research by encouraging cross-disciplinary collaboration, developing external partnerships and exploring commercialisation.

Each Fellow works on a project linked to their research area of interest.  As well as funding they have access to an inspiring network of trusted business experts (often alumni), senior academics, and peers. Each fellow is matched with a mentor from each of these groups, and all four people meet at the same time - making Leeds the second organisation in the UK licensed to use the MIT Venture Mentoring Service model.

Mentors support fellows to implement their innovation and entrepreneurial plans and accelerate their professional development.

We asked Dr Suren Gomtsian, Associate Professor in Business Law, to tell us about his experience as both a mentee and mentor on the programme.

What impact did the Michael Beverley Innovation Fellowship (MBIF) have on you as a mentee?

I went into the MBIF programme with an expectation that my non-university mentors would help with connecting my work with industry experts. But it was much more than that.

Each of the regular meetings with mentors was a brainstorming exercise. The experience and the practice-oriented perspective of mentors generated new ideas unexplored in the literature I was consulting. Also, my mentors constantly challenged me to be bolder and reach out to different audiences. They were very generous with their time. We had regular meetings for progress updates, they guided me on how to pitch results to non-academic audiences and helped me to keep my project on track.

What impact did the Michael Beverley Innovation Fellowship have on you as a mentor? 

My main motivation for returning to the programme as a peer-mentor was to continue working with external mentors and share what I experienced during the Fellowship. I continue to learn from them, and this makes me a better mentor in the process.  Observing what experienced mentors do is a way to learn what mentees need and develop as a mentor.

How has MBIF benefited you? 

MBIF has many positives, but I want to highlight the focus on personal development. Importantly, this focus is combined with a very flexible approach. It's up to each fellow to decide which skill they want to develop and improve. The programme coordinators will do their best to find experts and offer resources that can help in achieving this goal.