ACS Blog

2010 National ACS Survey – iPad Competition

Thanks to everyone who completed the 2010 National ACS Survey. We had over 600 completed entries from ACS members, covering 42 universities across the United Kingdom.

Now, it’s competition time… One survey entrant will walk away with a brand new Apple iPad on Monday the 6^th of September during the 2010 ACS Leadership Summit taking place at London Bridge.

We went through a long list of eligible entrants in line with the competition’s terms & conditions to short list the entries to 3 very lucky students. Meet the short listed entrants!

Short-list #1

Name: Gabriel Owusu (19)
University: University of Brunel
ACS: Brunel ACS
Year of Study: 2^nd year
Course: Economics & Politics

Short-list #2

Name: Edesili Obetoh (19)
University: University of Manchester
ACS: Manchester ACS
Year of Study: 2^nd year
Course: Law

Short-list #3

Name: Zainab Asunramu (21)
University: University of Leicester
ACS: Leicester ACS
Year of Study: 3^rd year
Course: English

All three short listed entrants have received an exclusive invitation to the 2010 ACS Leadership Summit where a lucky winner will be announced. Look out for the competition winner on the ACS blog. The full survey will be published and available for download in October 2010 (Black History Month).

The Annual ACS Leadership Summit is a one-day summit dedicated to developing the leadership of the African Caribbean Society network. Visit www.acsleaders.co.uk to find out more.

BBC Radio Interview: ACS Leadership Summit

Interview with BBC Radio Leicester offering advice to incoming black students on what to do when they get to university and discussing the upcoming ACS Leadership Summit.

About Deutsche Bank

A Passion to Perform. It’s what drives us. More than a claim, this describes the way we do business. We compete to be the leading global provider of financial services, balancing passion with precision to deliver superior solutions for our clients. This is made possible by our people: agile minds, able to see beyond the obvious act effectively in an ever-changing global business landscape. As you’ll discover, our culture supports this. Diverse, international and shaped by a variety of different perspectives, we’re driven by a shared sense of purpose. At every level agile minds are rewarded with competitive pay, support and the opportunity to excel.

Named the “Best Global Investment Bank” for 2009-2010 in Euromoney Magazine’s annual Awards for Excellence, Deutsche Bank is a leader in Germany and Europe and is continuously growing in North America, Asia and key emerging markets

We have a range of programmes open to students:

Spring into Banking Internship: Deutsche Bank is offering exclusive one week placement opportunities for talented students in their first year at university. Students will experience work shadowing, networking opportunities, industry focused lectures, skills sessions and training opportunities.

Analyst Internship Programme: Open to students in their second year at university who are keen to secure an internship programme during the summer. Students will be exposed to work on live projects and experience the pace, the excitement and the raw energy of life at a leading global investment bank.

Analyst Training Programme: Open to students in their final year at university; they can join one of our analyst training programmes and this world will open up to them. Working on business critical projects, students will develop their skills, confidence and their careers. Students will do it within an organisation energised by a diverse international culture where their voices are heard and their decisions matter.

For further information on the programmes and our application windows, please visit db.com/careers – see where your agile mind could take you.

BBC Radio interview about ‘National ACS Survey’ – July 2010

Ugochukwu Obi (AC Company) on BBC Radio Leicester talk show discussing the first ever ‘National ACS Survey’ & the Annual ACS Leadership Summit (www.acsleaders.co.uk) along with ‘Zainab Asunranu‘ (2009/10 Leicester ACS President) & ‘Charlene Bello‘ (2010/11 Manchester ACS President).

2010 National ACS Survey

About the 2010 National ACS Survey

ACS Report (alternative version) The first ever National ACS Survey has been developed by the African Caribbean Company. The Survey aims to provide an insight into the trends and dynamics of African Caribbean Society network and black students across the UK’s higher institutions.

This online survey is a follow on from a focus group conducted at Manchester Business School in June 2010 which highlighted the need for a much broader understanding of ACS members and defining a future path for the African Caribbean Society.

Developed by the AC Company and hosted on the African Caribbean Society community website. ACS members and non members are invited to participate in this National Survey by clicking on the link http://africancaribbeansociety.com/blog/?p=734 and submitting their responses.

The results from the survey will be analyzed and a summary version of the report will be made publicly available once completed. The 2010 National Survey focuses on four key areas:

Life at University
Career Ambition
Relationship with the African Caribbean Society (ACS).
Future of ACS

Please invite your friends and colleagues to share their views by participating in this year’s African Caribbean Society survey and as a thank you, one lucky participant will win a brand new Apple iPad. Read below for full terms and conditions and participation criteria.

National ACS Survey - Flyer

2010 National ACS Survey – Terms and Conditions

Black student wins prestigious ‘NUS/Endsleigh Student of the Year’

Joseph Akinnagbe is a PIONEER! Only 19 years; he has achieved what many his age can only dream about. A University of Manchester Economics & Finance student, he has been recognised for his outstanding work supporting fellow students, the Students’ Union and a range of community and business projects.

The Nigerian born Joseph impressed the distinguished panel of judges, including Times Higher Education Editor Anne Mroz, Director of the Helena Kennedy Foundation Ellen Dawson and Managing Director of Endsleigh Ian Passmore.

The entrepreneur, consultant, student activist and community worker is currently the youngest ever President of Manchester Entrepreneurs, a University of Manchester Society which supports future businesses and community leaders. He is also a National Consortium of University Entrepreneurs award recipient, a member of the Ernst and Young Top 30 UK Undergraduates and the youngest member of RAW Northwest, a group of the top 250 entrepreneurs in the region.

He is also a National Black Achievers winner and the youngest member of the Lord Davies’ Black Entrepreneurs Roundtable, which gave policy advice to the Labour Government on supporting black and ethnic minority entrepreneurs.

He was elected as a world youth leader with One Young World, a project supported by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Bob Geldof, Muhammad Yunus and former UN Secretary General, Koffi Annan among others. He has also recently been elected onto the University of Manchester Student Union executive as the International Student Officer.

Joseph Akinnagbe

In picture from L-R: Julie Meyer (BBC online Dragon, CEO Ariadne Capital), Joseph Akinnagbe, Lynn Sheppard (Director, MEC), Alex Wrottesley (Founder Near Global), Mike Luger (Dean – Manchester Business School)

The pragmatic Joseph Akinnagbe said: “I think being at University is a brilliant way to help different people so that you can apply what you have learned.

“I strongly believe that students have a duty to use their skills and position to help others.

“I’ve been extremely lucky to be in the right place at the right time – but on the other hand, I’ve worked really hard to achieve this.

“Indeed, if you are prepared to work hard, you will be surprised at just what you can achieve.”

Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Manchester, said: “We are very proud of Joseph, and this award demonstrates the extremely valuable contribution students make on our campus and in our local community. We are delighted that Joseph’s inspirational work at Manchester has been recognised in this way.

Do you know a high flyer? Send us an e-mail with your name and e-mail address to careers@africancaribbeansociety.com and we will publish your amazing achievement on our blog.

“ACS is about the betterment of black students, not their social life!”

The AC Company conducted a Focus Group with African Caribbean Society members from seven UK universities – A selected group of black students were invited from Manchester, Leeds, Leicester, Nottingham, Warwick, UCL and LSE to attended/participated in the Focus Group at Manchester Business School on Thursday, 17^th June, 2010.

The Focus Group looked into four areas of interest:

Life at University
Career Ambition
Relationship with the African Caribbean Society (ACS)
Future of the ACS

Summary of Focus Group Discussions

The group discussed the reasons for educational achievement and underachievement by black students at UK universities. According to a review conducted by Julie Tolley and Jill Rundle for The National BME Education Strategy Group in 2006 and funded by HEFCE, it found that despite an increase in the representation of Black or Black British student in UK Higher Education institutions, only 30% of black graduates achieve a First Class or Upper Second Class degree. The Focus Group discussed reasons for achievement and underachievement in higher education. The following points were raised:

Reason for educational achievement: Personal goals, drive & motivation, family background, positive peer competition, career prospect, fear of failure, time management, good study routine.

Reasons for educational underachievement: social class, procrastination, socializing, financial pressure, pressure from part-time work, parental influence, lack of advice, role models and culture shock as no prior family member in some instances had attended university.

A participant said “lack of direction impacts strong educational performance, as university can be a completely different environment from college… without the right level of guidance; some people find it challenging to adapt and end up underachieving”

Leeds ACS Mentoring Scheme: A representative from ‘Leeds ACS’ talked about how their peer mentoring initiative was changing the experience of new students. They pair established students with incoming students to help ease their transition from college to university.

In discussing Career Ambition of black UK students, we highlighted a statistics from Julie Tolley and Jill Rundle review of BME participation in HE which showed 13% of black graduates remain unemployed 6 months after graduation in comparison to 6% of their white counterparts.

We tried to understand the participant’s views on the factors that influence employment and unemployment after graduation.

Reasons for employment: Relevant work experience, strong academic achievement, attitude & personality, assimilation, cultural fit.

Reasons for unemployment: Lack of relevant work experience, poor academic performance, social class, relevance of degree to career interest, types of job, people you know, dominant culture, current job market.

A participant said “for some sectors, black people don’t expect to get the jobs; as a result they don’t apply … because they don’t believe it is possible to get in”

When asked what will increase confidence in applying to such jobs, the participant said “just by seeing black people within the organization will influence my decision and confidence to apply”.

The Focus Group finally touched on the importance of the African Caribbean Society network and the participant’s relationship with their university network. A significant number of the participants were aware of the African Caribbean Society before they got to university (78%) showing that ACS is popular outside of the university environment. Most of the participants consider the ACS as a strong socio-cultural group or a group of like minded individuals (53% & 29% respectively), when asked the best way to describe their university ACS. 11% thought the ACS was ‘just another university society’.

The Focus group concluded with a discussion on the Future of ACS. When asked, participants if they thought a better run ACS can ‘impact on their educational achievement’ (Response; 83% ‘Yes’, 11% ‘Maybe’, 6% ‘No’) and we also asked if a better managed ACS ‘can enhance career prospects’ (Response; 83% ‘Yes’, 11% ‘Maybe’, 6% ‘No’).

100% of the participants want to see ACS provide more cultural, educational and career focused events.

One participant said “ACS is about the betterment of the black student, not the social life of the black student”.

You can share your views by participating in the First National ACS Survey. Online Questionnaire will be published in July 2010. Watch this space for further details.

ACS Focus Group

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm that maintains significant market positions in each of its business segments — Institutional Securities, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and Asset Management. The Company, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides its products and services to a large and diversified group of clients and customers, including corporations, governments, financial institutions and individuals. A summary of the activities of each of the segments follows:

Institutional Securities includes capital raising; financial advisory services, including advice on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, real estate and project finance; corporate lending; sales, trading, financing and market-making activities in equity securities and related products and fixed income securities and related products, including foreign exchange and commodities; benchmark indices and risk management analytics; research; and investment activities.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney provides brokerage and investment advisory services covering various investment alternatives; financial and wealth planning services; annuity and insurance products; credit and other lending products; banking and cash management and credit solutions; retirement services; and trust and fiduciary services.

Asset Management provides global asset management products and services in equity, fixed income and alternative investment products to institutional and retail clients through proprietary and third-party retail distribution channels, intermediaries and the Company’s institutional distribution channel. Asset Management also engages in investment activities.

By valuing diverse perspectives we can better serve our clients while we help our employees achieve their professional objectives. A corporate culture that is open and inclusive is fundamental to our role as a global leader constantly striving for excellence in all that we do. From our recruiting and career development programs, to our supplier diversity and work-life programs, our commitment to diversity is unparalleled. Over the years, our diversity and work-life initiatives have received numerous awards from publications and organizations. Our objective is to have an impact on diversity both internal and external to Morgan Stanley. This is what makes Morgan Stanley a premier employer of choice and a great place to work.

2010/11 University Ranking: Where’s Your Uni!

Oxford

Oxford University tops the 2011 Guardian’s university league table for the sixth year running, with arch-rival Cambridge holding onto second place.

Warwick comes third and St Andrews fourth – the pair have switched positions from last year. University College London, Lancaster, Imperial College, London School of Economics, Loughborough and York are in the top 10. London Metropolitan has come last.

The tables, published in full on the Guardian website, rank universities according to the following measures: how satisfied their final-year students are; how much they spend per student; the student/staff ratio; the career prospects of their graduates; a value-added score and what grades pupils have to achieve to stand a chance of being offered a place.

The tables provide vital information for the more than 600,000 university applicants who this year face the toughest ever competition for places.

Categories

Archives

What is your sex

Age

Are (were) you a student at a UK university?

Tell us the name of the university you attend (attended)

Tell us what you study (studied) for

Tell us your subject area

What is your year of study?

Ethnic grouping

Are you a British National?

Do you have the right to work in the UK?

Home country

How important is university education to you?

What motivates (motivated) you to attend university (tick all that apply)

Route to university

How many UCAS points did you achieve at A ‘levels

How do (did) you fund your university education? (tick all that apply)

What degree classification did you get or expect to get at graduation?

According to HESA, 70% of black students achieve less than a First or Upper Second class degree. What factor do you think MOST influences academic underachievement?

How significant is ‘Social Class’ in educational achievement or underachievement?

What MOST influenced your choice of university?

What do you intend to do (are doing) after graduation?

Which of these career sectors MOST interest you? (tick all that apply)

Where in the UK do you intend to work? (tick all that apply)

Where outside of the UK would you want to work? (tick all that apply)

Do you have a CV?

What do you think your CV is lacking? (tick all that apply)

What starting salary would you expect for your first time graduate job?

As a graduate in the current economic climate, do you expect to

What MOST influence your decision to apply to an employer?

What factor do you think will have the MOST impact on your long term career success?

What factor do you think influences unemployment?

When do (did) you start looking for a graduate job?

How do (did) you prepare yourself for the job market? (tick all that apply)

In the current economic climate, which of the following would MOST enhance your career prospects?

Where do (did) you look for graduate jobs? (tick all that apply)

Do you know any of the following organisations? (tick all that apply)

What is the MOST important factor when deciding on a graduate employer?

Have you attended a graduate selection Assessment Centre?

If yes, what did you find MOST challenging about the process?

Which part of the process do you think you were MOST successful at?

Are (were) you a member of an African Caribbean Society (ACS)?

How often do (did) you attend ACS events?

Did you know about the African Caribbean Society before you came to university?

How did you first find out about ACS?

What was your first impression of ACS?

How has your first impression of ACS changed?

Which of these BEST describes ACS in your view?

Which of these words BEST describes your ACS?

Which of these words SHOULD BEST describe your ACS?

Which ONE of these words do you DISLIKE the most?

Which ONE of these words do you like the most?

What types of events should ACS put on?

Do you think ACS can impact on overall academic performance?

Do you think a better ACS can impact on your career prospects?

Does negative black stereotype affect you?

Have you considered applying to the teaching profession in general?

If you haven’t considered applying to the teaching profession, why not?

Personally, how appealing is the idea of teaching for a couple of years before starting your chosen graduate career outside of teaching?

What level of contact have you had with Teach First?

How clear are you about the differences between Teach First and the other more traditional routes into teaching?

There are a number of different aspects to the Teach First scheme. Which of the following would be the most important to you? (tick all that apply)

Are you interested in becoming a Teach First on-campus Brand Manager (paid position)?

Have you watched the MTV Drama 'Shuga'?

Have you watched the MTV drama 'Tribe'?

Would you be interested in screening any of these films?

Would you like us to keep you updated with career related information?

Would you like us to share the final survey report with you?

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