Placement awards celebrate student success

Cardiff Business School Undergraduate Placement Awards took place on 16 March 2023, celebrating the huge impact our students make on placement.

There was a real buzz in the room during the award ceremony amongst returning placement students, business school staff, and our award sponsors: Tata Steel, BIC-Innovation, and ICAEW.

The awards were an opportunity to recognise and celebrate our student’s outstanding contributions to businesses across Wales, the rest of the UK, and globally. Placements also give students the opportunity to kick-start their professional training and stand out from the crowd after graduation.

Congratulations to our student winners:

• Shannon Heal won Placement Student of the Year for her placement year in Enterprise
• Ella Milner won Intern of the Year for her integrated work placement in Delio
• Zak Wilson won Best Student contribution to a Small to Medium-sized Employer (SME) for his placement year in Blackwood Engineering

Shannon Heal, who won Placement Student of the Year said:

“It was great to come together and celebrate with other placement students as well as the business school staff and sponsoring employers. Winning the Placement Student of the Year Award was fantastic, it was highly rewarding to receive recognition for my hard work during my placement year. A massive thank you to Alex and Nick for organising the evening and to Tata Steel for sponsoring my award.

My placement has provided me with a wide array of skills and experiences that have been hugely beneficial in my development. I would 100% recommend a placement to other students. I am a completely different person from when I started to when I finished placement.”

Ella Milner, winner of Intern of the Year, said:

“There is no doubt that my placement has significantly enhanced both my professional and personal development. Professionally, I now have a broad set of new skills to take with me into my future career, such as how to analyse social media analytics and use vital software such as WordPress and HubSpot. My personal development has been significant: there is no doubt that I am more confident in myself and have better leadership skills due to my placement.

For these reasons, I couldn’t recommend doing a placement more. I think it gives you a real advantage in terms of kickstarting your future career, enabling you to match the theory of your degree with real life application. I’m truly grateful to both Delio and the Cardiff Business School for providing me with this opportunity – thank you!”

Zak Wilson, winner of Best Student contribution to a Small to Medium-sized Employer (SME), said:

“Being recognised for my achievements at the awards was an incredibly rewarding experience. The ceremony was fantastic and sharing the experience with peers created a great sense of community and promoted further collaboration.

I would recommend a placement year as they offer the opportunity for students to gain practical, hands-on experience in a real-world environment. They provide a fantastic opportunity to build professional relationships, network, and make industry connections that can be beneficial in future career prospects.”

All Cardiff Business School undergraduate degrees are available with the option of a professional placement year. Business Management (BSc) also offers the opportunity for students to complete an integrated placement in the spring semester of their second year.

The business school has 146 students out on placement in 2022/23 and these numbers are forecast to be even higher in 2023/24.

Contact the Placements Team at Cardiff Business School for more information on the opportunities we offer.