Annual Architecture Exchange event goes virtual
Students from the Architecture subject area at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) were joined by alumni and industry delegates for a series of webinars throughout term two.
The webinars were an opportunity for architectural professionals and employers to share their insights into the industry, talk about their personal career journeys and provide advice to students on how to prepare for their future careers in the sector.
Acting as a replacement for the annual Architecture Exchange event, webinars included sessions with industry links such as Architecture North, The Crowd Creative, MYO Interiors and Benoy, seeing over 50 students tune in.
During the first webinar, Lewis North (Architecture North) launched their ‘Northern Lights’ design competition, where final year BArch students will present visual design communications of the Newton Building to be in with the chance of winning a 6-week paid internship with Architecture North.
The second webinar saw Louise Constantine, Director at The Crowd Creative, discuss the current labour market and offer students her top tips for securing architectural roles in the current climate. The Crowd are recruitment specialists for the Architecture, Design and Creative industries and offered students the chance to sign up to the agency during the session.
Richard Pattison, Creative Director at MYO Interiors, led the third webinar focussing around luxury high-concept interiors, residential and commercial architecture. The series concluded with a session by Donna Hargreaves, HR Adviser at Benoy, an international firm of architects, master planners, interior architects and graphic designers.
The Crowd Creative said: “We felt that the event was a great opportunity for students/graduates to obtain first-hand knowledge on the current job market, advice on starting their design career, what architecture and design companies are looking for, the options out there once they have graduated and to ask us questions that would give them help and advice on securing their first role in design.”
Richard Pattison, MYO Interiors, said: "Having graduated from Nottingham Trent in 2006 it was a pleasure to be involved in this years Architecture at Home series. How students and Universities have responded to these extremely challenging times is remarkable. The more our industry can do to support the future talent is a better outcome for all."
Donna Hargreaves, Benoy, said: “It was a real pleasure to present to the NTU Students, I hope the series of events have been key in building relations with local practices.”
Chris Jones, Employability Manager for the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment said: “Particularly in the current climate, it’s really important that students get the chance to hear from industry professionals about what is happening in the sector and gain essential insights to improve their commercial awareness and career prospects. We’re really pleased that we could offer these webinars online this year in place of our usual face to face networking and discussion sessions.”
Lois Woods, Senior Lecturer in Architecture said: “The Architecture Exchange at Home webinars have been well-received by students this term. The biggest benefit of running them virtually was that we could open it out to all years on the Architecture courses as opposed to just final year. This was hopefully inspiring for some of our younger students too, as the webinars offer insights into practice at a time when face to face visits are not as easy at the moment”
The school are pleased to have been able to offer an alternative virtual series to replace the annual Architecture Exchange event, and are thrilled to maintain close ties to industry, which repeatedly prove beneficial to up and coming talent within the school.