Careers Network has won a national award for its internship scheme at the National Council for Work Experience 2012 awards. It beat five other organisations to become the first ever  University to win the Best Public Sector Work Placement title. The judges commended the Careers Network for providing a well-steered career development opportunity for students.

The university has been recruiting paid interns for more than five years and due to a recent expansion it takes around 25 national and international students annually. The students benefit from having a dedicated member of staff, the Student Engagement Officer, who co-ordinates and supervises the team’s work as well as providing individual mentoring/support

Mike Hill, chief executive of the Higher Education Careers Services Unit, which operates the NCWE says: “We’re now in the ninth year of the NCWE Awards, so it’s good to see so many new companies entering as well as organisations that take part year after year. The University of Birmingham is a well-deserved winner. The students help the university reach its target audience and find out more about them, much more than most companies dream of doing.”