Need help making plans this summer

There are plenty of ways to use your summer. If you don't have anything planned yet, here are some ideas to get you started.

You might not be sure how to use your summer, or maybe your existing plans have changed.    

We’ve pulled together some ideas for things you could do over the summer.  Perhaps some of these really interest you, or perhaps they spark your own ideas.  Either way, look for something that you will find interesting, valuable, and enjoyable this summer.   

SLICCs and the Edinburgh Award are two ways that you can get formal recognition from the University for your summer activities, and will help you learn and develop more from the experience.  Once you’ve got something planned for your summer, go to the ‘Get your summer recognised’ page to find out more. 

Eligible for:

  • Work or volunteering experience:  SLICC
  • Work experience:  Edinburgh Award

Details: 

We know some of you will be trying to identify work or volunteering to do this summer but might not have found the right opportunity for you yet.  The Careers Service can help with that.  Read their Discover What's Out There and Build Experience sections to get ideas.

 

During the summer, a version of the Edinburgh Award is run by the Careers Service specifically for work experience.  Read their information to find out more.

Eligible for:

  • SLICC

Details: 

Free virtual experience programmes offered by leading companies via Forage.  Gain real understanding of different roles and sectors, and insight into specific companies, by tackling these hands-on tasks and modules, similar to those you'd undertake during an internship with that organisation.  

Programmes typically take between 6-8 hours to complete and can be used as a starting point for a SLICC.

Eligible for:

  • SLICC
  • Edinburgh Award

Details:

This challenge-based programme brings together students from different disciplines and all levels to tackle real-world problems set by external organisations from the non-profit, public, and private sectors.  

During the summer, a version of the Edinburgh Award is run by the Careers Service specifically for work experience, including Students as Change Agents (SACHA).  Read their information to find out more.  Please note you can only take part in the Edinburgh Award (Work Experience) if you are not completing a SACHA-specific version of the Edinburgh Award.

Eligible for: 

  • SLICC 

Details: 

There’s a wide range of volunteering opportunities available remotely.  A sample is listed below – many more are available.

 

BeMyEyes.com – help people that are blind with visual assistance through a live video call

Zooniverse – help with research projects from science to environmental causes 

Catchafire – database that matches short-term volunteering opportunities with people with the skills that fit them 

Translators without Borders  – a global community of language volunteers, offering language services to humanitarian and development organisations worldwide

Eligible for: 

  • SLICC 

Details: 

There is a huge range of free online courses available from leading education providers.  Find something that captivates your interest – perhaps explore something completely new or deepen your knowledge about an existing topic.  

If you want to use an online course as a basis for your SLICC, you will need to also engage in your own research on the topic or start applying your learning in your own life.

 

FutureLearn – Courses from 2 weeks to 10 weeks. Courses are run by leading universities and organisations and cover a wide range of subjects.

Coursera – Courses, certificates and online degrees in subjects like computer science, data science, IT, maths, social sciences and languages.

edX – Explore courses in a wide variety of topics including computer science, languages, data analysis and statistics, business and humanities

Udemy – Learn about professional growth, wellness, professional skills and essential tech skills.

LinkedIn Learning – This online skills development service offers an extensive library of high-quality video courses in business, creative and technical skills.  The University has a licence offering students unlimited access to the service via the web and mobile apps.

Alison – Over 1000 courses of various lengths. Subjects include languages, IT, science, health, humanities, business, maths and marketing.

Eligible for:

  • SLICC

Details: 

For example, you might want to:

  • Develop your technical or applied methodological skills (e.g. programming language or analysis programme) 
  • Complete a self-proposed academic project – develop some in-depth skills and knowledge in your own discipline, in another subject area altogether, or perhaps something that connects the two
  • Creative skills such as art, music, theatre, writing, photography – explore and experience a field or topic of your choice
  • What is ‘research’?  What are the cultures surrounding research and researchers?  Here are some ideas:​​​​​​
    •  Research culture is defined by The Royal Society as “the behaviours, values, expectations, attitudes and norms of our research communities” (royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/research-culture/).  Many of these behaviours and values are positive. However, some are negative, and can have a large impact on researchers.  There is an emerging acknowledgement of these challenges, and calls to overcome them.
    • Consider the culture of research and researchers, including the compulsion to publish, the misunderstanding and misuse of experimental design and statistical analyses, the replication ‘crisis’, and ‘research is not a process of continual triumph’.​​
  • How are you developing your critical appraisal skills?  The extremes of this may be ‘Fake’ and ‘Real’ News – how are you able to discriminate?  Here are some resources:
  • The impact of Covid-19 pandemic – resilience and agility – how have our society, our communities, businesses and governance responded? 

Draw on the huge range of online resources and activities that are available to get you started – see ‘Free online courses’ above.

Eligible for: 

  • SLICC

Details: 

Getting involved in social entrepreneurship can be a great way to engage with causes that matter to you and build your experience.

If you want to learn more about being a social entrepreneur or change maker, then U21 Aspire might be for you.

U21 Aspire is an online development micro-programme for aspiring social entrepreneurs and change makers.  The free, online hub provides on-demand access to video content from successful social entrepreneurs and leaders and fellow students who have set up their own social projects.  You can work through the content at whatever time and whatever speed suit you.  Through the suggested exercises, Aspire allows you to explore your next steps to becoming a social change maker.  The programme is open to students of any academic discipline or level of study.  On completion of all the online content, students will be able to earn the U21 Aspire certificate.

Use U21 Aspire to learn and grow, and then to start putting your next steps into practice.

Eligible for: 

  • SLICC

Details:

We’re living in a period of profound and rapid technological change, but what does this mean for the future of work?  Many organisations have been modelling the future of work and two opposing schools of thought have emerged – one optimistic and one pessimistic.  Which do you think is right?  How could you build the skills and attributes that people will need to thrive in the uncertain future?  

Use this 2-page primer document to start your own research, find out what it means for you and take control of preparing for the future.

Future of work - primer (106.56 KB / PDF)

Eligible for: 

  • SLICC

Details: 

Systems thinking is both a collection of tools and methods and it is also a mindset, a way of seeing the world and issues systematically as a whole. 

Many issues and problems facing the world today, such as the global climate crisis, global economics and trade, even the Covid-19 pandemic, are influenced by a web of interconnected circular relationships.  To understand and solve these problems we need systems thinking.  

Use this 2-page primer document to start your own research, find out more, see where you’re already developing systems thinking and start building your knowledge and strength in this area.


Systems thinking - primer (153.02 KB / PDF)

Eligible for: 

  • SLICC

Details: 

You can explore the ‘Neuroscience of Learning’.  Perhaps this becomes a complementary and extra layer, where you apply these principles to learning something of your own choosing. Here are some potential resources:

Eligible for: 

  • SLICC

Details: 

In this online course from Yale (which includes a free option), you will engage in a series of challenges designed to increase your own happiness and build more productive habits.  As preparation for these tasks, Professor Laurie Santos reveals misconceptions about happiness, annoying features of the mind that lead us to think the way we do, and the research that can help us change.  

You could start addressing this topic by engaging with this course, which can lead you into resources to do more research and assess a wide spectrum of influences to develop wellbeing in your own life.

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