Career Talk

Shahbaz Khokhar is an entrepreneur with a wealth of experience working for different start-ups. He graduated from the University of Birmingham with a degree in Maths in 2010 before securing a Corporate finance role with Deloitte. In this episode, host Nicola Gittins chats to Shahbaz about his experience creating side-hustles and businesses.

Shahbaz has created start-ups in different sectors including fitness, property and marketing. One of his current businesses Venture Beyond, actively helps businesses grow their brand through Direct to Consumer advertising and video production. Shahbaz uses his knowledge and experience to mentor and help aspiring entrepreneurs and he has raised over £200K for charitable projects including a project in Malawi.

He chats to Nicola about his experiences and offers tips how university students and graduates can act on their passion projects and find enterprising opportunities by thinking outside of the box and going the extra mile.

In this episode Bob Lee chats to changemaker, speaker and University of Birmingham alumnus Daniel Bridgewater who is the founder of start-up business Buckt.

Buckt is inspired by a real life bucket list and is described as the UK's only mystery ticket subscription service, where customers receive 5 mystery tickets to top attractions and activities each month. The business currently has around 8000 subscribers, over 1000 partners and operates in Greater Birmingham, London, Greater Manchester and Liverpool and Merseyside. Daniel graduated from the University of Birmingham with a degree in Business Management and Communications in 2014. He gives an open and honest account of life as a business founder and reflects back on how it all started: remembering his time at university, his experiences in community leadership roles and an invitation to meet King Charles (before he was King).

Learn about start-up life through the lens of an experienced start-up founder and hear top tips about starting out, finding support and adding value to your start-up idea.

Dr Sam Decombel is the co-founder and CEO of FitnessGenes Ltd, a direct-to-consumer DNA testing company and world leader in the analysis of genetic and environmental data as applied to fitness and nutrition. Fitness Genes was many years in the making, and built on the platform developed under Sam's first start-up, DNA artwork company PlayDNA. With a PhD in Genetics from the University of Birmingham and several years working as a Technology Transfer Manager, her skillset in science and experience gained in intellectual property and business were an ideal combination to help her create her own start-up projects.

In this episode, Nicola Gittins talks to Sam about the journey faced including the personal and serendipitous events that inspired her route as an entrepreneur. Sam provides an expert view to life as an entrepreneur offering her own personal advice to starting a business and also the advantages of having a mentor.

Sam experienced great success with her first business PlayDNA and featured in Forbes magazine, Lab Times and BBC radio and she even ventured into the BBC Dragon Den itself. Sam was able to use the associate publicity to raise the profile of her next start-up FitnessGenes Ltd.

In 2018, she received the Alumna of the Year award from the University of Birmingham to recognise both her entrepreneurial successes, and the positive role she is playing in tackling discrimination and giving back to the community by supporting the development of young people through training and mentoring, something she is passionate about.

Looking for tips to get investment for your start-up idea? In this episode, Nicola Gittins interviews special guest Elizabeth Gooch MBE who has been described as one of the most disruptive entrepreneurs by The Telegraph. Elizabeth built up her own software company which was listed on AIM (Alternative Investment Market) before it was acquired by a US Software company in 2017. Her business eg Solutions traded in 50+ countries and employed 150 staff from all over the world.

We find out about her start-up journey of building a successful tech business from scratch, and hear about her role helping young entrepreneurs. Many start-ups can struggle with a lack of investment so Elizabeth is on a quest to help provide support and investment advice to growing start-ups. Through her experience she supports businesses as a Non-Executive Director (NED), Board Advisor and also an Angel Investor.

Find out how you can value your start-up and get tips on finding investment to take it to the next level.

This episode is all about giving back through lived experiences and we have tips to help you start a charity. Host Bob Lee chats to University of Birmingham student Zaynab Sohawon who is a mental health advocate, a speaker and founder of charity organisation Emotion Dysregulation in Autism (E-DA). She has a moving personal story and we hear about her work with mental health partners to help young people between 12-25 facing similar struggles.

The charity has been set up as a result of her advocacy work and own experiences as she vows to keep a promise she made to herself as a patient to: "be the person to others that my past-self needed". Through her work she has featured in TED talks, films and International Conferences.

Zaynab is studying for a Human Neuroscience degree at the University of Birmingham and we find out how she balances campus life with her charity projects.

Find out the difference between a charity set up and social enterprise and hear how time management and finding downtime is so important.

Welcome back to Career Talk and in series 3 we continue with themes of start-up and innovation. This episode, hosted by Nicola Gittins from the University of Birmingham's B-Enterprising Team, features investment specialist and UoB alumnus Richard Bishop. 

Through his experience working with start-ups and entrepreneurial businesses Richard discusses the support on offer for student entrepreneurs and investment opportunities for new ideas.

We are also joined by Emily Henderson who talks about her role working as Philanthropy Manager for the university's Development Alumni Relations Office and the work behind the scenes which actively helps UoB start-ups.

This episode is recorded at the university's start-up incubator office (UoB Elevate at The Exchange) in Birmingham city centre.

We're back for Series 3 of Career Talk! This series, we feature innovative stories and expert advice to help you find success from your own ideas.

In this episode, Nicola Gittins (B-Enterprising, Careers Network) chats to alumni entrepreneur Ben Reynolds from Carousel Lights. Ben graduated from the University of Birmingham in 1999 and worked for British Airways and the BBC. In 2011, he started his own business and founded Carousel Lights: a lights and signage company which offer custom light solutions to retailers, event managers and famous music artists.

Ben gives advice about creating a visual identity, working with influencers and tips to help you if you are starting your own business. 

Feylyn Lewis, from Nashville Tennessee, graduated from UoB with a PhD in Social Work. She is now a Researcher, Consultant and Programme Manager at Vanderbilt University. 

Co-hosted by Bob Lee (B-Enterprising, Careers Network) and Cate Linforth (Careers Network), this episode explores the B-Enterprising Boot Camp. What is a boot camp? Is it just for students who want to start their own business? What skills can you develop from a boot camp?

Speaking with Ka Ho Mok, a member from the winning team, and Susann Kunz from Siemens, the employer partner for this boot camp, Cate and Bob recount the 3- day event and explore all of the benefits and legacy that have come from it.  

To find out more about the Siemens bootcamp:

https://b-enterprising.blogspot.com/2022/02/creating-innovative-design-for-your.html 

https://blogs.sw.siemens.com/academic/siemens-solid-edge-bootcamp-developing-creative-concepts-by-working-against-the-clock-and-using-completely-unknown-tools/ 

Want to hear about the benefits of working part-time at the university alongside your studies? This week, Cate is chatting to Muskan Nagpal, an international student from India who studied a postgraduate degree in Mathematics, Operations, Research, Statistics and Econometrics (MORSE). 

Muskan gives great insight into what it's like to work part-time alongside your studies, ensuring your working hours are visa compliant and how you can market your unique skills as an international student. 

Are you interested in a career in accountancy? Even if the answer is no, listen to this episode and you might change your mind! 

In the first part of this episode, Moon from CPA Australia tells us all about getting into a career in accountancy and what it means to be a CPA member. 

In the second part of this episode, we hear from Fabiana, a CPA member who works as an accountant in the global office of Chanel in London. 

Tune in to hear more about how versatile a career in accounting can really be, and the international opportunities available when you're a CPA member. 

Do you want to find out about the virtual interview process? This week, we're chatting to Lien Feasey from Midea, all about the interview process, what interviewers are looking for, and what to do and what not to do during a virtual interview. 

Lien offers great insight into the interview process at Midea Group for Chinese students who have studied in the UK. Whether or not you're interested in interviewing for a company in China, this episode is full of tips to get you ready to master your virtual interviews. 

Want to find out more about mentoring at the University of Birmingham? Listen to this episode with Nick Duncan, who explains what it's like to be a mentor and his top tips for mentees, as well as giving an insight into what it's like to change career path and work across different sectors. 

Nick Duncan graduated from the University of Birmingham in 1981 with a degree in Geological Sciences, and has since had a global career working across the world in the UK, Australia, Texas and Singapore. Having retired 4 years ago, Nick is now on the board of a non-profit based in Singapore as well as being a mentor to University of Birmingham students. 

Find out more about Careers Network's mentoring schemes on our website: intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/mentoring

We're chatting to one of our Careers Consultants all about how students can prepare for careers fairs and make the most of those interactions with employers. Don't miss out on our careers fairs coming up this October and November, kicking off with our Autumn Fair on October 5th. 

We also have an Engineering, Science and Technology Fair, a Business, Finance and Consultancy Fair, a Law Fair and Virtual Fairs so head over to our website for more details: intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/careersfairs 

Have a quick listen to this episode to make sure you're prepared and get some top tips to help you stand out from the crowd! 

Interested in the telecommunications sector? This week, Cate is chatting to Tianhao He. Tian is from China and came to the UK ten years ago, firstly to study at the University of Liverpool, before completing a PhD in Microwave Engineering at the University of Birmingham for four years. After completing the PhD, Tian worked at the telecommunications company BT as a Network Planning Specialist. Tian has recently started a new position working at Sky. 

Listen to find out more about how Tian's day to day role helps keep everyone in the UK connected! 

This week Cate is back chatting with another alumni guest, Tobi Osogbiye. Tobi is from Nigeria and studied French Language for her undergraduate degree in Nigeria. Tobi then studied a Master's in International Relations & Diplomacy at University of Birmingham in 2018-19 and now works as a Public Affairs & Engagement Officer at National Youth Advocacy Service. 

Tobi was a huge part of the university during her time here, starting as Postgraduate Officer for the Guild in 2019, before continuing on to become the Guild President. Find out about Tobi's experience as an international postgraduate student and hear her expand on her advice: 'don't just pass through university, allow university to pass through you'. 

From pursuing music in Nigeria, to representing 38,000 students as Guild President, to working for a children's rights charity, Tobi's career journey so far is so interesting so make sure to listen!  

Find out all about gamification! Cate is joined by Rocco Li, who works at KPMG China in Campus Recruiting. Rocco has worked across Campus Recruiting at Goldman Sachs, Bloomberg and PwC throughout his career. He now works at KPMG, leading the Campus Recruiting and Employer Branding Team and has a wealth of knowledge about gamification in the selection process. 

Listen to hear more about what gamification actually is, how it's used, and how it can help you to find the graduate role that's right for you! If you haven't heard of gamification, this is a really interesting insight into how you may have already engaged with it through the application and selection process. 

Sarah Nantume from Kampala, Uganda studied LLB Law at the University of Birmingham from 2016-2018. After graduation Sarah worked for a law firm in Uganda for a year, before returning to the UK on a Start-Up Visa. She currently works full-time in Legal Operations, while also working full-time as a co-founder of her start-up business, Maze. 

Listen to hear Cate ask Sarah all about her journey to get a Start-Up Visa, the support she has received from Careers Network's B-Enterprising Team and how she balances running a business alongside her legal career. 

Lynda Koffi, from the Ivory Coast, joins Cate this week to give a great insight into working in the energy sector and the transition from studies to the workplace. Lynda studied BSc Chemical Engineering at the University of Wolverhampton for her undergraduate degree, and then continued to the University of Birmingham to study MSc Advanced Chemical Engineering from 2020-2021. 

Lynda is now completing her second Master's degree in Energy Economics in Paris, and is currently completing an end of study internship in the gas and renewable power department of TotalEnergies, where she works as a Junior Strategy Analyst. 

We're talking all things assessment centres! This week, Cate is joined by Rosemary Zhou from Jardine Mattheson. 

Jardine Mattheson is an international conglomerate Fortune 500 company, that Rosemary descries as 'the biggest company you have never heard of'. Rosemary is the Campus Relations Manager for Jardine Mattheson and has worked at the company for 11 years, starting out as a Management Trainee. 

Rosemary gives an insight into what employers are really looking for at assessment centres, how you should prepare, and what red flags they don't want to see. Students and graduates, listen to find out more about the assessment centre process from the employer's perspective, and to get some top tips to help you stand out! 

This week, Cate chats with alumni guest speaker Nishita Naik, from India. Nishi completed a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the University of Birmingham in 2012-2013 and currently works as a Manager for Client Onboarding within compliance at a financial services company in London. 

We apologise for the poor sound quality in parts of this episode, but Nishi shared some great insights into working in the financial services sector and compliance so we would still recommend tuning in! 

This week we hear from alumni guest speaker Nina Ma from China, who is currently working as a Cloud Solutions Architect at Microsoft in Birmingham, UK. Nina studied BSc Psychology at the University of Birmingham from 2015-2018. Listen to hear more about Nina's career journey so far from studying Psychology to working as a Technology Data and Analytics Senior Associate at PWC, to her current role at Microsoft. 

This week, Cate is chatting to another alumni guest speaker, Esther Agbenla, from Nigeria. Esther studied a Masters in International Public Health at the University of Birmingham from 2015-2017 and now works as the Office Manager and Executive Assistant to the CEO at Junior Achievement in Nigeria.

This week we hear from alumni guest speaker Lan Xu, who worked as a Digital Marketing Specialist in Birmingham. Lan studied BSc Business at the University of Birmingham from 2016-2019 and is currently studying MSc Finance at Aston University. 

This week we hear from alumni guest speaker Eliana Bellano from Italy, who currently works in London at AlphaSights as an Associate. Eliana studied BA Russian Studies and International Relations for her undergraduate degree at the University of Birmingham in 2014-2018 and continued at Birmingham to study MSc International Business in 2018-2019. 

This week we hear from alumni guest speaker Lucius Pan from China, who currently works in London a Strategy & Innovation Manager at NatWest. Lucius studied BSc Psychology at the University of Birmingham in 2015-2018 and MSc Business Consulting at the University of Warwick.