Careers Programmes for Mature Students, PhDs and International Students
Building Forward
This Career Development programme is designed with the specific needs of mature students in mind.
Mature students bring strong motivation and rich experience, while often managing competing responsibilities alongside their academic studies. Some are changing career direction, while others are seeking to upskill in a particular specialised area, some are formalising years of experience with a relevant qualification, and others are embarking on second chance or re-entry education.
This programme creates a space to think about strengths, skills, and career decisions and to consider the valuable skills required to future proof careers. It helps participants to connect their previous experience or career gaps to their current studies and onwards to their future career, and it supports participants to reframe lived experiences into assets for employability.
The contemporary workplace requires adaptability, continuous upskilling, career self-management, and the ability to articulate skills and potential. Positive outcomes for participants include increased career confidence and clarity, increased awareness, opportunity to meet other mature students across multiple disciplines, and improved articulation of transferrable skills for future focussed careers.
Delivery:
- Course group sessions are completed in Semester 1, (typically 5x lunch time, in-person sessions*) . In Semester 2 there is opportunity for one-to-one meetings with a Career Advisor.
- Content is designed to be experiential and thought-provoking and is contained within each stand-alone session, thereby reducing additional preparation or assignments to a minimum.
- *Delivery and content may change depending on participant needs and preferences.
Semester 1 Topics include:
- Career Planning and overview of MTU Careers resources
- The Mature CV and valuable skills for future work
- Top Tips for Interviews and career decision making.
- Storytelling and a Design Thinking Approach to Careers
- Participant Presentations. My Story My Way, drawing insights from prior experience to demonstrate future potential.
Semester 2
- Strength’s profiling and Individual meetings with Career Advisor
Who is Eligible and How to Apply:
Applications are invited in September each year from full-time undergraduate mature students across all disciplines and all MTU Cork campuses.
All queries by email to: CareersCork@mtu.ie or BuildingForward@mtu.ie
The Building Forward Career Development Programme is designed and delivered by MTU Careers in collaboration with the Mature Student Officer and MTU Access Office.
Participant Comments:
‘The Programme helped me to make sense of my career change and my strengths and to find my direction’.
‘Meeting other mature students made me feel more connected, conversations were good and sessions were interesting.
‘I really appreciate this course, it is very helpful, grateful for the support to prompt my personal insights.
‘It was so important to understand my values, and what suits me best…. it was a great help this course … I was able to clearly explain myself in the interview.
Design Your Future
The Design Your Future module is a one-semester career planning and development programme designed specifically for PhD and Masters by Research students in MTU. It provides a supportive space for researchers to step back from their academic work and actively reflect on their long-term career goals.
Throughout the module, participants build self-awareness through a range of assessments, including tools such as MBTI, and explore their personal strengths, values, and motivations. The programme introduces key career theories and encourages students to apply them in today’s rapidly evolving global landscape, shaped by technological change and the growing influence of AI.
Students are guided through a structured career planning process, while also developing essential skills and competencies needed for success in research and beyond. Practical elements of the module include networking strategies, effective use of LinkedIn, personal branding, and goal setting.
Overall, Design Your Future equips researchers with the insight, confidence, and tools to make informed career decisions, helping them navigate their professional paths with clarity and purpose.
International Students
MTU Careers is delighted to provide a specially tailored Careers Programme for International Students.
We understand that international students are often new to the Irish jobs market and can benefit from advice and support in learning how best to promote themselves to employers and recruitment agencies.
In the first semester we offer three online sessions:
- Understanding the Irish labour Market
- Top Tips for your CV
- 1G Visa Graduate Scheme and Employer Permits from immigration specialists Fragomen
In the second semester we run a Recruitment and Alumni Panel Event:
- Expert advice is provided from a recruitment agency on navigating the Irish jobs market.
- Students hear individual stories of the career paths of several graduates.
We work closely with academic colleagues to ensure we design a programme of interest and value to students; our thanks to the collaborative support of lecturers Vincent Ryan, Nacho Castineiras and Vincent Cregan. Promotional support is much appreciated from Ronan Syron of the International Office.
Please note: The programme events may vary from year to year and while tailored for international (non-EU/EEA) students, it is open to all MTU students.
Testimonials from students who attended the programme in the academic year 2025/2026
|
|
