QMUEmpower - a package of services empowering you to become your best you
At QMU, we aim to enable you to thrive, grow and become your best self in your time with us, and to give you the confidence to make your mark when you start your career and throughout your professional life. The QMUEmpower package of services is how we achieve that.
Whether you are thinking about studying with us, a current student or a graduate, check out this page to familiarise yourself with all the services available to you through QMUEmpower, as set out on this page.
Personal development services to enable you to grow
We want to foster your personal development beyond your academic studies. Opportunities include a semester abroad (subject to course and availability), class rep roles, peer assisted learning (PALS) roles and many more. New graduates can apply to our GIVE board apprenticeship scheme.
Beyond that, the curriculum for each and every one of our courses is designed to give you the 'soft' skills and aptitudes (together known as 'graduate attributes' to enable you to thrive in your career and life in general.
Health and wellbeing services to enable you to thrive
Our package of health and wellbeing services includes things you might expect, such as counselling and disabilities services, a contemplation room and our ResLife programme - and many you might not expect, such as our allotment scheme, Outdoor Gym, Brompton Bike Hire and cycle paths around campus, and access to our beautiful Outdoor Learning Hub and Discovery Trail.
Employability built in, plus careers support available throughout your life
Our courses are career-focused (most with placements), and, in addition to building your subject expertise, the curriculum for every course is designed to enable you to develop the personal attributes (known as 'graduate attributes') that will enable you to thrive in your future life, whatever career choices you make – including, for example, problem solving, resilience, teamwork and leadership. Many of our courses also provide students with opportunities to work on real-world research projects, and field trips.
We go well beyond that though, offering a range of employability services including our award-winning Employer Mentoring Scheme for students, a number of paid internships, paid student ambassadorial roles, tailored training programmes for new graduates in specific sectors, and a Careers Service for Life after graduation.
Supporting your entrepreneurial ambitions
We are committed to supporting graduate and student start-ups and have some great success stories.
If you think that entrepreneurship is the career route for you, you can take advantage of our Bright Red Triangle service, which offers QMU’s students an entrepreneurship support package and access to our Start-Up Studio. We also offer entrepreneurial training programmes for students and graduates in particular sectors, including in the creative and cultural industries, and in food and drink.
We have excellent industry links, for example through Industry Advisory Panels associated with a number of courses, and will soon benefit from the opening of the Edinburgh Innovation Hub on our doorstep.
Services to help you fulfill your academic potential
We prioritise support for learning to help ensure you can fulfil your academic potential. You will be assigned a Personal Academic Tutor to support you with academic and personal matters. We have a vibrant peer-assisted learning scheme (PALS), a friendly and approachable Effective Learning Service team, ‘Stay on Course’ support for those students who are struggling, and lots more, plus Grammarly for Education available free to all students.
Helping you tackle financial matters and providing funding opportunities
We understand students' need for good advice on managing the cost of living and know that often financial constraints could prevent you from taking advantage of some wonderful opportunities that may be available to you while you are at university. To address that, we offer various grant schemes that can support you to participate in exciting extracurricular projects and study abroad opportunities.
Doctoral students benefit from our Doctoral Training Fund, to which they can bid for funding for advanced knowledge and skills development relevant to their research, or training to enhance aspects of their research data collection.
Coming from college – tailored support
Many students join us from college and we support them through our QMAdvance pre-entry programme and also a special induction programme
International student - tailored support
We are fortunate in that our international students come from a diverse range of countries, enriching the academic and social environment on campus. From our popular International Student Induction programme and International Student Society to our Effective Learning Services and drop in international student support sessions, we are here to help you succeed, and as a small university, we can really get to know you.
Broadening your horizons through travel opportunities
We know that travel can build your confidence, give you new perspectives and allow you to get the most out of your time as a student. As well as the opportunity to study a semester abroad (subject to availability and course), we have funding available, on a competitive basis, to help ensure that travel opportunities are available to those with limited means.
Helping you feel at home with high quality, on-campus accommodation
Our award-winning accommodation is all en-suite and provides the safety and social benefits of living on campus with a vibrant ResLife social programme.
Benefit from our alumni networks
Our proactive alumni team bring our alumni together at alumni events, and arrange for our powerful network of alumni to support current cohorts of students, eg through guest lectures, mentoring etc.
Once you have graduated from QMU, you can take full advantage of a range of benefits including careers support for life, discounts on postgraduate study, alumni networking opportunities and can receive our QMUYOU magazine for alumni and friends.
