51Âþ»­

From international relations to public relations – Emily Fox is making the most of opportunities at 51Âþ»­ Leicester (51Âþ»­).

The International Relations and Politics student is currently undertaking a placement year at leading global bathroom brand Roca.

“I decided to do a placement because I’m not really sure what to do after I graduate, so I wanted to build up experience in a different field that I could go into,” the 20-year-old from Norfolk said.

“When people think about humanities degree subjects, they often don’t realise the scope of different roles you can go into.

“My degree knowledge has actually come in really handy in the workplace. It’s been such an uncertain time in international relations and politics, so my colleagues have been asking me all sorts of questions about Brexit and its implications on the business.”

Emily is on placement as a marketing assistant and has got stuck into a variety of projects at Roca, from public relations, to working on brochures and copywriting.

She said: “My year so far has been amazing and insightful. It’s been really interesting to get an understanding of different areas, and I’ve loved the variety of things I’ve been able to get involved with. I’ll definitely be taking all the skills that I’ve learnt into the future.”

Emily outside the Roca London Gallery

Asked whether she would recommend a placement year to others, Emily said: “Definitely. You get to expand your skillset and build on the transferable skills from your degree.

“When it comes to looking for jobs after I graduate, I’ll have so many real-life examples to use at interviews and assessment centres.”

One of her main responsibilities has been managing a retailer incentive trip. ‘The incentive’ involves encouraging retailers across the country to reach their sales targets, with the high-achievers receiving an all-expenses paid trip to Marrakech.

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Emily is no stranger to international travel herself, having made the most of opportunities through – the university’s international experience programme - to widen her degree knowledge.

She has travelled to New York to pitch community project ideas at the United Nations headquarters, visited Brussels to learn about politics in the European Union, went to the regional parliament in Berlin, and attended an international conference in Cyprus with the Model UN society.

Emily (second from left) outside the United Nations headquarters

She said: “The opportunities I’ve had to travel, learn and participate in cultural experiences have been the highlight of my time at 51Âþ»­ so far. Particularly for an international relations degree, it’s so important to be able to experience the political climate in different countries.”