Under the motto “Together we shine brighter,” IQS recently held Talent Week, a series of events during which 4th year undergraduate students participated in training sessions, teambuilding activities, and workshops with leading companies from different sectors. To wrap up Talent Week, the events culminated with the 18th Employment Forum.
Under the motto “Together we shine brighter,” IQS recently held Talent Week, a series of events during which 4th year undergraduate students participated in training sessions, teambuilding activities, and workshops with leading companies from different sectors. To wrap up Talent Week, the events culminated with the 18th Employment Forum.
IQS Career Services explained that the objectives are to enhance Power Skills so students can competitively position themselves in the professional world, self-awareness, managing teamwork skills, offering students the tools they need to introduce themselves to job market, and for each student to define and lead their own professional development strategy through excellence to achieve success in their careers.
The training sessions, which took place from Monday to Thursday, focused on self-awareness, role strategies, emotional management, networking, team management, job search strategies, discernment, and related tools.
Highlights included the workshops “How to make the LinkedIn algorithm work for you?” by Helena Jiménez and Paulina Segura from Grifols; “How to enhance engagement” by Jordi Cortina, Assistant Manager of Human Resources at the Hotel Arts Barcelona; and “How to have a successful interview with a multinational company” by Domingo Valero, Talent Acquisition Manager at Enterprise.
The training event also awarded the best student profile to IQS School of Engineering student Amaia Telleria and IQS School of Management student Jaume Carulla. The requirements to qualify for the award were to attend all the training sessions and activities offered during the week and beforehand, to be chosen as an “Excellent Profile” by the participating companies, and to have a professional CV in terms of structure and content.
In addition, the training talks featured expert speakers: Carlos Navarro, Managing Director at BASF; Estel·la Buscató, Business Innovation Enablement Lead EMEA Breeding and Testing R&D Vegetables at Bayer; Óscar Rey, General Manager at Leblich; Marc Rafat, co-founder and CEO of Yummkin; Julio Caballero, Head of the Northern Zone at Barcelona Enterprise; Jordi Cortina, Assistant Manager of Human Resources at Hotel Arts; Irene de Esteban, Heat of Procurement at Synlab; and Montse Xixons, Director of Communications for the Catalan Healthcare Service.
The Employment Forum, where talent and business come together
More than 350 4th year undergraduate and master's students attended the 18th IQS Employment Forum. They were able to make contact with more than 60 participating companies that fall under a wide variety of sectors and industries. Among these companies, 25 are partners with the IQS Business Foundation: AC Marca, Altadia, BASF Española, Carburos Metálicos, Catalonia Hotels & Resorts, CELSA Group, Enginyers Industrials de Catalunya, Croda, Firmenich, GasN2, Banc Sabadell, J.Juan, Jori Armengol y Asociados, Laboratorios Menarini, Laboratorios Rubió, Lluch Essence, LyondellBasell, Mesoestetic Pharma Group, Morchem, Panreac Química, PWC, Quality Chemicals, Technip Energies Iberia, Uquifa y Werfen.
Held on the last day of Talent Week at the IQS Retreat House, the professional meeting aimed to enhance student employability following work done throughout the week through practical training to "prepare them to shine" as stated by IQS Career Services.
Débora Mariscal, HR consultant at Leitat, a technology centre where the main activity is research and innovation with new technologies in all kinds of sectors and services, gave a very positive assessment of the events: “We've come here before, and that's why we're back. At IQS we can find interesting profiles for internships and students who can later join our company. These profiles really fit well with us, especially in chemistry and engineering. It’s a great opportunity to find talent at the university,” she summed up.
As to students, they valued the opportunity to have direct contact with companies. Sergi Amoròs, a 4th year student in Chemical Engineering, explained how he was able to find out about Carburos Metálicos: “I was interested in the sector and working outside of Spain, and they offer countless opportunities at an international level.” As to Uquifa, he continued: “they're offering us internships next year as an initial work experience and we've been able to speak quietly together in a private setting.”
Talent Week forms part of the Professional Development Plan (PDP) designed by IQS Career Services with the aim of enhancing the professional skills that IQS students are known for. This development plan is launched in the 2nd year of all undergraduate programmes and continues throughout master's degree programmes.
