You are probably just about to finish college and are starting to look for the right post graduate opportunity. You are also probably finding that it can be quite daunting and difficult. Trust me, I know the struggle, I was in your shoes this time last year. You might find yourself not completely sure what you would like to do. Do you want to go traveling for a year? Do you want to go straight into a job or do you want to complete a masters or further education? This was the exact position I found myself in.
The masters in Global business in UCD Smurfit is something that 18 months ago, I wouldn’t have started to consider applying for. The thought of further education past my undergraduate course was as far away as I could dream of. Yet here I sit, typing out this blog about the decision to take a 23 month Master’s program and hopefully turn it into one of the best decisions I could make in my life.
Do you ever feel like you could do more to live sustainability ? Here are some quick and easy tips to help you become part of this movement!
“You get the best of both worlds” with the Bord Bia Graduate Programme
Hannah Montana was more than likely not talking about the International Graduate Programme that is run by Bord Bia in conjunction with UCD Michael Smurfit Business School, when she wrote that song, but she may as well have been. One of the biggest questions facing today’s graduates is whether to continue in education and obtain a level 9 qualification or instead delve straight into the world of work. There are definitely pro’s and con’s to both of these pathways and the factors that govern this decision are often highly individualized. Instead of trying to persuade you that leaving university and securing a graduate programme is the best choice for your career or that you would be far better paying enormous money to give yourself a head start in your chosen field, I will instead illustrate how, with the Bord Bia graduate programme, you get the best of both worlds.
This post will first give a top level overview of what exactly is involved in the Bord Bia Graduate Programme. I will then illustrate what exactly Bord Bia do, and how you will contribute to this work (Bord Bia Placement). Finally, I will detail the Master’s programme and what you can actually expect (Master’s in Global Business Practice).
Bord Bia Graduate Programme Overview
The Bord Bia Graduate Programme is run in conjunction with UCD Michael Smurfit Business School, ranked amongst the top 100 Business Schools in the world by the Financial Times. This partnership has helped to create a graduate programme that is like no other offered in Ireland. Participants of this programme will complete 23 months of work experience with Bord Bia (The Irish Food Board).
For those of you that don’t know, Bord Bia’s role is to bring Irish food, drink and horticulture to the world. They have over 14 offices spread across the globe, with opportunities for graduates to be placed in all. Participants receive a Master’s level qualification with UCD Michael Smurfit Business School, in Global Business Practice. This masters is fully funded by Bord Bia. Along with this, participants also receive a tax free bursary worth around €25,000.
I am aware that this all sounds a little too good to be true, but this high level overview barely even scratches the service. There’s 22 days off, which is plenty of time to travel within Ireland or the country you’re placed in. Another plus is that there are other graduates living all over the world, meaning wherever you want to go, there’s a friend to show you around and offer you a couch. There’s a day off for your graduation ceremony, to catch up with college friends and tell them about your new job. Bord Bia pay for your flights out to your overseas placement and back at Christmas. There’s an intensive onboarding when you join the programme, all 32 graduates will sit through presentations by the Senior Leadership Team in Bord Bia, the CEO, Tara McCarthy and other high level managers within Bord Bia. This helps to give you a sense of what Bord Bia is about and how all departments work together to deliver on the strategic priorities. There’s also practical onboarding, from Excel and PowerPoint courses to showing everyone how to use the internal systems, expense@work being the most important (free food when on a work trip, yayyy!!)
Bord Bia (The Irish Food Board)
For those of you that don’t know much about Bord Bia, let me explain. Bord Bia or the Irish Food Board is essentially a marketing agency. They bring Irish food, drink and horticulture to the world. As I know most people are a huge fun of history, I’ve italicized the below paragraph for ease of reading (or skipping). This details how Bord Bia was formed and came to be in its current format.
Bord Bia was formed in December 1994 by an act of the Irish Parliament. This brought together the former CBF (Coras Beostoic agus Feola – the Irish Meat and Livestock Board) and the food promotion activities of An Bord Trachtala/the Irish Trade Board. In subsequent years horticulture and seafood came under Bord Bia’s remit.
Bord Bia’s vision is that customers around the world recognise that Irish food and drink is world class; that it is of high quality, distinctive, and made by a diverse range of creative producers from its unique and fortuitous island location. They do this in a number of ways; Developing routes to market, identifying market insight, developing brands, working closely with client companies and clearly communicating our message, which is basically that Irish food, drink and horticulture are amazing. There’s nothing like your mammy’s dinners, and its up to us to show the rest of the world what we’ve been harping on about for so long.
Graduate Programme or Postgraduate Degree?
A lot to people that go straight from their undergraduate to a master’s can find that sometimes having a master’s degree without having much real world work experience is more of a hindrance than a help. A huge amount of entry-level jobs often do not require a degree. As these roles are often administrative heavy, candidates can hear that they are over-qualified for the role. The other problem is that if you don’t have work experience, you won’t be qualified for some of the higher level positions.
Essentially then, you’re caught between a rock and a hard place, as my Father would say. With the Bord Bia graduate programme, you won’t have that problem, you’ll get almost two years’ experience (having the time of your life I might add) and finish with a Master’s that’ll stand out on any CV.
Bord Bia Placement
There are 32 places for International Graduates on the Bord Bia Graduate Programme. These places are split between the Dublin office and the International Offices. 16 graduates are placed in Dublin, with 16 graduates spread throughout the world. Once you’re placed, you’re there for the full placement. There’s advantages and disadvantages to this, it would be great to get experience in a different department or market but on the other hand, you become really experienced in a particular area, working there for 23 months. I’ll go through some of the differences between a Dublin or an overseas placement below.
Roles vary within Bord Bia Dublin, there are graduates placed with the Strategic Insight team in the Thinking House, the work here centers on brand development. They work with clients on bespoke projects, developing their positioning in food categories, supply chain channels, creating bespoke packaging etc. There are also roles with the Origin Green and Quality Assurance teams (read more about Origin Green and Quality Assurance here and here). Other exciting work can be within the Sectors (Meat, Dairy, Seafood, Alcohol and Prepared Consumer Foods) or International Markets team. The work between these departments can sometimes overlap. Graduates in these departments will work on organizing trade visits and international trade fairs, developing relationships between global customers and Irish suppliers. Other departments include, events, communications, marketing and talent/human resources. The latter of which, is where, yours truly, works.
In the International offices, of which there are 14, graduates could be placed in New York, London, Dubai, Shanghai or Paris, with various other locations also (see the full list here). I try not to be too jealous of them all. Graduates in the International offices work on a larger variety of projects. Instead of specializing in one area, they receive a flavor of them all. They will work with their Dublin colleagues on trade missions and trade fairs, they will conduct market analyses (an example might be what the market outlook for yoghurt was in the UAE). For some of the overseas offices, a second language is required and it’s a huge help if you’re interested in applying for the programme. German and Chinese are amongst the most in demand.
Now while the projects mentioned above are certainly worked on by grads, it’s not all glitz and glam. Everyone certainly does their fair share of administrative work, from raising PO’s (basically paying bills), to booking hotels and restaurants for Bord Bia staff and customers.
I know these can seem boring and a waste of time, but these boring tasks are some of the things that will develop you the most. Trying to balance your day to day administrative tasks with some of the more high level projects will develop your ability to lead, to problem-solve, to innovate, to build relationships, to adapt rapidly and communicate effectively. It will also help to build resilience and time management, two skills that I cannot over emphasise the importance of.
Master’s in Global Business Practice
The Master’s in Global Business Practice in the UCD Michael Smurfit Business School is a full-time Action Learning programme that is designed around eight classroom-based modules. The modules that students complete are;
- Marketing Impact
- Building and Using Customer and Market Insights
- Developing Customer Value Propositions
- Global Business in a Digital Environment
- Logistics, Supply Chain & Sustainability
- Business Sustainability
- Maximising Performance Impact
- Professional Impact Project
I know you’re thinking now, when do you get a chance to actually do these modules and the assignments, but don’t worry, you’ll fit it in.
When you begin the programme in July, you’ll spend the first three weeks in training, on-boarding and in lectures. In two weeks you will complete two modules. Every six months after that, at Christmas and in July, you will complete two more modules during a two week block release in Dublin. There’s also a study day on the Monday before the lectures, so don’t worry, there’s plenty of time to read case studies and the like. A word to the wise though, make sure you do the readings, it doesn’t go down well if you don’t.
You’re generally given one assignment for each module, though there may be more than one, depending on the lecturer. Some assignments are grouped and others are individual. Although they’re all challenging, there’s no end to the support you’re given to complete them. You’re also given a lot of time to submit each assignment, three or four months each time. I know this sounds like a lot and a bit of a pain but it’ll be completely worth it when you have a Master’s from one of Ireland’s most prestigious universities, and you can skip away without a student (or parent) loan.
The other great thing about this Master’s is that you don’t have to complete a thesis. So don’t worry about having to work away in the library, trying to do a few months of research in a few days.
Instead of a thesis, everyone will work on a professional impact project. For the current cohort, we’re going to work on the Bord Bia statement of strategy. The current statement of strategy runs until 2021 and, before that date the organisation will have to formulate its new strategy for the next 3 years. For our part in this, we will be divided into groups and will then work on developing what we think the strategy should look like. A report will be completed and we will then present to the Senior Leadership Team and the lecturer for that module. It’s not nerve wracking at all.
The other thing I want to point out to anyone thinking that all the lectures and assignments sound like a pain is that you’ll actually end up looking forward to them. After we all went to work in August, we couldn’t wait to get released at Christmas to see everyone again. Despite only being together for three weeks at the beginning, people got on really well and you make good friends. The other plus is that you can see how other people are getting on in the other offices, share stories about things that happened, and gain perspective and advice about anything getting you down or causing a bit of an issue in work. On an unofficial note, the block release in UCD Smurfit has been likened to Love Island once or twice, so it’s really a case of you will work really hard but there’ll be plenty of time for the craic too.
Essentially, if I leave you with one note, let it be this; Apply for the Bord Bia Graduate Programme; work experience, a master’s qualification and plenty of craic. You really get the best of both worlds.
Email bordbia@ucd.ie to register your interest now. Our next intake is July 2021 with interviews in February. Get more information on the Bord Bia website here.
A trip to the Amalfi Coast is a dream holiday for loads of people yet the thought of breaking the bank prevents some from ever actually going. Notorious for its lavish hotels, classy restaurants, and expensive nightlife, there is no denying that you could spend thousands of euro in a few days on the Amalfi Coast. However, with some strategic budgeting and smart planning, anyone can enjoy the beauty of the Italian coastline. Here is my five-day guide to the Amalfi Coast for under €500:
[Note: I have included some of the highlights of the museum throughout the piece to hopefully convince you to give it a go]
When I decided that I’d be spending a semester abroad in Ireland at University College Dublin, I immediately began planning all of the things that I would do to take advantage of my time overseas. One thing I did not include, but in hindsight can't believe I didn't, was the National Gallery Ireland.
Thank you for your interest! Please email outsidethegreen123@gmail.com if you would like to be added to the mailing list!
Straight out of secondary school; university seems like a refreshing and relaxed social experience full of endless parties, alcohol and pizza. But reality hits eventually, and we're faced with deadlines, money pressures and a huge pile of laundry. I'm sure most people will remember the time when you suddenly realise that you actually have to grow up a bit to survive at uni.
Taking responsibility like this can be very overwhelming for a young college student, especially if it's the first time living away from home. A lot of us were babied up to that point; used to having their work managed by teachers, clothes washed by their parents and food stocked up in the fridge. These new pressures, funnily looking back now, almost put me into a quarter life crisis and sent me down the road of endless Youtube self-help videos and advice from the likes of Tony Robbins. A bit dramatic, to say the least.
It took me a few months of searching to help me get on my feet in college, but in addition to time and experience to my surprise I found working in college to be one of the best means of getting my sh*t together. I wasn't expecting this of course, the only reason why I got a job in the first place was to have more money for coffees and going into town with my friends! But the lessons I learned in my first job and beyond have helped me grow my confidence, drive and personal accountability. I've come up with a few reasons why, even if you detest working, you should absolutely take the opportunity to find and job and stick to it while in college.
- Structure, organisation and accountability.
When we leave secondary school; a university timetable full of blank spaces seems like a welcomed break after the busyness of our school final exams. However, the benefits of this quickly dampen when bad habits such as procrastination and laziness creep in! A lack of structure also can make day to day tasks more anxiety inducing; as a result of not having a clear idea as-to when they will be completed or actioned.
Having a university job requires structure, organisation and accountability. Rosters give us a clear idea of when we have time to work on college, and when we must be working in our job. Unlike university, showing up late or slacking on your work will result in a termination of employment. Your actions are held accountable and your pay is determined by your effort. As a result at least in my case, this mindset is transferred to university; where I now hold myself accountable for my work such as my employer would do to me. This also gives you a head start when you enter the workforce after university, as you'll already know what working under a manager feels like and the kind of pressure to expect.
- Connections and friendships
University has to be one of the best places to make friends and meet people with similar interests. However, more often than not we are surrounded by our own age group. This is great on a social and maturity level. However, one of the greatest benefits about working is learning from those already in the workforce full time. People even two or three years our senior can provide us with lots of inspiration about who we want to become and how we want to approach life. I have worked with so many wonderful people who have turned out to be some of the greatest teachers I’ve ever had. In addition, work can provide you with contacts that may be beneficial in the future and help to get your name out before you leave university.
- The perks!
I know focusing on job perks might be materialistic, but hear me out. I have had several jobs; I’ve worked as a barista, a waitress, a retail assistant and now currently I work as a Social Media Executive for IPG Mediabrands and as a part time model. Every single one has come with perks! Some better than others of course; but out of my jobs I have flown to several different countries, have been invited to exclusive events and locations, have worked directly with public figures on various campaigns and even have starred in a national campaign myself. I know this may not be everyone’s experience; but you’ll find delight in whatever benefits you may experience from a job. Even the small things feel sweeter when you have worked for them. I’m just saying - you never know where something will take you!
- Experience.
This is an obvious one, but one of the key benefits of working in university is the experience you take forward. Employers are interested in students who have shown a track record of being competent and reliable in a work setting. Some employers would go as far as saying work experience is more important than a degree! The broader the scope of your experience the better; be it through teamwork, handling numbers or management. Experience also helps you to understand what you enjoy and don't enjoy, helping you to narrow down the career opinions you might like to explore after college.
Finally!
Having a college job is not always a walk in the park; so go easy on yourself! During this time of growth and transition remember to take steps towards self care. Whether you are a high income or low income student; student life in itself is demanding and challenging and everyone gets stressed out. However, what I have found is that the benefits outweigh the costs of having a part-time job; and I'm sure you will too.
If you are searching for places where you can get the best doughnuts delivered at your home or office, here are some examples. There are multiple of places in Dublin where you can get great doughnuts but, unfortunately, not all of them provide delivery and special offers like them. Those stores are available on platforms, such as Just Eat, or even on their websites, and offer personal orders and work as any other restaurant delivery.
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts store
Blanchardstown Centre