Would you like to gain new skills? Work in a team to develop a new initiative?

New for Semester 2 is the Empower Community Challenge. You will have a chance to work cross-faculty on an external project with a local charity, gaining skills and making friends along the way.

Who can take part

Open to postgraduate taught students in Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Science and Faculty of Engineering and Design.

If you want to develop your creative and analytical thinking skills whilst building your problem solving and resilience skills, this is for you.

Empower: Grow your skills, make a difference

Empower Community Challenge is all about giving postgraduate students real-world experience through volunteering in areas like social media and market research. It’s a chance to build your professional skills, boost your employability, and make a real impact in your community.

By connecting what you’ve learned in the classroom with practical work, Empower helps you grow as a socially conscious leader ready to bring about positive change where it matters most.

You will then present the work you've done to all charities involved in the scheme on a presentation event in March.

How to get involved

The scheme will run from 2 February to 13 March 2026 (subject to confirmation). There will be supportive sessions available for you to get involved with, including how to present your ideas.

If you are interested, please complete the registration form by Friday 12 December.

You do not need to commit at this stage, we’ll just send you more information closer to the launch event in Semester 2.