Practera

This is the kind of bold institutional commitment that moves the whole sector forward.

The University of Leicester has announced that from September 2026, every undergraduate degree will include a minimum of 100 hours of work-related experience. Every degree. Every discipline. The first research-intensive university in the UK to make this call.

As their Vice-Chancellor put it, the pace of change in , digital technologies and labour market structures demands it. And they're right.

For too long, work-related learning has been seen as a nice-to-have. Something bolted on. Something for certain courses or certain students. What Leicester is doing is making it structural. Making it a given.

That shift from optional to embedded is exactly what we need more of. Because isn't built in a single workshop or a last-minute CV review. It's built over time, through real experience, reflection and the confidence that comes from doing.

Big shoutout to the team at Leicester for leading the way here. 👏

📖 Read the full piece via Wonkhe: https://wonkhe.com/blogs/how-universities-can-rise-to-the-challenge-of-an-unpredictable-future-workplace/

Eid al-Adha Mubarak to all who are celebrating! 🌙

To our students, university partners, industry partners and the incredible Practera team around the world, marking this occasion today, wishing you and your families a joyful and meaningful celebration filled with gratitude, togetherness and peace.

The question every educator should be sitting with right now is coming directly from their students.

"I am having a hard time finding concrete information regarding what employers mean by 'AI skills.' What skills am I supposed to be developing?"

It comes from the largest survey ever conducted in higher education, nearly 100,000 responses across the California State University system, and was shared in a brilliant op-ed via Inside Higher Ed.

The students aren't confused. They're actually paying attention. And so are the educators who want to help them but are being asked to prepare students for a workplace that hasn't yet clearly defined what it needs.

This isn't a problem. It's a connection problem.

The institutions doing this well are the ones closing that gap through authentic, employer-engaged experiential learning. Real briefs. Real projects. Real feedback from industry. That's where the ambiguity dissolves and where students start building that actually transfer into the workplace.

That's the work worth doing right now. 🚀

📖 Read the full piece: https://lnkd.in/g6F8Y4ac

"Working on the Koor project was inspiring and eye-opening."

That's how SHENGAN JIN, a Bachelor of Commerce student at UNSW, described his experience in the UNSW Sustainable Impact program.

Throughout the project, Shengan worked with Koor, a refill food container brand, and saw firsthand what happens when sustainability and marketing meet in the real world. He and his team looked at social media trends, audience behaviour, and content ideas to help the brand connect with more people online.

And that is often where the biggest shift happens for students.

Not in the classroom.

In the moment they realise their ideas can actually shape how a real brand tells its story.

For Shengan, that meant building practical skills in market research, social media analysis, creative thinking, teamwork, and using data to back a story.

His reflection says it best: good ideas mean more when you understand what makes people stop scrolling and pay attention.

109 students for one internship spot. Fewer openings every year, and the competition just keeps growing. It is a lot of pressure to put on a single application.

That is where real project experience changes things. Our industry programs give students a chance to work on actual briefs, get feedback from real clients and build the kind of network that does not come from a classroom. It is the head start that makes a difference when everyone else has the same degree.

This is why we continuously encourage students to start early, say yes to the project and show up for every opportunity that comes their way. Whether it is a consulting project, a networking event or an industry program, every experience adds up. The students who get in early are the ones who stand out when it really counts.

Internships Are More Crucial Than Ever—and Even Harder to Find More students and unemployed graduates are vying for a limited number of spots to improve their odds of getting hired.

The University of Melbourne's Faculty of Business and Economics Business Innovation Challenge has wrapped, and this cohort delivered, tackling a genuine, open-ended problem brought by HUB24 Limited with professionalism and resilience.

Congratulations to the winning team, 4ward Thinkers, and finalists Team Capcha and Collaber8ors.

What makes experiences like this valuable is not just the outcome; it's what students discover about themselves when the pressure is real, the timeline is tight, and the problem lacks a clean answer. This is where capability is built.

Thank you to Practera's Executive Director, Katrina Greig,

Director Design, Product & Customer Success, Brigitte McKenna - FHEA, and to the University of Melbourne students who brought this to life. And to HUB24 Limited for bringing a real business challenge to the table.

The future of graduate talent is being shaped in rooms like this. We can't wait to see what this cohort does next.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/katrina-greig_what-an-incredible-two-days-the-university-ugcPost-7459926537258242049--XfL?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAADVFSyQBIlJOs4ssKC3d8fGhzsDhuFq6y1M

What an incredible two days. The University of Melbourne, Faculty of Business and Economics Business Innovation Challenge has wrapped with our host client, HUB24 Limited and this cohort gave me a… | Katrina Greig | 18 comments What an incredible two days. The University of Melbourne, Faculty of Business and Economics Business Innovation Challenge has wrapped with our host client, HUB24 Limited and this cohort gave me a lot to think about. Congratulations to the winning team, 4ward Thinkers ( Thi Minh D**g Nguyen, Zhenghao...

Employability can have a real impact on student wellbeing.

Whether it’s the more structured “Millennial PR” approach or the direct “Gen Z Social” mindset, both point to the same thing: feeling prepared for the future helps reduce uncertainty.

Project-based learning gives students the opportunity to apply their skills in real-world settings before graduation, helping turn theory into experience and experience into confidence.

Experiential learning can help students:
• build confidence through practical experience
• develop clearer career direction
• strengthen communication and workplace skills
• feel more prepared for what comes next

When students can see where their skills fit in the real world, it creates a stronger sense of direction, capability, and momentum.

This Mental Health Awareness Week, let’s continue creating learning experiences that support not just career readiness, but confidence, wellbeing, and a stronger future for students everywhere.

Over 96,000 students leave UK universities without work each year. That is a graduate unemployment rate of 12.7%.

That number does not reflect a lack of effort from institutions or students. Universities across the UK invest significantly in preparing graduates for the world ahead. What the research keeps pointing toward is that the earlier employability is woven into the learning itself, the stronger the outcomes tend to be for students. Not as an add-on at the final term, but as part of how a course is designed from the start.

Aston Business School is a strong example of what that looks like in practice. Last Thursday, their Leadership and Management Department and Careers and Placements team won the Graduate Futures Institute's Award for Curriculum Design for Employability. The judges described their approach as "really innovative student and staff partnership working." Students were not just the recipients of a well-designed degree. They were part of building it.

Practera was proud to sponsor that award. We work with universities across the UK who are asking the same question Aston answered so well: what does a degree look like when industry-readiness is part of the design, not a last-minute addition?

If your institution is exploring that question, we would genuinely love to be part of the conversation. And if you are in the middle of it right now, what is the biggest barrier you are running into? Drop us a note below.

Five teams and counting. As Diane shared, these students are both the foundation and the future, and sustained support from industry partners makes that future possible.

If you are ready to invest in emerging talent as Diane has, we would be pleased to connect you with your first — or fifth — student team. Send us a message and let us explore what a collaboration could look like for your organisation.