Rachel Finlay, Jennifer Liddle and Emma Dillon

The world of communications offers richly varied experiences – as three of today’s graduates have discovered.

Emma Dillon, Rachel Finlay and Jennifer Liddle all graduated with a MSc in Communication, Advertising and PR at today’s ceremony at the Jordanstown campus.

For North Belfast girl Emma, life in the world of Public Relations got off to a glitzy start. In her first week of work for a Belfast consultancy she mingled with pop stars Liberty X. Already, she is deep in the fast-moving world of fashion shoots and consumer PR.

Emma (25) from Deerpark Road says: “It has been a great introduction to public relations, doing a variety of work and meeting a wide range of people. There is a great thrill in writing press releases and then seeing your work published in the media or broadcast on television or radio. But working in PR isn’t all champagne receptions!” she laughed.

She says her interest in the world of public relations began when studying for her primary degree in Communications Studies in which she graduated with First Class Honours.

“That persuaded me to go on to do a Masters which concentrates more on the commercial side of communications. I would recommend the course to anyone and at the end of it you have a qualification which is recognised by the Institute of Public Relations. It also opens doors into the industry.

“After completing the course I have been fortunate to gain experience with a well-known company of how the industry works. So far it has been a fascinating experience”, she adds.

Rachel’s role as a student leader in the University of Ulster gave her a flavour of the media world and so she set her cap on a higher degree in communications.

After graduating in International Studies at the Magee campus, Rachel took a year out to gain valuable experience as Overall Deputy President of the University of Ulster Students’ Union. “In that post, I was working in communications and helping out the marketing manager. It gave me a taste for it all and I decided I would do the MSc so as to get more knowledge of the theory, as well as the practice.”

Rachel, 23, from Dungannon, is currently on work placement with BBC Children in Need. “I’m really enjoying it here. The people are great and they’ve given me the opportunity to go around all the different departments of the organisation – administration, press office, newsroom and others.”

She recommends the degree to anyone who wants to get an all-round grounding in the sectors. “The skills you learn through the course are invaluable as I have discovered through the work experience I am doing. The academics teaching the course in Jordanstown keep in very close contact with the industry and so they know the skills that students need and the abilities that employers are on the lookout for.”

The course has provided her with opportunities to make contacts in advertising companies and PR agencies. “They highly recommend the course. Since it is really well respected by the professionals in the industry, I think it’s bound to improve the job prospects of anyone who studies it.

“After BBC Children in Need, I’d like to get on to a graduate training programme with one of the big commercial companies, which should give me even more opportunities to try out different aspects of the job.”

Jennifer, 24, from Larne, chose to study for the MSc in Communications, Advertising and PR because it offered the scope for studying the three areas in detail.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the course and the great thing was that the lecturers made it as relevant as possible. They made it so relevant in a work-business context as opposed to it being theory, theory, theory,” she said.

 “I would definitely recommend the course. If you are going to postpone a year of your working life to do a Masters, it is really important that you do one that is well recognised by employers and relevant to what you want to do – like the CAP course.”

While at Jordanstown, Jennifer conducted a business intelligence research project into how people in commerce viewed the University of Ulster and its graduates. “I had to go out to key members of the local business and industry community and ask them how they perceived the university, against a series of variables.

“The research showed that business and industry looked at graduates of the University of Ulster as being of very high calibre and also that the university was seen as being very progressive and having come a long way in the past ten years.

“I was really lucky in that the MSc course gave me a really sound theoretical background and understanding, while the project for the university gave me the experience and the opportunity to network and build contacts with senior people in successful organisations, which is something that will always stand me in good stead.”

Jennifer has a BSc in Management and French from Queen’s University, Belfast.  She taught English in France for a year before studying for her MSc at the University of Ulster.


Winter Graduation News 2005

For further information, please contact:

David Young
Telephone: 028 90366074
Email: David Young