UCL Careers Extra: A game changer

One student recently described Careers Extra as a “game changer”. This powerful endorsement highlights how this programme has quietly been making a meaningful difference to students’ lives for almost a decade. Here’s how this vital service helps students take their next step with confidence – and why its impact continues to grow.

What is Careers Extra?

Getting into university is a major achievement, but it’s only part of the journey. What comes next - building experience, confidence and sense of career direction - matters just as much. Careers Extra recognises that widening participation does not end at entry to higher education.

It is a coherent programme designed for the particular environment, position and demographic of UCL, where students from under-represented backgrounds can sometimes feel overwhelmed by the wealth of experiences, contacts and career knowledge enjoyed by some peers. Eligible students can sign up to join Careers Extra at any time during their undergraduate degree, or in the three years after completing their studies. For more information, please visit the Careers Extra website.

Built with students, for students

Co-creation with students is integral to Careers Extra, with a steering group of students recruited each year to ensure student voice is at the heart of its activities. It has grown from a small series of events in 2017-18 to a wide-ranging programme, including internships, research projects, a buddy scheme, alumni mentoring, one-to-one advice and guidance, online resources, and priority booking for selected UCL Careers events and work-related learning activities.

Regular, personalised communication of relevant opportunities helps students stay connected to the Careers Extra team, building their confidence to engage with careers support whilst building a sense of belonging along the way. 

Working with employers and researchers

The internship scheme provides high-quality experience for students while showcasing their talent and potential to employers. At the same time, it promotes diversity and inclusion within the host organisations, informed by the insights students bring. Similarly, the research projects scheme is designed to promote a positive and inclusive research culture, alongside developing participants’ research skills and their understanding of research as a potential future pathway.

What impact has Careers Extra had over the years?

Careers Extra’s steadily developing programme has led to increased engagement with careers activities, quantifiable growth in students’ employability skills and confidence, and successful transitions into working life and further study.

In 2024–25, Careers Extra students were around two and a half times more likely to attend a UCL Careers event than other UK undergraduates, and around six times more likely to book a one-to-one appointment. Satisfaction with one-to-one support is consistently high, with feedback forms showing a 100% satisfaction rate.

Reflecting on her work, Penny Longman, Senior Careers Consultant and Careers Extra Lead, said:

“Working with Careers Extra students is incredibly rewarding. I never get tired of seeing students grow in confidence and taking positive steps towards their futures, but my favourite thing is receiving emails out of the blue from students telling me they have secured the job or further study place they were hoping for and that Careers Extra helped them get there. I also love it when students I have worked with get back in touch because they’re now involved on inclusivity initiatives within their workplace and want Careers Extra to benefit.”

Different elements of the Careers Extra programme are evaluated separately to assess impact. For internships and research projects schemes, students reflect on their skills and confidence before and after taking part. This reinforces students’ learning and helps them recognise their progress and talk about it clearly in applications and interviews.

The results are consistent. Students report increased confidence across key transferable skills, including those set out in the UCL Pillars of Employability. For research projects, this also includes selected skills from the Researcher Development Framework. Many students also highlight the usefulness of the evaluation activity itself and taking the time to reflect on their development.

Above all, the impact is clear in what students say:

“I'm starting my graduate role at Citi …in September…. Careers Extra did really help me leading up to this opportunity. Everyone else also agrees that Careers Extra was a game-changer!” - Careers Extra participant 

I wanted to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude for your unwavering dedication to fostering social mobility and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in careers at UCL. Your tireless efforts have had a profound impact on students like me, providing invaluable support and guidance throughout our career journey. Your passion for empowering students to reach their full potential shines through in every interaction.” - Careers Extra participant 

As part of UCL’s wider widening participation mission, Careers Extra continues to show that sustained, targeted support can transform confidence, opportunity and outcomes – long after students arrive at university.

Further links

• Careers Extra

This article is featured as part of the WP25 campaign, celebrating 25 years of Access and Widening Participation work at UCL. You can find out more via the WP25 webpage.