May 3, 2024
In today’s highly competitive world, sowing the seeds of exploring career pathways at an early stage is instrumental in developing successful students. How can schools achieve this goal of nurturing, developing, and guiding students to becoming successful professionals, entrepreneurs, and visionary leaders? Is it through a robust curriculum, and high-quality teaching-learning, or is it by fostering a wide range of essential life skills to develop well-rounded individuals?
While these two features are imperative for building successful students, studies and anecdotal evidence point out that carefully planned career events and activities coupled with consistent guidance enable an organisation to support all its students to build successful careers. This article/blog explores how promoting aspiration, awareness, and curiosity through curated activities and professional guidance have led to building successful career pathways for the students of Diyafah International School, one of the premier British curriculum schools in Abu Dhabi.
Sowing the seeds of career aspirations
At DIS, career guidance activities target students as early as year 7. Besides linking lessons to real-world applications, a range of activities from taking up the roles of journalists, anchors, and television news reporters and entrepreneurs in English and Business Studies to playing the roles of investigators and scientists in science, students are provided with many opportunities to get a taste of potential future jobs. A brilliant example of this is the collaborative “Bean to Business” workshop for students from year 9 to 13 with the Barista Institute where they explored the facets of setting up a successful business by interacting with the entrepreneur and trainer Mr. Sanju. The workshop aimed at offering a glimpse into business operations and inspired entrepreneurial aspirations through practical activities, all the while fostering a deeper understanding of the coffee industry. Sessions like “Bean to Beverage” are carefully planned to ensure that the students are always aware of how the business world works, what the industry expectations are, and why it is important to sharpen their skills during their school life and beyond.
The Annual Diyafah Career Week
The annual career week at DIS is a very important event in our school calendar. During this week, students actively engage in a wide range of activities, which promote curiosity, awareness, and discussions around their career choices. While the different subjects highlight careers linked to theirs, the students get the opportunity to explore trends in the job market, the skills required for pursuing different professions by interacting with professionals from the industry. In November 2023, our students from year 7 to 13 got the opportunity to interact with leading professionals from across different industries. These interactions undoubtedly sow the seeds of career aspirations and passion at an early stage.
Unique Experiences with University Fairs
Our collaboration with IDP, International Education Specialists, is another key feature in driving enthusiasm amongst our students’ career plans- again right from year 7! More than 70 top universities from the UK, the USA, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand have visited our campus thrice over the last 18 months. These opportunities to meet with university representatives have had a great impact on our students. Not only do they offer invaluable insights about the opportunities for higher learning but also they open the minds of the students as to what they need to achieve in order to choose the career pathway they desire. Curious questions, enlightening conversations, and informative engagements are the hallmark of our university fairs. Having these opportunities has enabled our students to find seamless placements in universities around the world. Our alumni now successfully pursue their tertiary education at University of Essex, Toronto Metropolis University, Senaca University, Middlesex University, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah - just to name a few.
Mock Interviews and counselling for success
The career counselling department meticulously guides and engages our AS and A level students for mock interviews with the aim of preparing them for universities and future jobs. The students are also taught to prepare their resume and appear for the mock interviews with confidence. A pre-mock interview training enables students to equip themselves and sharpen the skills to perform well. The mock interviews are done by the principal and the vice-principals. The best part of the interview is the individual feedback every student receives to further enhance their performance.
DIS: Where Dreams Come True!
How do the dreams, the evolving aspirations, and the career ambitions of our students come true? It’s because we are invested in our students’ success; It’s because we are committed to our students’ success; It’s simply because we are determined to make all our students the best version of themselves. We sow the seeds at an early stage, and our students blossom into successful professionals to let their light shine brightly, boldly, and brilliantly.
Diyafah International School stands as a testament to the power of early career guidance, comprehensive career weeks, university fairs, and mock interviews in nurturing successful professionals and well-rounded individuals. As one of the leading British curriculum schools in Abu Dhabi, we are dedicated to fostering aspiration, awareness, and understanding to guide our students towards prosperous futures.