On 3 June 2023, 25 students (including me) and two members of the Queen’s Careers team travelled to Boston to network with businesses and answer the question: ‘How can we equip graduates to tackle 21st century problems?’ 

This six-month programme, Future Ready Skills for Leaders: Boston, began back in January 2023 and consisted of several design thinking and team building workshops before the other students and I got the chance to jet off to America. This was mostly subsidised by Queen’s University and enabled us to work on projects and develop skills to become change makers within Queen’s University and the wider community. Also, it helps us achieve the Future Ready Skills award. 

The trip started with a day to explore the city of Boston and take part in a cultural activity. My team and I chose a trip to Fenway Park where we watched the Boston Red Sox play, followed by a walk through the city.  

Our first visit of the trip was to the Invest NI Boston offices. We had an opportunity to brainstorm with our teams about the purpose of our visit and hear from Michael Needham from Stratadice, who is originally from Northern Ireland. 

On our second day we had the opportunity to visit Rian Immigration centre, a charity who help those who move over to the US, and Rapid 7 - who also have offices in Belfast. This was insightful as it helped me to see the differences of the USA and Northern Ireland, in terms of how businesses work, employee expectations, and office environments. In addition, it was great to see the amazing opportunities available for both students and graduates.  

As the business visits progressed it was great to see how many Irish people there are in Boston and the opportunities they have been able to take advantage of. Their different perspectives on how to equip graduates to tackle 21st century problems were insightful, as they had experiences from both Northern Ireland and the States.  

During the trip we had two visits to UMass, a Boston university. It was interesting to learn about the education system in America and how it compares to that in the UK. I saw big differences in the focus on sport and the price of fees.

During our visit, we had the opportunity to gain insights from many more businesses within Boston including HealthBeacon, Elizabeth Peabody and more. It was amazing to visit the world-famous Harvard Business School and meet their female soccer team. We heard about their current students and research and the importance of sport within universities in the US.

For me, the most enjoyable and insightful experiences were the networking events hosted by those we visited. It was amazing to hear from different people from a range of businesses and industries, listen to their experiences and get their take on studying abroad and equipping graduates. It was interesting to learn how heavily the US focuses on networking and the benefits of this in such a competitive professional environment.  

After a great week, we returned home to Belfast and had a few days rest before our final task - presenting our findings to a panel of former students, business owners and staff from Queen’s University. It was interesting to see all the students’ perspectives with many having a heavy focus on championing student-led networking, further extracurriculars and work experience at Queen’s. 

Overall, this was a fantastic experience and one which I will remember for a lifetime. I made so many friends and great memories, but it also gave me great insight into the professional environment and business outside of Northern Ireland. 

Claire Ford

BSc Business Management graduate

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