University of Southampton at the 25th edition of Seawork

Seawork, Europe’s largest on-water commercial marine and workboat exhibition, returned to Mayflower Park in Southampton for its 25th edition from 11 to 13 June 2024.

The University of Southampton stand, hosted by our dedicated Careers and Employability team, was visited by many exhibit goers looking to learn more about opportunities for student innovation projects, year-in-employment schemes, and how we can support their recruitment needs. See end for more details on their offerings book a meeting with our Employer Engagement team.

Several from the Maritime Engineering research group attended on behalf of the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute (SMMI) to provide academic and technical advice for industries and prospective students looking to work with or study at the University of Southampton. Our thanks to Dr Nick Townsend , Dr Tahsin Tezdogan , Prof. Alan J Murphy , Prof. Dominic Hudson , and Prof. Steve Boyd for your time on stand. The group also hosted an alumni event for Ship Science graduates attending the exhibition. This was a great opportunity for "shippies" old and new to meet, catch up and share stories and experiences of their time at UoS and where they are working now. Our thanks to Dr Joe Banks for putting this event together.

Ship Science alumni event

University of Southampton students were selected to display their project work in the Innovation Hall at the event. Silvia Calvo Benthem, who is studying for an MEng Ship Science, showcased her IP project on decarbonising tugboats in Southampton Harbour, in collaboration with Svitzer Marine Ltd . This initiative aims to reduce emissions and promote sustainability in maritime operations (see Silvia’s poster for more details). She won the 1st Future Seawork prize for her work at the European Commercial Marine Awards (ECMAs) held during the exhibition. Rohan Jha, an MSc Maritime Engineering student, also displayed his research project, focusing on optimising propeller design for marine vehicles in collaboration with Artemis Technologies . His work aims to enhance simulation efficiency and accuracy, contributing to the maritime industry's shift towards cleaner, zero-carbon fuel sources (see Rohan’s poster for more details).

Silvia Calvo Benthem presenting her prize-winning project work

Highlights from the rest of the exhibition included the official opening by HRH The Princess Royal. Following a tour of the exhibits, HRH Princess Anne opened the exhibition with an address highlighting the importance of investing in the future and careers within the maritime industry and an official ribbon cutting.

Entries for the Maritime UK Solent Awards 2024 - “The regional maritime awards celebrating the success of our outstanding local maritime cluster” - were formally opened at Seawork 2024. The SMMI are proud to be sponsoring this year's prize for Sustainability Leadership. Entries open to groups and organisations across the maritime sector. Apply for the awards or apply to join as Charity Partner . Entries close 22 July 2024. Finalists will be announced on 10 September and the Finalists Celebration will be held on 19 September 2024 in Southampton.

WISTA and Seawork Women in Marine Industry panel event

WISTA UK celebrated their 50th Anniversary, and Seawork their 25th Anniversary, with a "Women in Marine Industry" panel event featuring Natasha Brown , Head of Outreach and Communications Office at the International Maritime Organization (IMO); Sarah Oakley, Captain in Royal Navy ; Fleet Captain Louise Sara from Carnival Corporation & plc; and Jessica Tyson , Harbour Master and Pilot at Somerset Ports / Goodchild Marine Services Ltd . The audience of women and their champions heard first-hand accounts from the distinguished keynote speakers who shared candidly about their career journeys, successes and challenges, sparking constructive discourse in the Q&A session and the networking drinks that followed.

Panel speaking

The showcase of vessels on the jetty were great to explore, including state of the art Crew Transfer Vessels (CTV) and the Mexeflote from the British Army's 17 Port and Maritime Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps based at Marchwood. It's always great to see some of the newly built vessels and learn about cutting edge technologies and designs. Day 2 ended with an apt awareness of the working harbour the event is hosted in, as the annual Cardboard Boat Regatta ended against the backdrop of the massive container ship on its way to berth.

British Army's 17 Port and Maritime Regiment

Training and Careers Day, organized by Maritime UK Solent and Solent Partners, took place on the final day of Seawork on Thursday, 13th June 2024. This event highlighted the diverse job opportunities within the commercial marine industry, showcasing roles both on the water and shore-based, and provided guidance on schemes to help individuals, regardless of qualifications, embark on a marine career.

Our thanks to the University of Southampton Employer Engagement team for coordinating the stand presence at this year’s Seawork. Find out more about their offerings below.

Finish of the annual Cardboard Boat Regatta

Engaging our students and graduates

UoS Internships

Internships facilitate the opportunity for businesses to recruit students to get involved in a meaningful project and gain valuable work experience, whilst bringing creativity and productivity to host organisations. Our dedicated Employer Relations team will support you throughout the recruitment process and beyond.

Student Innovation Projects

An opportunity for organisations to gain innovative solutions to business issues using our engaged and creative students. You will create a brief to outline the project which is presented to two teams of students who will then work together on the project for 4 weeks. The teams will present their research and recommendations in the final week. The programme is free of charge to participating organisations and projects take place twice a year in semester one (October-December) and semester two (February-March).

Year in Employment Placements

An opportunity for employers to attract our high calibre students on placements for up to 12 months as part of their degree. Placements begin after summer exams of the student’s second year from July/September to the following July. It is underpinned with identified learning outcomes, which the student will need to meet throughout, giving students the chance to develop deeper skills and professional development within a company setting. This is also a low-cost recruitment solution for employers with the prospect of building a graduate pipeline, with the added benefit of the placements team who will provide ongoing support for the duration of the placement.

Careers Fairs and Employer Events

We organise a full event programme for employers throughout the academic year, ranging from large scale Careers Fairs to individual Employer Pop Up stands to maximise brand awareness and student engagement. Please register your interest on this form: Employer Careers Fairs & Events EOI form

Career Mentoring

The Career Mentoring Programme can give you the opportunity to support our students through their transition from study into graduate employment.

Advertise your Vacancy

We invite you to promote your opportunities on MyCareer, it is our online careers site, which allows all University of Southampton students and graduates to easily find out about everything we have to offer. We can advertise different types of vacancies including, placement schemes, internships, graduate roles and schemes.

If you are interested in discussing further opportunities to engage with University of Southampton students, please book a meeting with our Employer Engagement team who will be happy to speak with you further.