Placement student Colleen Liston

Colleen Liston undertook a one year placement as part of her BSc Construction Engineering Management with Lendlease. She is now a Construction Manager within the company

Loughborough top in the UK for employer-student connections in international rankings

Loughborough University has been ranked first in the UK and in the top 20 globally for employer-student connections by the QS 2020 Graduate Employability Rankings.

The rankings are designed to help students make informed choices for their educational futures, based specifically on the ability of their chosen university to help them succeed in the employment market.

More than 750 universities worldwide are included in the rankings and are judged on five key criteria: employer reputation; partnerships with employers; alumni outcomes; employers’ presence on campus; and graduate employment rate.

The employer-student connections measure looks at the number of distinct employers who are actively present on a university’s campus, taking part in careers fairs, organising company presentations, or any other self-promoting activities.

Having a high number of employers active on campus provides students with an opportunity to network, build relationships with potential employers and secure career-launching internships.

Speaking about Loughborough’s success in the ranking, Vice-Chancellor Professor Robert Allison said: “The University has always prided itself on ensuring our graduates have all the skills and attributes they need to succeed in their chosen careers once they leave Loughborough. A big part of this is the relationships we have developed with businesses of all shapes and sizes across the world.

“These relationships enable us to understand what employers truly want and need from our graduates, as well as providing our students with placement opportunities that give them the experience and connections they need to excel.”

The full QS 2020 Graduate Employability Rankings can be viewed here.

Notes for editors

Press release reference number: PR 19/142

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Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2019 QS World University Rankings, University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2019 and top in the country for its student experience in the 2018 THE Student Experience Survey.

Loughborough is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 4th in the Guardian University League Table 2020, 5th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019 and 8th in The UK Complete University Guide 2020.

Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.

The Loughborough University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.

Loughborough staff, students and alumni make a real difference. They challenge convention, think creatively and find solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing society today and in the future.

Meet the #LboroGameChangers at lboro.ac.uk/lborogamechangers

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