Through King's Edge, you have access to extracurricular activities including awards, events, volunteering and more. Explore the various opportunities designed to help you to develop your employability skills.

What is King's Edge?

King’s Edge is a hub hosting extracurricular activities and events available to all students, including funding opportunities, creative skills workshops, language courses and much more.

What will you gain from completing extracurricular activities?

• Improve your employability skills and enhance your CV.
• Expand your knowledge in areas you are interested in but aren't necessarily directly related to your degree programme.
• Expand your professional and personal networks, improving your job prospects.
• If you complete an award, you will receive a digital certificate and LinkedIn accreditation.
• Awards also feature on your Higher Education Achievement Record (HEAR), the official transcript of your accomplishments at university.

Awards

Our awards enable you to gain formal recognition for activities such as volunteering, mentoring, independent research, campaigning, playing sports or other leadership roles.

Research awards

King's College London is a research-led and student-centred university. This award stream aims to introduce students to the practices of research and make them an integral part of this community.

• King's Undergraduate Research Fellowship (KURF): KURF gives undergraduate students the opportunity to work as research fellows alongside King’s academics’ and staff members’ research projects during the summer break. Undertaking KURF is particularly recommended for students interested in postgraduate study and research-related career paths. Only undergraduate students are eligible to apply.
• Self-Sourced Research: the Self-Sourced Research Award is an opportunity for students doing research outside of their degree programmes to get their research formally recognised. Students can apply whilst conducting research or retrospectively.

Service awards

This award stream is dedicated to students who complete activities such as volunteering, campaigning or participating in charitable initiatives. Students will reflect upon how to bring positive impact to the King’s community by serving the society and sharing their vision to inspire others.

• Champion for Change: the Champion for Change award has been designed to help participants understand how to make the world a better place through social awareness, active allyship, the consciousness of the individual impact on society, critical thinking and in-depth analysis of local and global communities. Our online courses, selected by participants according to their interests, focus on: 'Intersectionality and Inclusion', 'Sustainability', 'Volunteering with Social Impact' and 'Social Enterprise'. Students, members of staff and alumni are eligible to apply.
• King's Mentoring: King's Mentoring is a King's Experience Award which aims to help peer mentors reflect on and consolidate their contribution to the belonging and wellbeing of the King's community. The award also helps peer mentors develop their own service ethic and employability.

Leadership awards

Leadership offers a range of opportunities to investigate what it means to be a leader in the 21st century. This award stream is designed for students who wish to explore career management skills through entrepreneurial activities and various work commitments.

• The Principal’s Global Leadership Award (PGLA): the PGLA enables students to learn about leadership from experts in the field and to develop distinctive leadership skills in service to society. Participation in the award involves attending workshops and a residential weekend, participating in group discussions and completing a reflective assessment. This award is coordinated by King’s Global Institutes.
• The Enterprise Award: this award aims to develop, enhance and recognise student enterprise activity. It encompasses activities undertaken outside formal learning and is open to all current undergraduate and postgraduate students from any faculty. It is coordinated by the Entrepreneurship Institute.
• Careers 360°: this award gives you access to a range of online lessons, such as 'Learning to Lead' or 'Project Management', which help you reflect on your unique set of knowledge, attributes, skills and experiences. You will also develop an understanding of professional identity formation, interpersonal skills or network development. Students, members of staff and alumni are eligible to apply.

Opportunities

Opportunities encompass different types of tangible experience that improve your employability, including part-time work, funding opportunities, work experience and more.

Student Opportunity Fund (SOF)

The Student Opportunity Fund (SOF) provides King’s students with financial support in undertaking projects aligned with their areas of interest and future aspirations. These projects include attending conferences, workshops or seminars, organising events, creating publications or undertaking courses.

The fund welcomes applications for opportunities that will develop students' knowledge, attributes, skills and experiences that will contribute to their academic and career goals. Students can apply individually (up to £500) or in groups (up to £1000). We welcome applications from students at all levels of study.

Meaningful work experience

Undertaking meaningful work experience is an excellent way to focus your career ideas. It also allows you to apply the knowledge you’ve gained through your studies or interests, build your professional network and enhance your employability.

Volunteering

Volunteering is a great way to give back to your community, gain experience and develop a range of skills that will make you more employable.

King’s Volunteering is your one-stop shop for discovering opportunities and building connections with people and organisations that are driving positive change in your local, national and international communities.

Part-time jobs

Getting a part-time job can be a great way of gaining and improving your skills and making yourself more employable.

There are part-time jobs that you can get outside of King's, such as working in a shop, cafe or bar, as well as within King's, such as working as a student ambassador.

Events and activities

There are many events and activities organised by King's Edge, including:

• festivals
• skills workshops
• alumni talks.