LinkedIn groups in higher education - Maximising community benefits for students & alumni in fashion & textiles: Establishing a tool-kit.

LinkedIn has become the premier social media site for professionals, most employers will search for a job candidate on LinkedIn despite this many students use a range of other social media. LinkedIn has many powerful tools and inherent capabilities that facilitate the range of networking that students engage in to find internships, placements, jobs, and to make professional connections, and keep them.
The aim of this project is to leverage the social capital within the networks of our alumni by creating a LinkedIn group to connect Fashion and Textiles academics, alumni and undergraduates.
The course team of BA (Hons) Fashion & Textile Buying Management has been encouraging undergraduates to join the University of Huddersfield alumni group on LinkedIn since 2013. This enterprise employability initiative has provided new focus and updated information on graduate destinations and career progression, as well as enhancing networking opportunities for undergraduates. Additionally, recent graduates have been invited back to give a presentation of their experiences and advice to undergraduates. This indicates an increased potential to more actively utilize alumni as role models and mentors as well as a willingness of alumni to act as mentors and facilitators. We recognised in previous cohorts a slow build take-up to engage as “future professionals”, and this year we have adopted the University of Huddersfield ADA Teaching and Learning project framework to facilitate a series of workshops and activities during the 2016/17. This academic year 2016/17 we have started immediately to launch Linkedin with Year 1, in Term 1, in Week 1. BA FTBM year 1 students have responded enthusiastically and very professionally, and the project has attracted increased numbers of alumni and business partners to connect with the School of ADA, Department of Fashion & Textiles.