Charitable students volunteer their expertise

SERC Art and Design students from Lisburn have worked in partnership with Action Cancer and Volunteer Now as part of their Project Based Learning to upcycle fashion products.

The students generously give up their free time to assist the Action Cancer boutique in Lisburn and it was there that they put together their upcycling concepts, which pleasantly surprised the other workers within the shop. The Action Cancer store manager was in awe of the talent and technical skills displayed by the talented students.

The students applied their expert skills and knowledge to add value to unwanted fashion and accessory items. The project has been a massive success for Action Cancer, SERC and the wider community.  

Lecturer Keri-Ann Ross said, “This is a fantastic example of how beneficial project based learning can be. The students have developed their skillset buy implementing their design concepts into the real world. I am proud of the hard work that they have put in over the course of this project. Projects like this are important to help the students stand out and develop other skills such as team work and communication.”  

She explained: “With the job market becoming increasingly difficult it has been recognised that the need for education and experience is more important than ever. Students recognise the need to get experience to complement their qualifications in order to get a job. We already have lots of opportunities to develop our skills at SERC through activities like industry projects, live case studies, work experience and placements.  Recently students have been asking for volunteer work to add to this and also because they have been finding it difficult to get part time jobs.”   

SERC provides a range of full and part-time courses designed to give students’ the edge’. To find out how SERC can help you ‘get the edge’ call 0345 600 7555, visit www.serc.ac.uk or find us on Facebook, search: SERC.