Criminology course welcomes guest speakers to enhance student experience

Throughout our first semester of the year, students studying on our undergraduate criminology degree benefited from valuable insights and career links through sessions hosted by guest lecturers working in a variety of related, professional settings.

Mary Brown, Lecturer in Sociology and Criminology at BGU, discussed the benefits, for students, of hearing from external professionals: “Guest speakers enable modules on our criminology degree to link with wider professional context.

“Designing learning opportunities to incorporate this impacts the broader learner experience by providing practical insights into real life aspects of the subject area and the criminal justice system.

“Students are also provided with practical and vocational application of criminology theories, interactive tasks and case study analysis as well as valuable information and insights into career paths and employability options available through their criminology degree.”

Over a period of several weeks, guest speakers provided insights into the Lincolnshire County Council social work pathways alongside drug and alcohol support within the Criminal Justice System.

As part of BA Criminology's new Children and Youth Crime module, students and colleagues at BGU welcomed Shelly Studd from Lincolnshire County Council. She gave an inside look at the world of social work, including the FAST team, who handle everything from child protection to court cases.

As well as uncovering the reality of this career path, an engaging discussion ensued from students’ subject informed questions and points.

Further to this, Catherine Wooley & Chelsie Lilly from Lincolnshire Recovery Partnership gave an inspiring talk on drug treatment, rehab, mental health support, harm reduction and crime prevention.

Some of our students will be able to explore this further, as individuals on this course are offered placement opportunities by this organisation as part of their second year placement module.

Mary continues: “We are keen to continue designing and delivering modules on our criminology degree that incorporate elements of the professional context of the criminal justice system and the wider subject area.

“With this in mind, we have a third talk planned on the topic of Youth Probation.”

To find out more about criminology at BGU, please click here.