TalentED for Universities
Help creative students break into their industry.
Connect your students with working professionals in fashion, photography, design, and the performing arts. Through small group sessions and 1:1 mentorship, students can ask specific career questions, learn how the industry works, and leave with practical next steps.
It extends your career network into industries that are difficult to serve through traditional recruiting — delivered through a co-branded portal, and starting with a single-term pilot shaped around your students.
Creative careers don’t follow traditional recruiting
For students pursuing careers in fashion, photography, design, performance, and other creative fields, the path from school to work is rarely straightforward.
Breaking into these industries often depends on things that are difficult to learn in the classroom alone:
- Building a portfolio that speaks to the industry you want to enter
- Navigating freelance, project-based, and nontraditional career paths
- Understanding agencies, representation, and when to pursue them
- Building relationships with people already working in the field
How a student uses it
Find someone relevant
They browse professionals in their own discipline and book a small group session or 1:1 time, from your institution’s portal.
Have the conversation
Thirty to sixty minutes with somebody currently working in the field, on their portfolio, their plan, or the question they cannot find an answer to.
Get it in writing
A written recap and personalised next steps, so the session survives past the hour it happened in. See real examples.
Act on it
The next steps are specific and theirs to work through — a portfolio edit, an outreach email, an application, a collaborator to find.
What students say afterwards
Mentees on their own sessions, in their own words.
What the institution gets
Industry access you cannot recruit for
Working professionals across fashion, photography, design and the performing arts — the people your students need to meet and have no route to.
A catalogue curated to your programs
Choose the professionals your students see, or open the broader network to them. Shaped around your departments rather than offered as one list.
Individual guidance at department scale
Small groups for breadth and 1:1 sessions for depth, so a cohort is served without every student needing an hour of somebody’s time.
Outcomes you can point at
Every session produces a written recap and personalised next steps, so there is a record of what a student was told and what they were asked to do.
Where TalentED fits
Career Services
Career support for the students your employer relationships do not reach, without building an industry network from nothing.
Fashion programs
Stylists, designers and people working in houses and on shoots, on portfolios and on what the first years after graduating actually look like.
Photography programs
Editorial, commercial and documentary photographers on building a book, finding clients and pricing work.
Performing Arts
Working performers on self-tapes, representation, auditions and the practical business of a career made of short engagements.
Design schools and departments
Art direction, creative identity and the move from a studio brief to paid client work.
Alumni and professional development
The same access for graduates still establishing themselves, where career support usually stops at the gate.
Meet the professionals
TalentED mentors bring current industry experience into conversations with emerging creatives. Explore the people students can learn from and read recaps from real sessions.
What a term might look like
Pilots are built around the size of the department, the programs taking part and what you want students to come away with.
- 10 small-group career sessions
- 10 individual mentorship sessions
- Professionals curated to the programs taking part
- A dedicated portal on your own subdomain
- A written recap and personalised next steps for every student
- Participation and engagement reporting at the end of term
Scope and cost are agreed with you before anything starts. Tell us about your department below and we’ll put together a proposal against it.
Start with a single-term pilot
Tell us about your students and what your department wants to offer. We’ll show you a working portal, discuss the right mix of group and 1:1 sessions, and put together a proposal with clear scope and pricing.
For Educators
For career services teams, faculty, and department leaders exploring more ways to support creative students.
For Students
Tell us who supports creative careers at your university. We’ll review your suggestion and reach out personally.
Questions
What does a pilot cost?
Pricing depends on the number of students and the sessions included. After learning about your department, we’ll provide a proposal that spells out the scope and cost.
How long does a pilot last?
Typically one academic term. We’ll agree on the sessions, student access, and goals before it begins.
What does a student get?
Access to a dedicated portal where they can book available 1:1 mentorship and small group sessions with working professionals. After a session, they receive a written recap and next steps.
Do we have to select the mentors?
No. You can curate a selection for your students or offer access to the broader TalentED network.
Can I use TalentED if my university isn’t a partner?
Yes. You can explore TalentED and book available sessions directly. If you’d like your school to offer access, suggest a contact.