Scholarly activity is a key part of high quality higher education delivery. It can take many forms, for example research, conference/event attendance and /or delivery of presentations/workshops, consultancy to industry, curriculum development that involves literature searching or work with a Higher Education Institution, and industrial secondments.

For those who aren't already familiar, Snapchat is a smartphone app that allows users to quickly share 'snaps' containing photos and videos with friends and followers in their network. The USP is that, once opened, the snaps only stay on the recipient's feed for around 10 seconds before vanishing without a trace. However, creating Snapchat stories allows you to create and keep adding to something that will be available for 24 hours.

If we were able to bring a medieval carpenter forward in time and present them with a modern construction site, there is very little that would not be recognisable to our medieval friend. What might they see? A large, muddy area with a stack of materials on the ground; a number of people carrying things; people waiting for materials to be moved from one place to another; some machinery for lifting materials. And, if it started raining, most of the work would stop.

When you google yourself, what happens? Usually one of four things:

a) It's exactly as you expected and you are rather pleased with yourself; b) all the results are nothing to do with you and it appears that, in fact, you don't exist at all; c) what does come up has mistakes in it or isn't up to date; d) you want to cover your face in shame.

Now imagine a recruiter has just googled your name and come up with the same results as you.

The point, and there is one labouring away here, is that career progression, what you choose to study, work and do now, may not have a linear and direct relevance to what you do next, but the most valuable skills you have are those you use to complete your studies, to cope with friends and family and to manage your day to day life.

I studied Archaeology, then worked as an archaeologist, after which I worked on a building site. There are clear transferable skills there; digging holes and getting muddy with a big pickaxe.

Fortunately, building up a good set of transferable skills can help set you apart from the competition and make bridging the gap between student life and the professional world far less daunting. Here are some examples of the skills and experience you can gain as a student and help secure your ideal full-time role.

1. Your degree course

In the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, there are a great many impressive works of art; ranging from the medieval to the modern. Some, like Rembrandt's "The Night Watch" (1642) are of a scale that makes an impression both in size and mastery of technique. Others, like Gerrit Rietveld's early prototype for the "Zig Zag Chair" (1934) are special because it reveals (in its exposed screws and joints) the underlying thinking behind an iconic piece of modern furniture.

Talent alone is rarely a guarantee of success in either field - professional sport or entrepreneurship;  it often comes down to also having the right attitude and mindset. As an entrepreneur, you could do worse than take a few pointers from the sportsmen and women who have made full use of their talents. Here are a few positive examples to follow:

Create a positive inner voice

Using technology in the classroom dates back nearly 100 years when radio stations began broadcasting on-air classes. Since then, innovations such as the overhead projector, the calculator, desktop computers, CD-Roms, and countless other inventions have transformed the teaching landscape. The impact of this has been inconclusive, but there are outcomes that are conclusive. These include improvements in:

• Engagement

• Motivation

• Independent learning

Not to be confused with the live, Skype-based version, a digital interview requires candidates to field pre-recorded questions from prospective employers, recording answers at their own leisure and then emailing these back to the recruiting company.

There are a number of companies using digital interview software throughout the world. One of the leading providers, HireVue, counts multinationals Rio Tinto and Red Bull among its customers.