Rosie Ann Alexander

Rosie Alexander holds a postdoctoral research fellowship at Aarhus University, Denmark. Her research focuses on the role of place in career development and career guidance with a particular focus on rural and island places. Her PhD focused on the career and migration pathways of higher education students form the Scottish Islands of Orkney and Shetland and her book Higher Education, Place and Career Development: Learning from Rural and Island Students , was published by Routledge in 2024. Her postdoctoral research is being conducted in three Danish island communities, and involves working with career education and guidance practitioners to explore how career guidance practices can be innovated to more fully address issues of place. Alongside her research work, Rosie has also worked in the education of careers professionals, previously being a lecturer on the Career Guidance and Development postgraduate programs at the University of the West of Scotland. She has also written about best practices in career education and guidance, including the use of Labor Market Information, and in 2024 she co-authored a handbook for trainee practitioners, The Career Development Handbook with Tristram Hooley and Gill Frigerio. Prior to her academic career she worked as a careers adviser in Scotland and England, and for ten years developed and led the careers service at the University of the Highlands and Islands in Scotland.

Title of the Keynote: Small is Beautiful: Career Guidance in Rural Communities