Proxama's Internship Experience

Proxama obviously has a strategy when it comes to recruiting local talent. Like all successful technology companies, they realise that securing the best graduates is all about timing and committing to investing early in its people.

Back in May 2012, Proxama contacted the Careers Centre at UEA in search of students who were due to graduate that summer; they were getting ahead of the game. They invited applications for several internships including Business Analysts and a Systems Architect who deal with designing systems from different perspectives. Analysts look at business requirements and user journeys, as well as being involved with the management of the projects, whereas Architects look more at the system integration at a technical level.

Fortunately, the UEA had launched its Graduate Internship Programme just a few months before and the wheels were set in motion for what turned out to be a text book version of how paid internships can provide excellent benefits to both the Company and Graduate.

It would also be easy to assume that Proxama were only interested in technology graduates but the role of the Business Analyst required other skill sets which, if backed up with an interest in technology, could be open to graduates from other disciplines. The acknowledgement of the value of a cross-discipline approach and the significance of transferable skills is another key to the success of this particular case study.

The Internship team set about advertising through their network of registrants and after a series of interviews in July, Proxama had selected the graduates they wanted to take part in the 12 week Programme. Meanwhile, the process proved so easy, they also added a Marketing opportunity to the mix and recruited for that also!

The successful candidates were:

• Jonathan, Accounting and Finance BSc graduate from Norwich Business School who took the Business Analyst role
• Jennie won the Systems Architect position. She is a BSc Computer Graphics graduate from the School of Computing Sciences
• MSc Brand Leadership graduate Lenora, also from Norwich Business School, secured the Marketing internship

We are now thrilled to announce that all three graduates, with support from Proxama, have worked incredibly hard and delivered results such that they have been offered permanent full-time contracts.

In a climate where many organisations are reluctant to invest in young people this is a real success story. It allowed focussed and talented graduates the space to prove themselves and start their career in earnest.

Holly's Marketing Internship with Anglia DNA Services

My internship in marketing with Anglia DNA Services has provided me with a great foundation to build my professional career upon. I have been taught the necessary skills to complete day-to-day tasks, and learnt the basics on how to advertise, market and sell a product. I have been given the responsibility of organising and structuring my working day as I see fit, and provided with the freedom to use my own creativity within my work.

The internship has taken me to conferences around the country, at which the company meet and greet their existing and potential legal clients, and taught me how to speak confidently and knowledgably about our products. I have been given an active role in determining how to market the company's high street paternity test, and been fully responsible for administering a list of 1000 potential clients across the UK who may use the company's new drug and alcohol testing service.

On the whole, the internship has been a challenging and enjoyable experience, and I look forward to continuing to work in the Anglia DNA Services marketing team as a Business Development Executive.

Rebecca's Events Evaluation Internship with the Student Enterprise & Employability Development Team, UEA -- Final Blog

I thought it was important to write a final blog to sum up my internship here at the careers department at the UEA. It has been an interesting 12 weeks and I am so grateful for all the opportunities I have been given to develop my skills and grow as a person.

I am pleased to say that all my hard work has paid off and I have been lucky enough to secure a further contract with the Careers Team – to continue as an Events Assistant for another 12 weeks. This means I will move over to the Careers Centre and become more focused on providing support for all the events that Careers Advisors, schools and external organisations want to run. I will need to draw on the experience that I have gained in the internship but also continue to learn from colleagues and through practice to fully excel in the role.

This has meant that the last couple of weeks have been a transitioning period into the new role. I have slowly been taking on more responsibilities from the Events Team and fewer from the Enterprise and Employability Team. I booked my first rooms and published my first events on the employability system this week. I also pushed on with the development of a process document to help the team fully understand how we would go about commissioning events in the future. I pulled together a couple of different research documents and reported back to senior managers who are now looking to my work to shape their strategies moving forward.

I just want to finish by saying a huge thank you to everyone here at the Careers Team for making me feel so welcome and valued. The Internship Team have been a solid support over the 12 week period and I want to thank them for allowing me to participate on such a worthwhile programme. I would recommend a UEA graduate internship to anyone needing to make that jump from education to employment – it gives you the support you need to grow your confidence while helping to build yourself a career path that suits you.

Emma's Product Compliance Internship with Stephar UK -- Week 1

Having just completed one week of my internship at Stephar (UK) Ltd I thought it was high time to reflect and let you all you interested ones know how it’s going.

Firstly there is something I must confess. I didn’t go to UEA! Phew. That feels a lot better. I went to sunny Brighton. Brighton has a lot going for itself; a pub on every street corner, a Taj Mahal imitation, and the Green Party. However it does not have sandy beaches, castles or the UEA Graduate Internship programme! And this is why I am in Great Yarmouth right now, not Brighton.

I am interning at Stephar (UK) Ltd. They are a pharmaceutical supplier, who also import and repackage products from Europe. It is on quite a large site in Great Yarmouth, where in its glory days employed over sixty, now there is a dedicated team of around fifteen. Although there are a few empty rooms around the place, and it is chilly in the production areas, I have been made very welcome here by the boss and team.

I have been exposed to an interesting and essential side of the business; liaising with the Medicines and Healthcare Regulations Agency. This week I have initiated the submissions of three medicine information packs for review. I have been taught how to handle the MHRA portal, where all UK companies with a medicinal licence go to apply for new licences, renewals, amendments and so on. I have also been entrusted with the organisation of the current licenses, and ensuring all information and literature is up to date.

I am so pleased that I got this opportunity. I feel very settled, comfortable and respected here. The work and responsibility I have is of a much higher calibre than any temping job and I am looking forward to what next week may bring!

Chris' Business Management Internship with Breckland Council -- Midway Point

Everyone at Breckland council has made me feel very welcome and in the past few weeks I've been involved in a great range of stuff including researching for and writing parts of an £8million project bid. I've also helped conduct environmental reports of local businesses and been put in charge of delivering an energy reduction initative; as well as the usual administration, report reviewing and filing you'd expect when working for a council. It's been a great experience so far, I just hope I can learn as much in the next 5 weeks as I have in the first!

Sarah's Internship with the School of History, UEA -- Midway Point

For the past six weeks I have been working as an intern on the ‘Clipboard’ project within the School of History at UEA. The internship was such an incredible opportunity for me to make a move onto my chosen career path. With this in mind, I was really looking forward to starting in my new role. I’d been working in a pub prior to this, which was wonderful, but the internship presented a real opportunity to make those first strides into an academic work environment. My first day was rather nerve wracking when it arrived, but my supervisor immediately put me at ease. She walked me through what my role would be and we discussed the strategy that we would be following. It really felt like a collaborative project from the outset, and I have been given a fair amount of independence in my work. This has been a particularly rewarding experience because I have been trusted to be able to meet the agreed aims and deadlines.

During my internship I have been researching and constructing lists of past UEA graduates. This posed more challenging than initially expected, and so has been a good learning experience. I was able to employ the skills I picked up during my BA and MA in History, and it was refreshing to find that they could be utilised effectively in the pursuit of non-historical information!   Once I had compiled my lists in full, I began contacting the graduates through a variety of mediums to ascertain whether they would be willing to contribute to the Clipboard project. This utilises skills that I am definitely developing as I go. At first I was significantly less confident when contacting people, but with each email I think I improve. Progressing these skills has been a real bonus with the internship, which just shows how important the scheme can be. It means developing skills, articulating them and learning.

I’m not really sure what I expected going into the internship, but it has been much more engaging than I imagined. I really feel like I am building relationships within the School of History and with the graduates I am in contact with. This has been absolutely invaluable. The connections formed have the potential to outlast the internship, and I cannot articulate the importance that this has to me. I think that this is both the most valuable thing that I will take from the experience, but also what I have really enjoyed. Working within the School of History itself has been really exciting. It’s enlightening to see a different side of the School, and learn more about how projects are run. Working in an academic environment is what I aspire to, and so this internship has been a real insight into that world.

For the final six weeks of the internship I hope to strengthen the relationships that I have been making, and to help the project to progress even further. The Clipboard project is still in its early stages and so I would really like to be able to help it reach a point where a significant amount of ‘start up’ work has been completed. I imagine that the internship will progress much as it has to date, though I expect that I will continue to gain confidence in my own work and ability. One of the most daunting things can be to accept that you are capable of doing the job requested. Realising that I already had a fairly well developed skill set from my academic training has enabled me to think about the skills I am currently acquiring, so that I might be able to recognise and articulate them more readily in the future.

Rebecca's Events Evaluation Internship with the Student Enterprise & Employability Development Team, UEA -- Weeks 7 & 8

I have done a joint blog again this week because week 7 saw the laborious task of finishing my research project on alternative funding sources in Norwich. Although not a particularly difficult project, it was lengthy and time consuming. It was not filled with the variety and interest that I have spoken about most weeks! I am pleased to say that this is now completed and is set to be used soon.

Now the careers fairs are over and the feedback analysed, formatted and submitted to interested parties, my initial project has almost reached completion. However, this does not make me any less busy! This week, I have taken on more tasks that are a change from feedback analysis. I have used my knowledge of form design to help create and digitalise a commissioning form. This is filled in by event leaders and external parties when our team is involved in their event organisation. 

Also this week I started on another research project that compared key data from UEA careers fairs to other university careers fairs across the country. This is a piece of research I really enjoyed. I saw the value in comparing how the UEA is doing to other similar institutions. Hopefully, it will spark new ideas in the team and encourage them to innovate and stay ahead. It was also a great learning curve for me as I was able to see what else is out there and how other universities plan their events.

The internship is flying by so quickly. I am learning where my strengths lie and ultimately where I want to take my career. This week I had my first taste of what it is like to plan an event from the very beginning – outlining people to contact, the order of the day and the internal players involved. There is a lot to learn but it is a path that I will be strongly considering on the back of this internship.

Patrick's Internship with the School of Nursing Sciences, UEA

Overall, I found the internship experience to be interesting and quite an eye-opener. Having not been involved with the health sector in the past, I had to learn on my feet and adapt to the setting. I think the research that I'd carried out at university, in addition to the business modules I had studied, were beneficial to the initial process of analysing and strategy-building. I felt the interactions with professionals in the health sector developed my ability to build relationships in a business setting, as well as reminding me to keep an eye on time management (e.g. planning and punctuality when meeting key clients, collating information to meet deadlines).

I'd recommend the internship programme to anyone considering applying, as it's boosted my business experience and highlighted areas where I perhaps needed to hone my skills.

Rachel's Sales and Marketing Internship with Anglia DNA Services

How have you found your experience? What did you enjoy the most?

It's been a challenging and exciting experience at Anglia DNA. Above all, I have relished the opportunity to explore new marketing initiatives for an excellent company.

What do you feel you have gained from your internship? Have you developed new skills?

I have been given a chance to utilize the skills that I learned from my MSc in Marketing and have developed a variety of new ones; these include anything from research skills to a broader understanding of the importance of social media for businesses.

What are you going to be doing after your internship? Have you secured employment?

The lovely people at Anglia DNA have offered me a permanent position as a Business Development Executive!

Do you feel your internship has helped you with your future career path i.e. confirmed your career aspirations or your interest in this area?

I have always wanted to pursue a career in marketing and the internship reaffirmed this career choice.

Rebecca's Events Evaluation Internship with the Student Enterprise & Employability Development Team, UEA -- Weeks 5 & 6

Week 5 saw the last fair of term: The Legal Fair. It was the first fair that I had worked that was located in the Sportspark so that gave me yet another venue to learn about and familiarise myself with. We learned that employer’s stands are getting bigger and there is therefore a growing need to enforce size regulations to ensure fairness for all the employers. The fair took a while to fill up with students. According to my feedback forms it was due to a large portion of the fair clashing with a law lecture. I also assisted on a presentation that immediately followed the fair. Unfortunately technical difficulties meant that it did not run smoothly but I learned to cope under pressure and I actively searched through every avenue for solutions.

The rest of the week saw me analysing the Career Fair feedback to report on in the staff meeting and also build the enterprise funding forms and documents to make it accessible to the university population.

Week 6 was a much quieter affair. I was tying up loose ends with all my event reports and making sure they were detailed and consistent. I also picked up the research project I had started long ago in weeks 1 & 2. I was learning where this was to fit in the enterprise funding system and I felt more motivated to complete it and format it so that it could be used for its intended purpose.

Also this week I was asked to send out an online feedback form to a selection of different events. I felt that the form still needed developing so I built one that had drop down lists and more attuned questions. These will be sent out early next week via the Employability system which will allow me to send out mass emails to all event attendees.

In these last couple of weeks I have learned that I will always want to continue to develop my own work - whether that is based on the advice of others or through my own learning. I think that this is something that is very important in the work environment because it leads to continual improvement for the team and the organisation in general.

Aaron's Internship Working on Microbial Remediation of Biomass Wastewater -- First Two Weeks

So, what do you do after your degree? You’ve worked hard, you got the result you were aiming for (fingers crossed), and then – what? Some people go straight into graduate careers or further study, others have different but equally valid ambitions to travel, or just finally start making some money. Although there’s nothing wrong with post-uni decisiveness, I found myself taking a more cautious approach; I ultimately want to take up further study but I’m not sure when, where, or even what specific subject I want to go for! So in my attempt to toe the line between a broad set of potential options and something worthwhile on my CV, I came across this internship!

Now, I don’t think this applies to all subjects but university-based graduate internships in the sciences are fairly unusual: opportunities to gain experience outside of a science degree typically occur during a year in industry or a summer placement. Both of these are excellent opportunities, but I think a lot of undergrads would pursue them more actively were they aware that (for many established programs at least) the summer between second and third year are the last chance to gain this sort of experience. Despite getting a decent degree it’s been tough going; I’ve been to several interviews for jobs I’m looking to for experience, and been subsequently turned down because of my lack of experience! It can feel like a bit of a catch-22 at times, but an internship provides a great solution for both sides of the employment coin: you gain solid experience, a valuable insight into a working environment and hopefully a bit of cash, while your employer can reap the benefits of your unbridled enthusiasm without having to commit to a salaried contract (which in this current economic climate are not always an attractive option).

I’ve agreed to blog about my internship experience in order to provide a first-hand account of what it’s like to be a graduate intern. I’m working in science (specifically in environmental microbiology) so this may be somewhat tilted towards the more scientific end of the internship spectrum, but never fear: I’m going to try my best to discuss things in general terms so any prospective intern can take something away from it. At least, that’s the idea.

The first thing I’ve been asked to do by the UEA Internship Programme Team (who, by the way, are excellent, efficient, lovely and not at all going to read this) is answer a quick Q&A about my first week as an intern. Unfortunately, I’ve been so busy enjoying myself that I’ve only now got round to answering them, at the end of my first fortnight.

How did you feel about the internship leading up to the start?

The time between me applying for the internship and being offered the position was pretty short, so I didn’t have a chance to build up too much anxiety. I thought the subject matter was interesting and knew that it would be beneficial for me in terms of my CV and confirming (or questioning) my desire to choose a path of further study and research, but like most employed situations I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of day-to-day responsibilities, colleagues and the like. So I’d say I was expectant, but not worried. More excited!

What was your first day like?

Quite leisurely, actually, though I’m not sure if I’m supposed to say that! I met the team I’d be working with in the School of Biological Sciences and UEA’s biomass plant facility, and we talked over a coffee about what my role was going to be during the 8 weeks.  I was pleasantly surprised by how much free rein I was to be given; this was a real research process that I was being a part of, exactly what I wanted. I’d definitely advise anybody looking to do an internship (science or otherwise) to look for one where you’re given a decent amount of creative control and input. Not only does it look better on your CV, it’s also a lot more fun.

What have you been up to in your first two weeks?

I’ve been doing all sorts of experiments to get some helpful bugs to grow in my power plant wastewater samples (bioreactors are excellent – think mad scientist meets meccano), and I’ve also been learning how a working lab operates. Whereas the former has been very interesting indeed, I’d say that the latter is certainly more transferable when it comes to my future career. Workplace experience is a skill in itself and very important too, especially if it’s in the same or a similar field to the one you’re doing an internship in.

Has your experience of your first two weeks been what you expected?

Not really, but then I wasn’t sure what to expect. I think the most notable thing that differed from my expectations was my relative independence; you’re not a student any more so other people are trusting you to be responsible, as you would be in a contracted job. That’s certainly not to say I haven’t received generous amounts of help and instruction; the specialised nature of scientific work means a lot of it requires figuring out before you charge in. I’m sure other internship and placement schemes are a lot more structured, but I think if you’re up to it a more challenging and responsible role can be much more rewarding.

What have you enjoyed the most about your first two weeks?

Apart from fiddling around with the bioreactor, a real highlight today was getting some results! The first big development was on Thursday this week; we got some bacterial growth under certain conditions. This has produced a whole lot of new work to be done, but it’s a positive step towards a real contribution to the university. That’s what makes this internship really worthwhile, I think; knowing what you’re doing could make a difference. I’d definitely recommend it.

How do you think the next few weeks will be?

As I said above, the developments this week have definitely opened up a lot of avenues and I’m certain the next few weeks (and the rest of the internship, in fact) will be extremely busy. But I’m looking forward to it; I’m going to be learning some new techniques next week to get some good data and fill in some important pieces of the puzzle this project is proving to be. But you’ll have to wait until my next post in a fortnight’s time to hear about that.

Rebecca's Events Evaluation Internship with the Student Enterprise & Employability Development Team, UEA -- Week 4

The weeks are going by so quickly. I have just finished my busiest to date, with both the Careers Fair and the Start Up Bus happening this last week. The beginning of the week saw a progress meeting where I discussed what I had achieved so far and was given a long list of new tasks to work on. These included building application forms for student enterprise funding, writing entries for the UEA student blog and putting together a folder of all up to date feedback forms that I have built so far (both online and paper versions) – this turned out to be quite a lot!

On Tuesday I had a training session on how to build the new Careers and Employability vario stand for the careers fair. It felt like one of those team building exercises at assessment centres where you have to work together to achieve an objective. We built it successfully and felt prepared to tackle the same task the following morning for the fair itself.

On the morning of the Careers Fair we successfully built the stand once more and I went on to help with the set up of the C&E table and other employer stands. I helped to direct employers to their stands and answered queries they had. Other than a few issues with IT and wifi connections the fair was set up on time and employers seemed content (although I have yet to check the feedback!). Throughout the event itself I was gathering student feedback and I got all my forms filled out – I was later told this was the most feedback ever to be taken from a careers event!

On Thursday I was given sole responsibility for the professional design and printing of the Start Up Bus feedback forms and took these along to the event. I based my designs on previous forms I had seen and used appropriate logos and descriptive text. The bus was amazing! It was filled with TV’s, computers and couches – not to mention all the local business advisors and entrepreneurs that had hopped on to talk to students about start up ideas. It was a new and exciting event for all the team and I look forward to reading the feedback I collected.

All in all a busy but rewarding week – now I get to look forward to inputting all the feedback I have collected!

Rebecca's Events Evaluation Internship with the Student Enterprise & Employability Team, UEA -- Week 3

Last week was filled with variety and creativity. I helped at the Teaching Fair on Monday and assisted in setting up, replenishing food trays, collecting tickets and building the employer packs with my newly designed feedback forms. The day was busy and the tasks straight forward but this helps understand the importance of everyone pulling together and remaining flexible during the event itself so that it runs smoothly. I also manned the Careers & Employability welcome stand for a large portion of the event and spoke about the different services we offer.  Following the event, I constructed an email to all PGCE students and attached an online version of the student feedback survey I had built. I took the opportunity to get creative and import logos and colour schemes to make it as professional as possible. This got approved and was sent out 3 days after the fair. Although I think incentives are needed to encourage more responses I was pleased to have 37 replies by Friday morning.

Also this week, I was reworking my Careers Services forms – making them more specific to each service, whether it be a workshop, a coaching session or a mentoring relationship. These will be sent off for approval early next week.

On Thursday I produced an up to date poster round write up following my trip around campus the previous week – and also started analysis on the teaching fair feedback from employers. According to the team the structure of my analysis with tables and graphs has not been produced before. The idea is that with the help of others on the team we can begin to develop my structure into a report that can be used to measure the success of each event. The fact that my team are so open to change and willing to listen and develop my ideas is refreshing and exciting and it is giving me the confidence and skills I need to launch my career.

Ben's 12 week Internship with Adnams

So 12 weeks are finally up! It would have been good to be able to keep a more regular blog, however when in the "real world" (post-student life) you end up having a lot less time to yourself. I had not gone in to this internship unprepared however as I had been in this situation but a couple of years ago as part of my degree. That was for a whole year. During that time I learnt many business skills, which soon started flooding back. It was good however to have the previous experience, as not only do you feel less like the black sheep amongst the office, but I can tell you know experience is invaluable these days as I overheard my manager say it was my previous experience that got me this internship.

Being too busy is not exactly the end of the world, as the last thing you want from an internship is to sit there most days twiddling your thumbs because the company have not planned what you are to do. This was not the case for Adnams as I had been hired to assist in the completion of a very specific project they were undertaking. It was described to me at the interview as a research position into collating all the data needed to calculate a carbon footprint Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for all their bottled beers. Not to steal a well-known wood preservatives motto but "I did exactly what it said on the tin". I applied for this internship because of my brand new knowledge from my Environmental Sciences degree and my similar experiences from my year in industry. It sounded like a great three months experience.

I was based in Southwold at their, moderately recent, energy efficient brewery and worked closely with the Head Brewer. I started off my role with Adnams, getting to grips with the British Standards specifications that surrounded the production a carbon LCA for beer. I was also working closely with Adapt Low Carbon Group at UEA who had done previous work with Adnams. Once my head was screwed on tightly with what my role was I began undertaking, what ended up being a large lump of my placement, data collection from the brewing stage of the lifecycle. This included taking constant energy readings (electricity, gas, water etc.) and converting these into usage. I was often buried in Microsoft Excel producing spread sheets of data which are eventually to be used in a tool that converts such data to carbon dioxide equivalents released to the atmosphere. This may sound like a menial task but it turns out companies most likely won’t have the data you need in the forms you need it in, so was quite a challenge in the end. Aside from this main focus I also had to collect data from across the whole lifecycle of an Adnams beer. This included talking to the farmers, who grow the raw ingredients (identifying information such as amount of fertilizer used) all the way through to the ‘use phase’ which included identifying the average length of time a user refrigerated the beer before use.

The progression seemed a little slow at start but then again as most of you will know, from a dissertation, the data collection phase can take a lot longer than anticipated. I soon got into it and with concise work with others the project and its outcomes were soon in full swing. I must admit now however, I have been holding back on a vital bit of information; which is that the task in hand was not completed within my internship period. This whole process was a steep learning curve for both me and Adnams as they did not know whether such a project would take one month or one year. Because of this they were generally happy with my progress as long as progression could be seen. When it came to the end of my 12 weeks there had been speculation on my position, and sure enough, every cloud has a silver lining and this was no different, for they have just offered me an extended contract to continue with the project (on a much better salary may I add).

This internship was really suited to a recent graduate as it soon became clear of the similarities between it and a final year dissertation. My internship was a highly valuable data collection period, with my next three months here suited to the results and discussion sections. This will include production of a report, analysis of results and future recommendations, including areas to focus on reducing emissions. Eventually the verified results will be published for the public to see. Who know maybe I’ll also be able to explore my interest within marketing when it comes to it.

I think all in all for my 12 weeks, the biggest skills I had to demonstrate was the ability to seamlessly integrate into the working life, which my year in industry certainly helped with. It means the people you work with can rely on you to be able to get on with your task in the knowledge that you know how to act and the skills to demonstrate. Knowledge in Microsoft Excel was also very useful for my role, and the confidence to talk to others. The internship programme has definitely got me up on my feet after graduation, and who knows may have even found me a career.

Kirstie's Social Media Marketing Internship with Norwich Business School, UEA -- Part 2

Well, it has been an entire month since I started! Where HAS the time gone?

Oh yes – channeled into social media, meetings, brainstorming, emails, writing, making contacts, blood, sweat and tears! But the learning experience has been SO invaluable!

Read on at http://ueanbs.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/social-media-marketing-intern-second-instalment/

Rebecca's Events Evaluation Internship with the Student Enterprise & Employability Team, UEA -- Week 2

Another week is over. My events feedback forms have been given the go ahead to be used at the Careers Fair which I am very excited about. However, after liaising with the Careers Advisers on my other questionnaires it became clear that I now need to go back to the drawing board and design a series of different forms – so next week will certainly be busy! I am learning that with this particular project it is going to be difficult to please everyone and compromises will have to be made if a new evaluation system is to be adopted – but this is a challenge I willingly accept!

I have also been doing two research projects this week. The first of which was to find out about start up funding in Norfolk and the second was to investigate the feasibility of implementing an SMS feedback system.  I have been left to my own devices in how I go about this research so my motivation and time management skills have been important.

In between research I have also been analysing data from the Jobs and Volunteering Fair and bravely throwing myself into poster rounds of campus. This involved taking publicity materials to all the schools on site for the up and coming events. This certainly helped me in getting to know campus better! I have also helped provide inspiration for a new brand name for an up and coming internship programme – something I particularly enjoyed doing as I love the creativity it involves – I just need to build up the confidence in my ideas - but a career in Marketing perhaps!?

Jennie's Junior Developer Internship with Proxama

Although my degree has given me an education in Computer Science it has not given me any experience using it in the real world. Looking for jobs, I found that they all wanted people with experience. Even the graduate jobs required the applicant to take some form of test to demonstrate their abilities which were often outside the scope of my degree. So when I came across the idea of doing an internship I thought it would be an excellent way to get that much needed experience.

Proxama are a great company to work for. Everyone is very welcoming and happy to give advice when it’s needed. I started working on the R&D (research and development) team as a junior developer with three other interns, one other developer and two business analysts. We were given a basic induction on Proxama, the history of the company and where it’s going and then we were given individual training on the aspects we were working on. I started learning two new programming languages and we were given the time we needed to do tutorials and research before we started working with them.

The work is challenging and fast paced. Working in R&D often means starting projects, working hard on a concept, but then having to move onto something else before it’s finished. We often pause our work to help other teams when they needed help with projects for clients.

I feel very privileged to have been able to take part in this internship. I would recommend doing it to anyone as it’s a fantastic way to get experience and learn skills and practices in the work place that you just don’t learn in your degree. It’s a lot of hard work and we were all thrown in at the deep end, but it’s been a wonderful experience and I am very happy to say I have been offered a permanent job here at Proxama. Counting the internship, and thanks to it, I was able to get into paid employment, in the area I studied in my degree, ten days after getting my results.

Rebecca's Events Evaluation Internship with the Student Enterprise & Employability Development Team, UEA -- Week 1

I have just completed my first full week as the new Events Evaluation intern here at the university. There has been a lot going on and I am learning new things every day. The aim of my project is to design a new evaluation system for careers services and events.  This involves liaising with many different members of staff, analysing the current system and coming up with fresh ideas and improvements. The challenge is ensuring that the right data is captured in the most succinct way.

Also this week I had the opportunity to attend my first careers event here at the UEA. I threw myself into lots of different tasks to ensure the venue was ready by 10am. My role for the day was collecting data with a newly designed survey (unfortunately not one I had designed – but this should be soon I hope!).  Approaching students with surveys was initially a daunting prospect for me. However, with the help of a trendy Ipad, a friendly smile and a heap of energy it was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my internship so far. I was able to build up my confidence, interact with the students during the event itself and ultimately judge their reactions. This has given me more ideas for my own surveys and has helped put my evaluation system into context.

I also had the chance to attend an employers networking event. I stayed after business hours to register employers and give out name tags and information packs. It was interesting to see the event from the employer’s perspective and once again it provided new ideas for my project.

This week has been a learning curve for me. The experiences have taught me that I am in my element when I can interact with people. Although I appreciate the need and importance for office work – this week has shown me that doing 9-5 in an office every day is not the job for me. I need to have opportunities to see the bigger picture to motivate me to continue working hard both inside and outside the office. A career in Events Management perhaps!?

Kirstie's Social Media Marketing Internship with Norwich Business School, UEA

How I managed to gain that most rare and coveted of graduate employment: The paid internship
Read more at http://ueanbs.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/how-i-came-to-be-an-intern-at-nbs/

Patrick's Internship with the School of Nursing Sciences, UEA -- Halfway point

I'm just past the halfway point in my internship and it's proving to be an interesting experience. I really enjoy interviewing key contacts, as well as attending meetings in order to gather further information. For example, this Friday I'm travelling to Cambridge to attend a meeting with some major health professionals in the field of dementia; I'll be given an opportunity to talk about my project and ask for their input. Due to my desk-based research, I'm aware of the hot topics at the moment and can offer my own views as well - despite not having previously studied in the field of health care.

I'm beginning to develop the structure of the report that is the purpose of this internship, and with all the information I've obtained it's a rather daunting prospect! However, it has the feel of a university essay in the way that I'm drawing on many sources and references - so I can use my experiences of this to create a useful and accurate report.

Sophie's Communications and Marketing Internship with Liftshare -- halfway point

I began my internship at liftshare on the 20th August 2012 and am due to finish my 12 week period on the 9th November 2012, so I’m just over half-way in at the moment. I was attracted to the position within liftshare (a car-sharing company based in Attleborough) because it would involve me learning skills I have never thought about before, and experiencing a variety of different tasks over the 3 months.

Already I have contacted over 30 large environmental organisations including WWF Earth Hour, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Freeconomy, Freecycle and Do the Green Thing in my capacity as Marketing and Communications Intern at liftshare. I have written copy for articles to be sent to these ‘big names’ and tweets and Facebook content too. I have developed friendly relationships with many of them too. In addition I have composed guest blogs for a number of websites which have been published and helped with a press release. Within the company I am also writing blogs for our own site liftshare.com which the public will be able to view. The topics are varied and the length of each one varies too!

Within the first week I was inundated with meetings at the company (which is a small collective of around 20 staff) and I took many notes. I am currently organising the work social for liftshare Week which is 1st-5th October and the big publicity event that I have been helping the Communications and PR manager with for the majority of my time there. I am hoping everybody enjoys it!

Last week I applied for the PEA Business Awards and nominated liftshare under the two categories of ‘Social Enterprise’ and ‘Transport’. I am also currently working on two statistics based projects, one of which is almost complete and the other, a work in progress! I am managing the re-design of a series of monitoring pages on the liftshare website so that customers with car-share schemes can view their financial and environmental savings more easily. To do this I am liaising with the IT department on how best to approach the technical side of things!

Finally, I am keeping an eye on our liftshare Week targets and issuing certificates which I helped design (alongside IT) to those scheme managers who do particularly well in signing employees up to car-sharing in the first week of October.

It has been very intense so far, with not much time to stop really! I work an 8 ½ hour day on a 9-5.30pm shift, Monday to Thursday and commute the 20 or so miles to Attleborough each day (rather ironically I don’t have a car). It is very tiring, but it is totally new and I think I am doing quite well so far...

Jack's Graphic Design Internship with Lowestoft College

I chose to redesign Lowestoft College’s website from the UEA internship’s. I wanted to do this to gain web design and user experience skills so that I could apply for a specific job within the educational technology industry, boost the portfolio of my small start-up web design business (www.webhostcreative.com), and to spend a summer working by the seaside eating ice-cream on my lunch break.

From the start of the internship I was given a lot of responsibility and was treated like a member of staff rather than just an intern. I was made to feel welcome and people respected me as a professional as well as a graduate.

Within the first week I had set out my project plan, arranged meetings, set up a focus group, created initial draft web designs and also played in the local derby football match between Lowestoft College and Yarmouth College. I helped them win 7 – 3. I knew from this point onwards that if the internship continued, as it had been it would be a fantastic 3 months and it was.

By the end of the first month I presented my website plan to over 200 staff members in a meeting. I spent some good time preparing a very visual and entertaining presentation and this was rewarded by a standing ovation at the end. I believe I reassured them that the site was in good hands.

I spent the next 2 months working hard on my design work, responding to the feedback from staff and working alongside the other intern who helped with the development of the site.

Some of the highlights were working with some very friendly members of staff, overseeing and leading the website’s design, presenting and consultation, learning new technical skills setting up a photo-shoot and photographing the local Lowestoft Mayor and local MP, and winning the £50 raffle prize with my £1 raffle ticket at the staff summer party!

During the internship I applied for a job at a company called ‘Tribal Technology’ as a junior designer which I was successful with. This was greatly helped by the experience that I had gained through doing this UEA internship. I don’t believe I would have got the job without it. To summarise my internship I would say it has been, career strengthening, skill boosting, really great for my CV and interview prospects but above all very enjoyable!

Jack Alex Stewart

Graphic Designer

www.jackalcreative.co.uk

Patrick's Internship with the School of Nursing Sciences, UEA -- Weeks 1 & 2

My first day working at the UEA School of Nursing began with a general introduction (meeting people in the office, setting up my IT account) as well as meeting the two other interns to find out about their projects and experiences so far. I began my research into dementia care almost immediately; the research consisted of internet-based searches, note-taking and some telephone calls. Within a couple of days I had scheduled an important meeting to be held in Cambridge, so that I could chat with a key contact relating to the project. This meeting required me to plan ahead in terms of what I was aiming to get from the discussion, as well as organising transportation to and from the meeting.

As to be expected with a research task, there's a wealth of information out there and, at two weeks in, it's a case of drawing on the stand-out points from what I've discovered. So far it's been an interesting experience and I'm pleased to be assisting with a prominent issue such as dementia care, which affects many people in the UK and worldwide.

Rachel's Sales and Marketing Internship with Anglia DNA Services -- Week 1

How did you feel about the internship leading up to the start?

I felt nervous, but very excited to be working for one of the first members of the EDP’s ‘Future 50’ businesses.

What was your first day like?

My first day was very enjoyable. I met all the members of the team, who were friendly and welcoming, had a tour of the company and discussed what the goals of the internship would be.

What have you been up to in your first week?

I have completed a variety of research tasks and explored new communications channels and marketing initiatives. I have utilised and improved the skills that I had learned from my MSc in Marketing.

Has your experience of your first week been what you expected?

It has excelled expectations so far.

What have you enjoyed the most about your first week?

I have revelled in the responsibility given to me from the start of the internship and have found each task the company has set me particularly interesting.

How do you think the next few weeks will be?

An exciting new challenge!

Emily's Digital Marketing Internship with The Stationary Office -- Week 11

I have had a lovely holiday in the Lake District, so I have returned to work energized. I have sketched some design ideas for posters to put up around The Stationery Office to promote an internal site. I analyzed the new Safe Driving for Life website and reported on ways to improve it. I have been working on my Presentation using Prezi software, and did a run through with my Manager. I will be presenting it next week on my last day of my Internship. I have also had a couple of interviews this week. Anglian Chemicals would like me to continue with Design work part-time while I look for a long term Designer position.

Emily's Digital Marketing Internship with The Stationary Office -- Week 9

I have been editing the Driving Theory Page on Dreamweaver, which has gone live at http://www.tsoshop.co.uk/gemimage/email/dsabookingpage.htm and I am continuing to create a portfolio of work I have produced while at TSO, to present to the Marketing Manager as I am keen to continue to work here in the future.

I enjoyed the Creative Huddle in the Marketing Meeting this week, which involved brainstorming ideas in groups. I have been changing file sizes in Photoshop, cropping images and editing for colleagues, learning more about uploading lists to Campaign Master and becoming more familiar with it. I have also been looking at web trends and tracking the results of the work we have done.

Andrew's experience as a Management Intern at Anglia Care Trust

This is more a summary than a blog; just to give an idea of what I got up to in my 12 week internship at Anglia Care Trust and how and why I got involved.

I was living in Beijing when I saw the position advertised on the UEA website, I had completed a great year in South Korea teaching English and moved over to China to look for another teaching role; despite the teaching going well I felt I had to get back to the UK and find a way to gain more useful skills that would help improve my chances making a career in the Environmental Sector; there are only so many skills you can gain from teaching kids English. I decided 16 months away from home was enough, I was starting to miss home and craving things like roast dinner; I decided to apply for the role.

Shortly after arriving home I was contacted by UEA to say ACT wanted to interview me. The interview went well and I decided it would be great to gain an insight into the Charity Sector; I was interested at the time in working for an NGO abroad e.g. C3 which is a community centred conservation charity. Despite ACT not being an environmental charity, I believed I could gain relevant skills such as developing sustainable services, research and bid writing.

During the first week, I realised I had a lot to learn; it was necessary to understand all the services the charity provides, there are three key services with multiple departments such as family intervention programmes, housing for ex offenders, money advice and mentoring. Once I learnt all about them I could start the real purpose of my role which was organisational development.

Throughout the 12 weeks I worked with the managers to help develop their services. The biggest priority was securing funding for a housing scheme for vulnerable adults which had fallen short on targets to become a self funding project. There were many set backs in the process of creating an application and I began to realise how time consuming putting together a funding application can be, I also realised just how important it is for managers to plan projects in detail, especially financially; I learnt quite a lot from other peoples mistakes as well as my own. At the same time I was also researching other funding bodies and matching the most appropriate fund to each project for example I came up with the Adnams Charity who were interested in youth and community support and I chose to apply to them to secure funding for a new mentoring project for disadvantaged young people. Most recently I was working on putting together a webpage for local giving which will allow people to make donations online to ACT.

About half way through the internship I was given the opportunity to play football for ACT in the annual Soccer Sixes Tournament at Ipswich Town Football Club. Teams who finished in the bottom half of the group went on to play in the ‘UEFA Cup’ while teams who were in the top half went on to play in the ‘Champions League’ unfortunately due to poor performance in the first few games we ended up going into the ‘UEFA Cup’ however we came on leaps and bounds and ended up winning our last 5 games, it all came down to a tense final game, ACT needed to win, the opposition only needed a draw. We scored and then defended tirelessly to guarantee the win and take the UEFA trophy! It was great to play at

Portman Road

; my local football club.

In addition to the research and applications I was asked to be part of the committee for the annual summer events staff day. I attended meetings and together we came up with ideas for an Olympic style staff event day. I took on the responsibility of planning and running a treasure hunt, I was also a team leader for 1 of the 6 teams. Staff had to compete in teams to get the most points from various activities including; an opening ceremony where they had to sing the national anthem of their appointed nation, a quiz and a treasure hunt.

Since completing the internship I have been taken on for another 3 months, despite the role not being exactly what I want to do I am still gaining new skills and being involved with new projects, It feels good that I am having a big part to play in the future development of Anglia Care Trust, I also have more time now to apply for permanent positions in other organisations. The implications of my work will not be fully realised until probably another 2 or 3 months so I am intrigued to see how much funding will be secured through my efforts.

I would like to thank UEA and ACT for this great opportunity and the experiences and learning I have gained.

Emily's Digital Marketing Internship with The Stationary Office -- Week 8

Week 8: 16/07/12 - 20/07/12

Flash animation tutorials which were great fun this week, and I am starting to put together a portfolio of work that I have completed while I have been at TSO in order to present to colleagues. I have been editing another page of the Driving Standards Agency website for Theory Test week, using Photoshop and Dreamweaver. I have also been working on a web banner and assisting with image work. I am learning new skills including using Campaign Master and design for emails. I am continuing to work on the Catalogue at Anglian Chemicals, and putting into practice skills I am gaining at The Stationery Office.

Emily's Digital Marketing Internship with The Stationary Office -- Weeks 5, 6 & 7

Over the past few weeks I have been editing the Driving Standards Agency Website using Dreamweaver, Illustrator and Indesign. Developing my skills in this area is one of the key things I want to be learning while I am working here. I am editing images using Photoshop and Illustrator; TSO are providing me with the training I have been seeking. It’s been brilliant giving an opportunity to work on websites associated with the Government that will be going live. I have been brainstorming ideas, drawing, designing and building web banners for different projects.

An example can be viewed at http://www.tsoshop.co.uk/gemimage/email/2banner.gif

I have been introduced to the Graphic Design department, which was really worthwhile discussing how they tackle clients and briefs. I was also able to offer some advice to a girl doing some work experience at TSO who is interested in taking a Graphics degree in the future.  

Jamie's Marketing Internship with Sportsinjuryclinic.net -- Week 9 Update

"I'm now beginning my 9th week here at www.sportsinjuryclinic.net - things are going great once again. Last week I learnt how to optimise YouTube videos so that they appear higher in the rankings, which was really interesting stuff.

With only 3 weeks to go, things are beginning to draw to a close.

However, my experience here has been fantastic and I will definitely be utilising the skills I have learnt here in the future. The great thing is that much of what I have learnt is easily applicable to many areas of business and is not specific to the company I have been working for.

This week will include a mixture of tasks for me to complete. However there is still lots of freedom within my role, and I am able to prioritise my time as I see fit to the tasks that I deem to be more important. As always, there is lots of support at hand. But I am able to work independently most of the time as I'm becoming more and more experienced."

Emily's Digital Marketing Internship with The Stationary Office -- Week 4

Week 4: 18/6/12 - 22/6/12

"I have been having difficulties with Dreamweaver Software this week that I need to access to edit the Driving Standards Agency Website. In any company when you are new, there may be a few hiccups in terms of not having a computer, no email set up, not having access to what you need to carry out your work, and in some cases, the company may not be ready for you or prepared before your arrival.

These problems can usually take a few months to resolve. However in an Internship situation where you will be there on a temporary basis, it can be very difficult.

I have been given the task to design a web banner to promote a pdf brochure for Best Practice Management. I have done some preliminary sketches of what I want the animated banner to look like. I am still really over the moon to have a manager who tracks your progress, and sets tasks to develop and hone in on your strengths."

Jack's Graphic Design Internship with Lowestoft College

"The internship at Lowestoft College is going well and I am being treated like a member of staff which is much appreciated. I was even included in playing for Lowestoft staff football team against Yarmouth and we beat them 8-4. If my time here carries on like it has been so far it will be a fantastic 3 months."

Emily's Digital Marketing Internship with The Stationary Office -- Week 3

Week 3: 11/6/12 - 15/6/12

"I have been undertaking a few different tasks this week, including researching ideas for projects and drawing storyboards. I have been using twitter more and researching who are the best people to follow for the different twitter/facebook pages. Also using twitter has encouraged me to use it to promote my own work. I have been experiencing what it’s really like to work in a publishing house, and it has given me an insight into whether I would like to work in this area in the future.

I also started working back at Anglian Chemicals this week on my day off, and it was really nice to go back and see everyone. I designed a poster for a new product that has passed its test."

Jamie's Marketing Internship with Sportsinjuryclinic.net -- Week 8 Update

"I'm currently on week 8 of my internship with 4 weeks to go.

My boss has recently put me on a training course in London, which developed my understanding a great deal. The course was based around 'Search Engine Optimisation' or SEO - which is the process by which you make a website more search engine friendly, so that you are able to rank higher in the search results. It's in a company’s best interests to ensure that this aspect of marketing is handled in an objective and strategic way because it has important implications for turnover.

Previously this was an aspect that I never considered or had any prior knowledge of. However what I have learnt so far has been extremely useful, I feel much more confident in my internship as I’m able to make my own decisions in some respects. My boss is very knowledgeable about 'SEO' so if I’m unsure of something, he is always on hand to give me assistance. There is a great deal of support at my internship and everybody is very friendly too.

What I have learnt so far has been invaluable, the skills and knowledge I have picked up would be applicable to many kinds of businesses, and I cannot imagine having not taking this opportunity.

Most importantly, I thoroughly enjoy my time at my intern role and am looking forward to what my final month with bring."

Emily's Digital Marketing Internship with The Stationary Office -- Week 2

Week 2: 4/6/12 - 8/6/12

"I have been learning some Illustrator tips and learning a bit more about using Dreamweaver. My manager and I have been planning what I will be working on next week and discussing how I have been doing. I have been working on Jubilee and Glossary Tweets and looking at who TSO can follow in a business sense. I have been shown how to schedule the tweets using Hootsuite, which I had never heard of before. It is such a refreshing experience when I am unsure about something; there is somebody here to teach me.

I have also been offered a temporary contract with Anglian Chemicals starting next week part time whilst I am working at The Stationary Office for a few months. This is brilliant news as I was not expecting it at all and will add to my experience."

Sarah's Marketing Internship with the UEA Graduate Internship Programme -- Week 10

Week 10: 28/5/12 - 1/6/12

This week we received the final versions of the posters, the updated leaflet, and the folded card. After a final proofread, they were sent to print. It's rewarding to see everything finally come together, and the culmination of all the work we've put into them over the past few weeks.

I've also written an ezine with some internship application dos and don'ts, and posted details of our new opportunities. There are lots this week -- three with Aviva, a really interesting marketing internship with Simon Long Removals, and a Graphic Design opportunity with Thurton. While continuing activities to promote our current opportunities, I created a poster for the School of Language and Communication Studies, featuring the details of an internship which might be of interest to their 2012 leavers.

I rounded off the week by drafting the advert for one of our upcoming opportunities, and that's now been sent to the company for approval.

Next week is a short week, because of the bank holidays, and then I'm into the final week of my internship. Time really does fly!

Emily's Digital Marketing Internship with The Stationary Office -- Week 1

Week 1: 28/5/12 - 1/6/12

"My first day included a warm welcome from the Marketing team with mini inductions, some of the team explaining their job roles. My Manager gave me an overview of the company and they took me out to lunch four times in the first week. My first task was to redesign some buttons for the Driving Standards Agency website. This was really exciting as I spent my second day sketching which is one of my favourite things to do.

Another design task was to design a new logo for a website that has not been created yet, ‘Safe driving for life’ and these ideas were presented to the driving standards agency and I hope they like them.

It’s a very social environment and I feel I am really valued. I have been introduced to the importance of Twitter for a Business and getting to know TSO’s clients.

I have fitted in really well here as I have been looking for a team environment to work in for a long time now. I am even lucky enough to be working in Illustrator CS5 and it has been put on my computer fairly swiftly for me to use. All work obviously gets triple checked, as it is a Government organisation, which is great and very professional. One of the best things about working here that I am being given proper training on software that I would like to use in the future. The only problem now is…….I don’t want to leave."

Sarah's Marketing Internship with the UEA Graduate Internship Programme -- Week 9

Week 9: 21/5/12 - 25/5/12


This week I've been continuing my usual activities to promote the programme. I started the week by preparing and posting a series of new blogs. The first two "revisited" blogs are now live, and should give an insight into what some of our former interns are doing now. Our latest current intern, Jamie Bardwell, also sent us the first in what will hopefully be a series of updates.

My other main project this week has been setting up a Google+ page for the programme. Thanks to the "circles" feature, this should help make it easier for us to ensure graduates hear about opportunities that are likely to be of interest to them, whether based on their degree subject, interests, or location. If we can interest enough recent graduates in signing up, this could be a useful and valuable resource for the future. if you're interested in finding out more, or joining yourself, you can find the page here: http://plus.google.com/100383369038665186069.

I've also written some text for the eziggurat that will be sent to 2012 leavers early next month, and sent a targeted email about our PR Account Executive internship opportunity, which offers a great start in a highly competitive industry.

Now that the new leaflet and posters have been finalised, we're focusing on creating a small folded card, to be given out initially at congregation. We've revised the internal text, and selected a new photograph and quotation.

As the first group of interns from the relaunched programme are beginning to finish their internships, it's a good time to think about revising the evaluation form, which asks about their experience, to ensure we get the information we need. I've been looking at those this week -- thinking of some new questions, removing those which are no longer relevant, and trying to make it more user-friendly.

All in all, a busy and interesting week!

Emily's Marketing Internship with Anglian Chemicals -- Week 8

Week 8: 21/5/12-25/5/12

"It’s done. Finished. My first website banner is up live on the web, and I am really pleased with it. Most of my week has been working with the Web designers and laying out the artwork. I have been checking through any little details of the new web pages including text, images and layout. Unfortunately the catalogue was not started while I was there because of the time constraints, however I have offered to continue with the work on a freelance basis after I have gone, as it will be good experience and I can add it to my portfolio. 

What has been really rewarding during this two month internship is that I was allowed the freedom of managing my own projects, which has been brilliant as I was able to give myself a deadline to complete the website before I left, and walk away with a completed project to show in interviews."

Sarah's Marketing Internship with the UEA Graduate Internship Programme -- Week 8

Week 8: 14/5/12 - 18/5/12

I started this week by designing a poster to be displayed in the School of Computing Sciences, listing the technology opportunities that 2012 graduates are eligible to apply for. It was interesting to think about how best to promote web development opportunities, which is something I know little about, to technology graduates.This internship is certainly giving me scope to apply my writing and marketing skills to situations outside my degree area.

This week also saw the publication of the article I wrote about the Graduate Internship Programme for Leap Magazine. It's been really rewarding to have seen the whole process through, from initial idea, through various drafts, and into publication. It's also given me an insight into the way large organisations work, and the procedures and permissions that surround any potential press. You can view the final article here: http://issuu.com/leapmagazine/docs/leap-magazine-may/8?mode=window

Work on the new posters has been continuing this week. We've finalised the A3 version, having settled on a photograph and slogan we're happy with. We're in the final stages of work on the A4 poster, after having identified another potential photograph. We're also just about ready with the updated leaflet. Things are finally coming together, and attention is now turning to the production of a small folded card to be distributed at graduation events.

Next week I'll be into the last third of my internship, so I'm beginning to think about what else I can do to promote and further increase graduate awareness and engagement with the programme.