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.