Category Archives: Modern Languages

Employer Case Study: Devon County Council

Free Red stop button on yellow handrail in modern empty public bus during daytime Stock Photo

Name of Organisation: Devon County Council 

Description of Organisation:  

Devon County Council is one of the largest employers in the County. The County Council recently declared a climate emergency and post COVID-19 there is an urgent need to support the economic recovery. The Government continues to invest in infrastructure to stimulate activity on both these fronts with announcements for more investment in walking and cycling and in public transport. 

The transport planning and road safety team has a key role in developing transport plans to support delivery of ambitious housing and job numbers, whilst also ensuring that they respond positively to Devon County Council’s climate emergency declaration. 

Name of Employer: Hannah Clark 

Job Title: Transport Planning Team Leader 

Internship Scheme used:  

The Graduate Business Partnership Scheme (GBP) | Employer Engagement & Student Employment | University of Exeter 

Feedback: 

“Lauren has contributed towards researching economic benefits of active travel and provided support on public consultation activities. Lauren has also developed initial ideas towards the development of a Local Transport Plan. 

Lauren’s biggest achievement was running a public consultation for an active travel route in Dartmoor.  

Lauren was an exemplar intern, and we are delighted to welcome Lauren as a full-time member of our team.” 

  

Employer Case Study: Devon County Council

Free Bird Flying over Bus Stock Photo

Name of Organisation: Devon County Council 

Description of Organisation:  

Devon County Council is one of the largest employers in the County. The County Council recently declared a climate emergency and post COVID-19 there is an urgent need to support the economic recovery. The Government continues to invest in infrastructure to stimulate activity on both these fronts with announcements for more investment in walking and cycling and in public transport. They are looking for enthusiastic people to step up to this challenge and develop, influence and shape the way people travel around Devon. 

Name of Employer: Hannah Clark 

Job Title: Transport Planning Team Leader 

Internship Scheme used:  

The Graduate Business Partnership Scheme (GBP) | Employer Engagement & Student Employment | University of Exeter 

Feedback: 

“Lauren has contributed towards researching economic benefits of active travel and provided support on public consultation activities. Lauren has also developed initial ideas towards the development of a Local Transport Plan. Lauren was an exemplar intern, and we are delighted to welcome Lauren as a full-time member of our team.

 

Employer Case Study: University of Exeter, Department of Classics

Name of Organisation: University of Exeter, Department of Classics

Name of Employer: Claire Holleran

Job Title: Senior Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History

Internship Scheme used:  Access to Internships (A2I) 

Feedback:

“Our intern was employed as an Research Assistant on an ongoing digital project on Latin inscriptions recording migration in Roman Iberia, and worked on finding further references and images of inscriptions. This was very important for future proofing the project.

The student did a fantastic job as an intern on the project. She followed the instructions carefully and worked efficiently and independently throughout her internship

Employing our intern through the internship scheme was an excellent experience and I would thoroughly recommend it (and her). Her work was important for the project overall and saved me a considerable amount of research time.”

Student Case Study: Penrice Academy

Name of Student:  Rachel Biggs

Degree Subject:  Modern languages

Job Title: Language Assistant

Company Name:  Penrice Academy

Type of Internship: Access to Internships (A2I)

What were your key duties and responsibilities during your internship?

Assisting in classroom, marking work, being involved in extra curricular and one to one work with students.

What was your biggest achievement on your internship?

I feel like I engaged well with some of the students who had behaviour issues and managed to get them to work with me to complete their work

Skills Learnt: 

  • Organisation
  • Leadership
  • Problem Solving
  • Teamwork and Collaboration
  • Time and workload management

Attributes Developed:

  • Logical thinking
  • Creative thinking
  • Initiative
  • Confidence

Your message to other students considering a similar job role, organisation or sector?

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and it has given me more confidence when pursuing this career in the future as it has not only solidified my passion for teaching but also potentially offered me a way into the job through a trust in which the school is a part of .

Student Case Study: University of Exeter

Name of Student:  Olivia Foulkes

Degree Subject: BA Sociology and Modern Languages

Job Title: Family Support Worker Intern

Company Name:  University of Exeter

Type of Internship: Access to Internships (A2I)

What were your key duties and responsibilities during your internship?

My key duties as a family support worker was liaising to help run the prison visits, help support inmates with any family related issues and get in contact with their families.

What outputs and outcomes did you deliver for your employer?  

I started a project for the company looking at the impact of parental imprisonment on children, and what services there are and how liaising between services can be improved.

Skills Learnt: 

  • Ability to Work Under Pressure
  • Organisation
  • Problem Solving
  • Communication
  • Decision Making

Attributes Developed:

  • Logical thinking
  • Confidence
  • Personal Awareness
  • Independence
  • Work Ethic

Your message to other students considering a similar job role, organisation or sector?

“My internship really helped me get a better sense of the sector I was working in. It has definitely helped with improving my social skills (especially after COVID) as it has been a long time I have had to use those skills. The internship has really improved my confidence and belief in myself. It has motivated me to take be confident in starting my career path as I now know I have the skills to do so.”

Student Case Study: University of Exeter

Name of Student:  Miranda Sandy

Degree Subject: German and Spanish/now MSC Marketing (9 months)

Job Title: GBP 5436 Education and Student Support Assistant

Company Name:  University of Exeter

Type of Internship:  Graduate Business Partnership (GBP)

What were your key duties and responsibilities during your internship?

– Working in the Quality and Standards Team for the College of Social Sciences and International Studies and the Business School.

– Liaising with academic staff members to process changes to modules and the addition/withdrawal of modules.

What outputs and outcomes did you deliver for your employer?  

Ensuring that module information was correctly input into iPaMS and therefore correct on the university website – My line manager often asked me to undertake investigative work. This involved searching through emails, our tracking spreadsheet and various SharePoint sites to ascertain the progress of a module’s approval. – My line manager asked me to create spreadsheets for him, often related to the above and to undertake audits (i.e. Arabic modules). One day when he was not at work he left me with instructions to create a spreadsheet using documents with Accelerate survey responses. This involved inputting figures from a large number of survey results to calculate percentage satisfaction. I worked hard to finish the spreadsheet that day, and my boss was pleased to be able to use it in a presentation the next day.

What was your biggest achievement on your internship?

We quite often received requests from departments with missing or incomplete paperwork, which I would often return to them asking for the correct information. On one occasion, an Accreditation Officer had submitted several requests on old template versions of the coversheet, thus some of the information we required was missing. Rather than returning everything to him and asking him to redo it, I decided to copy all the details we did have onto the correct coversheets and highlight the information we still required. This approach meant that I was able to provide a good service to the staff member while obtaining the information we required to process his request.

What did not go so well on your internship? How did you overcome any challenges?

The main challenge I faced concerned my poor WiFi at home. On a couple of occasions this meant that spreadsheets I was working on jointly with another member of staff became corrupt and an earlier version had to be restored. I overcame this by contacting my internet service provider and purchasing new WiFi extenders which helped the problem, I improved my use of Windows; closing Excel when I wasn’t using it and shutting down my laptop every night. This meant that such issues occurred far less frequently.

Skills Learnt: 

  • Problem Solving
  • Teamwork and Collaboration
  • IT

Attributes Developed:

  • Confidence
  • Initiative

Your message to other students considering a similar job role, organisation or sector?

“I am very grateful to the Quality and Standards Team for giving me my first graduate-level role. Although I never met my colleagues in person and my role was for only 3 months, I was very much made to feel part of the team. I would have liked to have stayed longer, but the experience has given me confidence going forward and applying to other graduate-level roles due to the recent and relevant examples I will be able to talk about in applications and interviews.”

Student Case Study: Vigo Presses 

Name of Student:  Max Cousins

Degree Subject: BA Modern Languages

Type of Internship: Green Consultants Scheme

Company Name: Vigo Presses

Job Title: Green Consultant

Description Of Company: Our Apple Juices and Cider are made naturally, just using the apples from our traditionally managed ‘non sprayed’ Orchards at Whimple in Devon. Our Silly Cow and Prize Bull Ciders are naturally fermented using the wild yeasts on the skins of our Devon Cider apples. No sulphites or added yeasts or preservatives, just cider apples and love… Throughout October, the whole family, picked & pressed apples from our orchard, a ton at a time and discovered that the cider apples made delicious apple juice! We all play our part in the business & go out & about to sell our wares at farmers markets & food fares as well as selling via shops, pubs, restaurants, cafes & tea shops etc.

What were your key duties and responsibilities during your internship?

  • Analyse business data including invoices, expenses, energy consumption etc to gauge current sustainability of the business and to highlight areas of improvement.
  • Conduct employee surveys in order to establish their knowledge of current sustainable strategies and to establish which type of recommendations would be best received culturally by the staff.
  • Generate a list of actionable steps to take action in making those improvements
  • Provide possible marketing strategies in order to not only ‘brag’ about current sustainable initiatives in the company but also to encourage sustainable behaviours amongst their customers

What outputs and outcomes did you deliver for your employer?

I created a slide deck that audited and set out action steps to improve their sustainability in the following areas:

  • Energy Usage
  • Scope 1 & 2 Carbon Emissions
  • Procurement
  • Culture

Produced practical plan detailing how to run monthly ‘green meetings’ and how to use marketing channels to advertise these efforts.

Recommended that they separate their general waste and separate their recycling to make it easier to record waste data, waste reduction progress and to estimate their CO2 emissions from their waste management.

Provided list of possible and practicable next steps to help them achieve the status of B-Corp

What was your biggest achievement on your internship?

My biggest achievement was by establishing a full picture of how the organisation operates and how the attitudes towards sustainability differ throughout the organisation. I was able to do this by working in an open office with the whole team and car sharing with a number of staff members during my commute as well as more formal interviews with staff members and the leadership team.

What did not go so well on your internship? How did you overcome any challenges?

I had to go to hospital due to an asthma emergency and so internship was disrupted. I was able to complete my internship remotely while I recovered.

There was no waste data which made it hard to measure key aspects of sustainability. I was able to identify the key data points that would be required and then provide actional recommendations in order to collect this data.

Skills Learnt: 

  • Ability to Work Under Pressure
  • Organisation
  • Decision Making
  • Researching
  • Time and Work Load Management
  • Written and Verbal Communication

Attributes Developed:

  • Initiative
  • Perseverance
  • Professionalism
  • Confidence
  • Motivation

Your message to other students considering a similar job role, organisation or sector?

“Do It ! – through the green consultant internship you also will inevitable receive great insight into other functions of the business / organisation and you may develop interests in roles or sectors that you had never considered before.”

The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum – Employer Case Study

Name of Organisation:  The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum

Description of Organisation: The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum is home to one of the largest collections of material relating to the moving image in Britain. We are both an accredited public museum and an academic research facility and we hold a collection of over 85,000 items. Over 1,000 of our items are on display in our Galleries and are available to be viewed by the public.

Name of Employer:  Phil Wickham

Job Title: Curator

Internship Scheme used:  A2I

Employer subsidies (A2I) – Employment Services – University of Exeter

Feedback:

We recruited a Curatorial Intern who researched and produced data to support a planned funding bid and also assisted with other key duties in the museum. The main research task was to assist with funding from the National Heritage Lottery Fund (NLHF). This work was completed to a very high standard. She also looked into an array of academic researchers who had used the museum’s collections and got in touch with them about their publications or projects. The intern was confident, organised and hardworking, this showed specifically through her preparation of a talk on pre-cinema in the museum’s gallery. She then went on to present this to visitors which was received with much enthusiasm. The internship went very well. She continued to volunteer for us after her internship and did some really valuable data analysis work on the museum’s visitors that will help us to develop. 

This is an excellent scheme. We have used A2I twice and both times been able to benefit from exceptional talents. We highly recommend taking on an intern from the University of Exeter.  

Quote from Intern:

“I honestly could not fault this experience whatsoever. I was able to combine my academic studies with real-world practical experience. Phil allowed me to use my initiative and offer my own suggestions in relation to the museum’s redevelopment project, which caused me to feel like a real part of the team. It also allowed me to demonstrate my ability to think creatively and intuitively rather than simply wait for instructions. I am eternally grateful for the encouragement that I received throughout the four weeks. This internship confirmed to me that I have chosen a career path that I am well-suited to.”

Saudi British Joint Business Council- Employer Case Study

Name of Organisation: Saudi British Joint Business Council

Description of Organisation: We are an independent and private sector-led body, which aims to develop and enhance business relations between Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. Through both its British and Saudi members and its Secretariat in London and Riyadh, the council offers a range of services and provides access to high-level governmental and private sector networks in Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.

Name of Employer: Chris Innes-Hopkins

Job Title: UK Executive Director

Internship Scheme used:  A2I, SBP

Employer subsidies (A2I) – Employment Services – University of Exeter

Student Business Partnership (SBP) – Employment Services – University of Exeter

Feedback:

We hired a Business Council Membership and Marketing Assistant through the University of Exeter Internship Scheme. The intern was prepared for the workplace and worked extremely well. He made an excellent contribution to SBJBC’s work and events, including leading on development of a new website.

The intern quickly made an impression and became a valuable member of our small team, leading on a number of events as well as preparation also. He demonstrated flexibility through remote working, working when necessary.

The Exeter internships at SBJBC have offered students the opportunity to help manage high profile events and important business relationships.  We were so impressed by the calibre of the student that we extended his role and offered him a full-time role for another six months to take forward a number of new projects. It’s pleasing to know that many interns have used the experience to move onto relevant careers in public and government affairs and communications.

This is the sixth time we have used the University’s Internship scheme, and as before it was a very positive experience. We received a good service from the Internships Team and would definitely recommend the Internships Scheme to other employers

 

Devon Development Education (Exeter) – Global Learning Resources

What were your main roles and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

My main responsibility was to promote the Spanish teaching resource “Hola Peru” at different schools across Devon. I met with teachers on a weekly basis to provide and explain to them how to use this resource. After covering the Devon county, I publicised our resource on other platforms and started to send it to different teachers across the whole country. I held Skype/FaceTime sessions with these teachers.

Apart from promoting Hola Peru, I have also helped the organisation with a wide array of activities. These include: managing Fair Trade events; giving presentations; setting a database of the schools which teach Spanish in Devon; and helping colleagues with their programmes among other duties.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking in English and gave me the confidence to work in a British workplace.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

Thanks to my work, they achieved to give 20 copies of Hola Peru and benefitted from my help to running of their activities more smooth.