Category Archives: Media, Publishing and Journalism

Employer Case Study: RAMM

Name of Organisation: Royal Albert Memorial Museum

Description of Organisation: RAMM will enhance people’s quality of life. It’s a place of discovery which encourages everyone to be curious. RAMM uses its local and global collections to connect people to the world and inspires them to shape a better future.

Name of Employer: Nicki McCaskie

Job Title: Marketing and Communications Officer

Internship Scheme used: Graduate Business Partnership (GBP) , 

Feedback:

“Our intern ran a campaign for us, Treasures of the Museum, which was highly successful at getting families into RAMM and engaging with our collections through a museum trail. Treasures of the Museum was part of a wider summer campaign which resulted in RAMM achieving over 140% of predicted visits for the summer period. Our social media audiences & engagement stats have also increased over all platforms during our interns time with us, including over 1000 more Twitter followers. Our Instagram channel has greatly improved with high quality posts and regular Instagram stories.

Thanks to an award application written by our incredible intern, RAMM is a finalist in this year’s Devon Tourism Awards for the Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Award category. Internally, our Audience Development meetings are now more organised and better-recorded thanks to our intern’s planning skills and note-taking.

Our intern has been excellent; she settled into our team straight away, and has become a valued member over the past 15 months. She responded well to challenges presented by the pandemic, working flexibly and solving problems as they arose. We were extremely impressed by her creativity, her communication skills, her dedication to the role and her passion for the museum.”

Student Case Study: Progressive Britain

Name of Student:  Alexander Kingston

Degree Subject:  Politics

Job Title: Political Consultant

Company Name:  Progressive Britain

Type of Internship:  Access to Internships (A2I)

What were your key duties and responsibilities during your internship?

Blogging, Data Analysis, Social Media and Writing Newsletters

What was your biggest achievement on your internship?

A blog post entitled “Progressive Winners Across the World”, featuring an analysis of the global centre-left and the current state of the UK Labour Party. The internship also helped me to make further connections within the Labour Party.

Were there any challenges and how did you overcome these?

The biggest challenge was perhaps the need to rewrite drafts of my blog + newsletters to keep up with ongoing events. In one instance, I started writing something and then by the time it was meant to be published the Prime Minister resigned his office, incurring drastic re-writes.

Skills Learnt: 

  • Teamwork and Collaboration
  • Organisation
  • Strategic Planning
  • Assessing and Managing Risk
  • Decision Making

Attributes Developed:

  • Logical thinking
  • Personal Awareness
  • Perseverance

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

On the whole, it was a positive experience and I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to working at an organisation like Progressive Britain once I finish university. I met some very interesting people, including former Prime Minister Tony Blair. I also believe it was beneficial in making further contacts, allowing me to make the necessary connections to advance in the political world.

Student Case Study: Optix solutions

Name of Student:  Olivia Arden

Degree Subject: BSC Biological Sciences

Type of Internship: Green Consultants Scheme

Company Name: Optix solutions

Job Title: Green Consultant

Description Of Company: We’re a strategic Digital Marketing and Web Development Agency based in Exeter, Devon. We specialise in website design and development, digital strategy and digital marketing. We run a digital marketing training sessions through our Optix Academy.

What were your key duties and responsibilities during your internship?

I began the internship getting to understand the ethos of the company and the sustainability strategies they currently employ through meetings with a range of employees.  Following this, my main duty was to write a sustainability report analysing the effectiveness of current strategies and recommending further steps that Optix could take to improve their environmental impact.

What outputs and outcomes did you deliver for your employer?

Sustainability report including recommendations on employee engagement, energy providers, bank providers and social sustainability.

What was your biggest achievement on your internship?

Knowing that the recommendations I gave in the report will be used to improve the environmental credentials of one of the top marketing companies in England.

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

Timing to write report – took a lot longer than anticipated however, the company were very understanding and adapted to the change in timings.

Skills Learnt: 

  • Ability to Work Under Pressure
  • Organisation
  • Decision Making
  • Researching
  • Communication

Attributes Developed:

  • Initiative
  • Perseverance
  • Professionalism
  • Confidence
  • Motivation

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

“I would highly recommend Green Consultants as a means to understand what is involved in sustainability consulting. In particular, working with Optix Solutions has shown to me the responsibility that digital companies have in making a positive sustainable impact, since their role in the environmental sector is often overlooked.”

Student Case Study: Preston Street Films 

Name of Student:  Kathryn Offer

Degree Subject:  BA History & International Relations Study Abroad

Job Title:  Documentary Research Assistant

Company Name: Preston Street Films

Type of Internship:  Student Business Partnerships (SBPs) 

Description Of Company: Preston Street Films is a documentary film and branded content production company based in Exeter, Devon. The team combines decades of experience working for broadcasters such as the BBC, Al Jazeera, NBC and Channel 4 and a range of high profile brands and clients.

What were your key duties and responsibilities during your internship?

My key duties and responsibilities during my internship were researching ideas for documentaries, researching and getting in contact with archives for documentary footage.
I also researched for potential companies to make short-form documentaries for as well as,  helping with filming as a runner and getting in contact with people.

What outputs and outcomes did you deliver for your employer?

The outputs and outcomes I delivered for my employer was where I produced a list of potential companies to liaise with. I gave ideas for new projects and got in contact with people to appear in documentaries.

What was your biggest achievement on your internship?

I got to work as a runner and see a project through from the researching phase, to completion. I researched the history of table manners for a documentary, contacted people to appear, and then helped with the filming itself.

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

It would have been great if my contract could have been extended. But there was limited funding for this.

Skills Learnt: 

  • Negotiation
  • Persuasion
  • Problem Solving
  • Leadership
  • Customer Service

Attributes Developed:

  • Researching
  • Networking
  • Degree Specific
  • Commercial Awareness
  • Confidence

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

“I genuinely loved every moment of working with Preston Street Films. I felt I gained so much experience, in so many areas during the placement, and it was such a great opportunity to experience something outside my general academic focus. I could not recommend it enough to anyone else considering a similar route. Everyone at Preston Street Films made me feel so welcome, and was so supportive of my applications to similar schemes after it ended. If there was greater funding in place to extend my contract this would have made it even better.”

 

Marketing and Communications Intern –upReach

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

Audit the current videos on the upReach portal and produce more, research and implement a new mock video interview platform, design and create content for the new My University page on the upReach portal and any other small ad hoc tasks and projects such as designing layouts, providing feedback on ideas and working on the new podcast idea.

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

As an associate of upReach, I was able to provide any feedback to the team from the POV of someone who receives their services. I gave one idea about holding mock assessment centre days as that is something I believe many associates, including myself, will sign up to. This idea was taken well and is now in the works to being implemented later in the year!

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I was lucky enough to be part of a big project for fund-raising and had to plan and produce a video for the application in just 2 days. I felt really included and valued in the meetings rather than just an intern and actually produced a good video under time constraints and pressure! We were able to apply to for the grant in time and hopefully we will get it!

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Teamwork and collaboration, IT, research

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Creative thinking, work ethic, confidence

Content Writer and PR – University of Exeter

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

My main roles included; creating online content and blogs for the clients I represented at the company, doing digital PR (link building and email templates) and later I also did some account managing.

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

I think my biggest achievement was becoming an active member of a company and realising how my contributions positively affected the company’s reputation.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

It enabled them to provide us with a set of responsibilities that meant they could focus on more important tasks at hand. I was able to help increase the amount of content produced at the company within a short time period.

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Problem solving, customer service, networking

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Initiative, independence, professionalism

Geography Writer – ZigZag Education

cof

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

My main role was to write various GCSE level geography resources, such as topic tests and case studies. I have also been given other smaller tasks to complete. In addition I have been given plenty of training in order to work to the best of my abilities.

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

My biggest achievement has probably been completing the resources that I have. Although I am yet to see the full published versions, it’s fulfilling knowing that what I have written is going through the production phases. I also feel that I have taken on a lot of information and learnt lots of new skills!

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

There are always tasks to be done at ZigZag so I imagine I have helped to get more projects completed so they can produce more resources at a faster rate.

“Rachel is a very proficient employee and has settled into the company very well and now forms a core part of her subject team of writers. She has already written a number of new teaching resources as well as critically assessing the work of her peers” – Line Manager.

Content Writer – Click Hub

clickhub

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

Over the years I learned a great deal, not just about digital marketing but about a whole range of industries as I was relied upon to write regular content and website copy for miscellaneous clients. From web designers to interior designers, builders, dentists, and accountants – you name the industry, I probably wrote a blog about it. I had the opportunity to learn more about digital marketing. I became more interested in the workings behind SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), and watching our clients progress up the Google rankings, and I took my Adwords exam to become Google certified.

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

Half way through my final year of study, the Company Director offered me a full-time position commencing after graduation. For me, not only was my internship a fantastic opportunity to apply my academic abilities in a professional environment, build my confidence and develop my employability skills, but without the internship I probably wouldn’t have ended up working for the company after I graduated too.

 

Did you encounter any problems during the course of your internship and if so, how did you overcome them?

It was a role that taught me to be flexible as well as hugely self-motivated since much of the work was carried out at home.  When I began my full-time position as Marketing Executive I was thrown in at the deep and expected to stay afloat because an SME won’t have the same resources as a larger firm when it comes to training. This has the potential to feel overwhelming but it also allows you to develop in other ways. What’s more, you’re in a company you know has invested in you because, over the course of your internship, they got to know you and saw value in you.

anna

Film Research Support & Administration Intern – University of Exeter

film

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

My duties included:

Updating programme descriptors and modules on iPaMS.
Researching and drafting a plan for the MA IFB webpage.
Collecting student information and formulating a questionnaire for a postgraduate film student database.
Helping with module change and allocation.
Assisting with archiving.
Some reception assistance.
Writing a summary report of film workshop feedback.
Helping with any other general ad hoc tasks.

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

Helping the team out with iPaMS as I really felt like I made a positive impact which was appreciated. I also feel that my work for the MAIFB webpage and film workshop summary was of a good standard I was proud of.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I feel like I have helped relieve some of the pressures on the team at a busy time. I hope that my work for the PG database helps the film department and that my draft for the MAIFB webpage gets used and benefits the students.

“We have loved having our Intern Maxine, who had an extremely positive impact on the team and the work that we do” – Line Manager

Digital Content Intern – Remote Dashboard

ipad-tablet-technology-touch

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

My main role was to create digital content for Remote Dashboard to post on their social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. I researched topics that would be of interest to their clients, investors and business partners, and then wrote an article about it. There would be 2-3 articles published every week. Topics included the oil and gas industry, renewable energy, Internet of Things and battery/power solutions. If during my research I found a relevant article, I would send it over to the Digital Media Intern to share on social media channels.

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

I became more confident in my capabilities as an intern who is a part of the company. My line manager and the CEO both encouraged me to weigh in my opinions and speak for the company as I was a part of it.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I brought more traffic to their website, and spiked more interest in their content that was now created on the regular, while before this it was once every month or so.