Name of Student: Sophie Wormley
Degree Subject: BSc Politics and International Relations
Job Title: Membership and Marketing Assistant
Company Name: Saudi British Joint Business Council
Description of Company: 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.
Type of Internship: Student Business Partnerships (SBPs)
What were your key duties and responsibilities during your internship?
Throughout this internship I have had many responsibilities including marketing events, recruiting new members, drafting the monthly newsletter and helped organise our big event.
What outputs and outcomes did you deliver for your employer?
One output I produced was the monthly newsletter which I drafted each month, this would inform the members of any updates to our organisation as well as some news updates in Saudi Arabia. We would encourage members to take part in our upcoming events and it certainly increased the engagement. Another output I produced was marketing our organisation’s events on LinkedIn to increase awareness of not only our events but also our organisation to encourage new members to join. Through several posts, the organisation’s LinkedIn gained many followers.
What was your biggest achievement on your internship?
My biggest achievement was my input in ensuring the smoothness of the big event we ran. SBJBC hosted the ‘UK/Saudi Sustainable Investment Forum’ in mid July and it required a lot of effort in all areas. My role was to market the event as well as complete a lot of admin tasks including creating spreadsheets of the attendees and ensuring they had the relevant documents (ie. approval and Covid restrictions). As a result of my work, the event ran very smoothly and was well organised across all areas.
What did not go so well on your internship? How did you overcome any challenges?
I certainly felt shy at some points in the internship and lacked the confidence to talk on group calls. However, throughout the course of my internship I have made a considerable effort to improve on this. Through researching the events and asking questions, I now feel a lot more confident speaking on calls.
Skills Learnt:
- Ability to Work Under Pressure
- Organisation
- Leadership
- Strategic Planning
- Decision Making
Attributes Developed:
- Logical thinking
- Creative thinking
- Independence
- Work Ethic
- Professionalism
Your message to other students considering a similar job role, organisation or sector?
“I have loved completing my internship this summer. Not only has it massively improved my confidence, it has given me many employability skills which will certainly help in the future. I have learned the importance of team work, especially working within such a small team as I have had constant communication with my colleagues. Although I may have felt shy at some points, I overcame this by asking questions and carrying out lots of research to ensure I felt confident speaking on calls.”