Category Archives: Education

Student Case Study:  The Eden Project

Name of Student:  Max Parkin

Degree Subject: BA History – Cornwall

Job Title:  Research Writer Intern

Company Name:  The Eden Project

Type of Internship:  Access to Internships (A2I)Student Business Partnerships (SBPs)

Description of Company: The Eden Project, an educational charity, connects us with each other and the living world, exploring how we can work towards a better future. Our visitor destination in Cornwall, UK, is nestled in a huge crater. Here, massive Biomes housing the largest rainforest in captivity, stunning plants, exhibitions and stories serve as a backdrop to our striking contemporary gardens, summer concerts and exciting year-round family events.

What were your key duties and responsibilities during your internship?

To research specific briefed environmental/social/sustainable topics for the Eden Project as directed by the Director of Interpretation. To write, summarise and authenticate research documents and storylines with references. And/or to write final copy across a range of media using Eden’s house style and brand guidelines.

Key accountabilities (depending on area the student wishes to gain experience in):
1. To research specific briefed topics using literature searches and by communicating with organisations and experts in the field, working to set deadlines.
2. To write master files (as laid out in the Eden guidelines) on specific briefed topics with full list of references.
3. To write compelling storylines, narrative and content briefs to enable interpretation of specific subjects across a wide range of media.
4. To write final copy for specific exhibits, events, digital and web content and publications using Eden’s house style and brand guidelines.

What outputs and outcomes did you deliver for your employer?

The main task for the interpretation department at that time was Eden’s summer content – Earth Story. I was asked to research in detail Megafaunal extinction during the end of the last Ice Age and the potential human involvement. The end result was a detailed document which was then used to help the graphics team produce an extinction timeline which can now be seen in the Earth Story exhibit at Eden.

What was your biggest achievement on your internship?

I was given a topic I had 0 previous knowledge of – Megafauna. I was asked to produce a detailed research document and became an ‘expert’. My research was verified by Natural History Museum Professor, Adrian Lister and played an instrumental role in producing content which is now displayed in one of Britain’s top visitor attractions. 

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

Initially, it was difficult to get to grips with my task, my progress was slow to start – I made sure to communicate well with Sarah, my boss, and ask lots of questions when I became lost.

Skills Learnt 

  • Ability to Work Under Pressure
  • Communication
  • Team Work and Collaboration
  • Problem Solving
  • Time and Work Load Management

Attributes Developed 

  • Confidence
  • Initiative
  • Perseverance
  • Motivation
  • Personal Awareness

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

“Working with the Eden Project for my internship was highly rewarding, exciting and eye opening. I became an ‘expert’ in a topic I’d never even heard of before, I met some great people and a future career path.”

Student Case Study:  Colab- Resilient Women’s Project

Name of Student:  Jane Curmi

Degree Subject: BSC Sociology and Criminology

Job Title:  Resilient women project intern

Company Name:  Colab – Resilient Women’s Project

Type of Internship:  Access to Internships (A2I)

Description of Company: As an integrated cross sector wellbeing and innovation hub our goal is to improve lives by improving the context in which support for change occurs, as well as delivering meaningful and relevant services. Supporting people with complex life situations and multiple disadvantages, such as mental ill-health, homelessness, domestic and sexual violence and abuse, substance misuse, (re)offending and poverty we focus our support around recovery, belonging, rehabilitation and wellbeing.

What were your key duties and responsibilities during your internship?

Support the facilitation and delivery of a range of initiatives, working with the team to support women in the Criminal Justice System and those with complex needs, support resilient women’s project navigator scheme to offer direct pathway planning to women in the Criminal Justice System, support the delivery of resilient women financial abuse project training sessions, supporting the women’s sex worker project, take part in team meetings, learning opportunities and presentations, write findings and recommendations for future development as part of my placement requirement.

 

What was your biggest achievement on your internship?

I was asked to support the women’s sex workers project; the resilient women’s project was awarded Tampon Tax funding to undertake a further scoping exercise which would include gaining the views of women themselves and were awarded a really small pot of funding. The aim is to inform health and other social policy makers of what the needs are and how women want them to be addressed, with a view to looking at how to further support women in this situation. I was asked by the project manager to look over evidence that was already collected to familiarise myself with the project. I done this and I also spent some time researching recent literature on the subject, then worked out a plan of how the project aims could be met. I researched links that could be involved in the Exeter area and composed various emails and sent it to links that could have some knowledge of women sex workers in the Exeter area. this received a response from SWARM in London who gave me a contact link in Exeter University. I arranged a meeting with my manager, the contact and I. This meeting was successful and provided the resilient women’s project at Exeter University.

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

In general, my internship was very successful, the only thing I can say that did not go very well was when I was co-facilitating a course and a women turned up half way through the course and asked to take part. I felt that on instinct I should let her join the group. however, when reflecting afterwards I should have asked a senior member of staff as the women who attend these groups have multiple complex needs and I felt I may have let someone join and the situation could of changed and I would not be able to handle it. I discussed my feelings with my manager afterwards and came to the conclusions that in the future when a women turns up and the course has already started that she not be allowed to participate for the safety of the other attendees. This made me reflect on making quick decisions, I will in future be aware what the of making quick decisions and what the repercussions of that may be. 

Skills Learnt

  • Ability to Work Under Pressure
  • Organisation
  • Strategic Planning
  • Customer Service
  • Leadership

Attributes Developed

  • Creative thinking
  • Confidence
  • Initiative
  • Perseverance
  • Motivation

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

“Colab is a dynamic place to work, I have thoroughly enjoyed my placement and I have been given work opportunities and experience I would not normally have access to. This internship has provided me with the experience I need to complete my studies and further my career.”

Employer Quote:

“Jane has been an exemplary student whilst working with the project.  She slotted into the team really naturally and went above and beyond the objectives set when needed.   I would like to thank Jane and the University for enabling this really interesting internship to take place.”

Student Case Study: University of Exeter: Child Health Group – Institute for Health Research    

Name of Student:  Rebecca Bates

Degree Subject: Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery

Job Title: Research Assistant

Company Name: University of Exeter: Child Health Group – Institute for Health Research

Type of Internship: Access to Internships (A2I) 

Description of Company: The Child Health and Wellbeing Research Network brings together researchers across the University of Exeter that conduct research in the area of children’s health and wellbeing. The network spans many of the University’s colleges and represents 13 different groups, all with related work in this important field of enquiry. It was formed to ensure that strong collaboration and inter-disciplinary thinking and skills are at the heart of the research conducted, for the benefit of children and young people.

What were your key duties and responsibilities during your internship?

My key duties and responsibilities during my internship were research data analysis, report writing, proofreading and preparing a conference presentation.

What outputs and outcomes did you deliver for your employer?

I presented our research at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health’s annual conference. I also began work on national paper grown from the data analysis done on local data (I will be an author on the former, and lead author of the latter) – up to two PubMed papers can be taken into account during the Foundation Application process (the process you must undertake to be allocated a job after medical school), and being able to work on two so early will mean that I will have these reviewed and published by the time I am applying.

What was your biggest achievement on your internship?

Situation: Annual conference of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health

Task: Presenting the research and data I had been working on

Actions: Preparing presentation, trial run with research team for feedback,

Result: Successful presentation in which I “didn’t seem like a medical student”, including two contacts made after which will hopefully lead to research links. This will also be relevant all the way through to my specialty applications as I have now presented at a national conference.

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

I was very lucky in that no major challenges spring to mind, and any small queries and blips were well handled by my supportive supervisor – even down to worrying about the cost of travel to the conference resulting in this being covered by the team.

I had been worried my ADHD would preclude me from being successful in research but the structure the team provided meant that I was able to meet crucial deadlines such as being prepared for the conference and succeed in a way I could not have imagined at the start of my degree.

Skills Learnt 

  •  Ability to Work Under Pressure
  • Organisation
  • Time and Work Load Management
  • Strategic Planning
  • Focus on Goals and Outcomes

Attributes Developed 

  • Personal awareness
  • Cultural awareness
  • Logical thinking
  • Creative thinking
  • Independence

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

“My internship has helped me truly accept that there can be a place for me in research, as someone with ADHD – a dream I thought I’d have to give up when I first realised that not everything comes as easy to me as it does to others. It also meant I could afford to take the time to get my presentation right, and play a significant role in the writing of the paper, based on my data analysis – meaning I could see it through from beginning to end. I am so grateful for the opportunity and hope I can find a way to afford to continue this journey.”

Student Case Study:  Mental Health Intern

Name of Student: Emerald Hughes

Degree Subject: BA Archaeology 

Job Title: Mental Health Intern

Company Name: Young Devon

Type of Internship: Access to Internships (A2I)

Description of Company: Young Devon is the largest young people’s charity in the South West. Our mission is to make Devon a better place for all young people. Each year we work with over 2,000 young people, building quality relationships to help them thrive.

  1. What were your key duties and responsibilities during your internship?

I had a variety of roles including supporting my manager in the development and running of a social media campaign called Minds That Matter. This included building a website and creating social media/website content, as well as scheduling posts and attending project meetings. In addition to this I took up the role on Mentor, and currently have two mentees who I will continue to work with following the completion of my A2I internship for free as I enjoy this role greatly.

  1. What outputs and outcomes did you deliver for your employer?

I created a website and a vast amount of social media content which is ready to be put out over the next month. I collected a series of mental health stories from young people which are being placed online periodically.

  1. What was your biggest achievement on your internship?

My success with my mentees, this has really helped with my career prospects and has allowed me an invaluable insight into working in mental health. I believe this has helped me understand the difficulties of working with vulnerable individuals.             

  1. Skills Learnt 
  • Teamwork and collaboration
  • Communication
  • Ability to work under pressure
  • Time and work load management
  • Strategic planning 
  1. Attributes Developed 
  • Confidence
  • Personal awareness
  • Cultural awareness
  • Motivation
  • Professionalism
  1. Your message to other students considering a similar job role, organisation or sector? 

“I would not have been able to afford to have given this time voluntarily and therefore receiving help from the A2I fund was of great value to me. The application process was simple for both me and my employer, and once my employment had begun there was little else to worry about. My internship has really helped better my career prospects and given me a great insight into the field. Since graduating in 2019 I’ve gone on to be employed full time at Young Devon. The internship that I had there gave me a great foot in the door and I’ve now been working there for almost a year and am loving the role.”

Student Case Study: Alumni Volunteering Assistant

Name of Student: Kimberley Denning

Degree Subject: Flexible Combined Honours with UK Work Exp 

Job Title:  Alumni Volunteering Assistant

Company Name:  Global Advancement, University of Exeter

Type of Internship:  Student Campus Partnerships (SCPs) 

  1. What were your key duties and responsibilities during your internship?

Responding to alumni volunteering offers, recording their offers and volunteering actions on Raisers Edge database, amending alumni’s details and data consent information on Raisers Edge database, and recording student’s family and friends form details onto an Excel spreadsheet.

  1. What outputs and outcomes did you deliver for your employer?

I produced emails and input data in a systematic yet fast manner. Therefore I was able to help with more tasks such as inputting Alumni Relation Officer’s emails/tasks/actions onto Raisers Edge for them.

  1. What was your biggest achievement on your internship?

When I began my internship the online AUF query contained alumni offers dating back to August. These had to be input into Raisers Edge, and if consent was held, a pre-formatted email had to be sent to the alumni. I learnt the system quickly and set up ‘sticky notes’ on my desktop with the text so that I could promptly input the text. I was able to work through these meticulously and effectively so that I had more free time to offer to help others in the office when my workload was quieter.

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

On the first day of entering family and friends data into an Excel spreadsheet, the computer I was using popped up with a message saying that the programmes needed to be closed as something had failed. Then Excel froze, and shut-down while I was copying and pasting when I re-opened the page and continued to input the data, after a few entries I realised that the post-code field had moved up by one place. I went back over my last entries, creating a ‘filter’ search on the postcode field to find the entries which were affected.  I also included a note on the top of the field so that my colleague on the internship could see that she would have to enter future postcodes manually (in case she used it without me having a chance to explain what had happened). It was over a week before she used the spreadsheet and when I explained what you needed to do, I also explained what had happened and that she needed to be careful at a point in the spreadsheet where this error had occurred.

  1. Skills Learnt 
  • Communication
  • Teamwork and collaboration
  • Customer service
  • Ability to work under pressure
  • Time and workload management
  1. Attributes Developed 
  • Personal awareness
  • Motivation
  • Confidence
  • Initiative
  • Perseverance
  1. Your message to other students considering a similar job role, organisation or sector? 

“I really enjoyed my internship within the University of Exeter. I am a mature student with previous work experience, however this was all gained within the private sector. I really enjoyed the new environment, enthusiasm for the cause shown by the staff, and rewarding work.”

 

Articulacy Ltd – Employer Case Study

Name of Organisation:  Articulacy Ltd

Description of Organisation:  We as an organisation bring our values to school at a very young age, when our opinions are being formed. We take this into our relationships from school and into the workplace. We put on award-winning workshops that involve high energy and fun and carry a very high approval rating due to our focus on individual needs.

Name of Employer:  Leanne Fennell

Job Title: Business Manager

Internship Scheme used:  A2I  

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

Feedback: 

We recruited our intern as a Marketing Officer. She reviewed our online website and designed a new fresh one and she attended some days in a Digital Leadership programme and made excellent contributions to the group.

Our intern also created some fantastic leaflets that will advertise our new inset training and other programmes. These will lead to income generation once they are successfully bringing in the work through schools. As well as, introducing us to software that we will be able to use on an ongoing basis to create our own leaflets which will save us hundreds in the future. Her work and ideas were outstanding.

Working with the University of Exeter on the Access to Internships scheme has been such a delight. We have worked with a psychology student who brought her fresh ideas and vibrant personality to a very small team and made a huge difference to us in what she was able to achieve in a short space of time. We now have clear ideas on how to improve our website, we have exciting leaflets and new designs that we are thrilled about using.

We thank you so much for giving this opportunity to work with an inspirational young lady who is extremely employable and will go far.

 

Designability Charity Limited – Employer Case Study

 

Name of Organisation: Designability Charity Limited

Description of Organisation: We are an independent charity with a mission to create and provide products that enable disabled people to live with greater independence. We aim to draw on the expertise and resources of designers, engineers and occupational therapists to ensure our products make a positive impact in people’s lives.

Name of Employer: Rob Hanson

Job Title: Mechanical Design Engineer

Internship Scheme used:  A2I Employer subsidies (A2I) – Employment Services – University of Exeter

 Feedback:

Our intern worked with us in the user-engagement and requirements gathering for a purpose-designed ‘saddle’ as part of our ongoing development of dynamic seating for children with dystonic cerebral palsy. As a charity, the team’s time and resources are very limited, so the student’s contribution of scoping and defining the product requirements, translating user-engagement to concept ideas, and shaping an early product definition has been useful in moving this part of the project forward.

This contribution of furthering thinking and understanding in this area is extremely valuable in itself.  As a researcher she was extremely thorough in her scoping, thinking and documentation. She has been a pleasure to work with; quiet, considerate and kind.

We feel that the internship scheme is a great way to get students (either undergrad or graduate) industry connected. Our intern joined us for a short internship, bringing fresh thinking and an open mind. Willing to learn, keen to contribute, and driven to make a positive impact with the engineering skills she developed at university, I am glad she could spend some time with us.

 

Quote from Intern:

“My time included home visits to a child who would be using the saddle seat – this improved my skills in user-centered design and helped me understand the complex requirements of seating for dystonic cerebral palsy children. I improved my teamworking skills, in consulting other engineers/occupational therapists on my design. I became more confident in putting forward my ideas, as well as understanding criticisms.”

Physical Education/ School Games Assistant – St Luke’s School

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

Roles included teaching and leading a variety of primary school P.E lessons and assisting two big sports activity days and St Luke’s Science and Sport College

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

Improved my skills to communicate to children and fellow work colleagues. I improved my ability to perform under pressure when teachers from schools were watching me teach Physical Education.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

The employer had extra needed help to run a sports activity day for 500 primary school children. The employer increased his networking through the University.

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Problem solving, leadership, decision making

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Confidence, motivation, work ethic

Assistant Games Manager – SportInspired

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

  • Supporting with the organisation of SportInspired Games programmes
  • Carrying out and compiling research on community need in the areas in which SportInspired Work
  • Exploring new business opportunities for SportInspired by researching and identifying potential partners
  • Administrative tasks such as putting together and printing essential documents for SportInspired Games
  • Supporting internship recruitment programme
  • Supporting the Event Director to run the SportInspired Games festivals

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

I learnt lots of information regarding children wellbeing and mental health which as worrying as it was, was informative and gave me reassurance that what I want to do with my life is still the same.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I gave them an insight into their well-being programme from a psychology perspective. I also, using my knowledge of statistics from my course, was able to provide the company with a free, more detailed and efficient way to analyse their data which saves them time and money needed for a data analysis software.

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Teamwork and collaboration, research, degree specific

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Cultural awareness, logical thinking, creative thinking

Student Researcher – Training Tutors to Teach Distributed and Emergent Forms of Leadership – University of Exeter

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

  • Conducted literature searches using agreed key words and search strategies.
  • Contributed to a review of the literature on group work and leadership of student groups in higher education.
  • Designed survey instruments.
  • Field work conducting interviews with a wide range of students and some members of staff using surveys.
  • Contributed to writing a report on the review of literature and analysis of group work data from questionnaires and focus groups.

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

Managing the internship successfully whilst also maintaining focus on my studies.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

Started and completed work and tasks that my line manager does not always have time for in his work day. He now has a basis to continue from.

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Problem solving, time and workload management, research

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Initiative, independence, professionalism