Category Archives: English

Employer Case Study- Mousetrap Theatre Projects

Access to Internships (A2I), Charity and Development Work, Employer Feedback, English, Leisure, Sport and Tourism, ,

Name of Organisation: Mousetrap Theatre Projects 

Description of Organisation:  

 Mousetrap Theatre Projects is a charity dedicated to enriching the lives of children and young people through theatre, especially those who are disadvantaged or have additional needs. 

Through projects designed for individuals, families, schools and youth groups, they open the doors to London’s world-class theatre and deliver transformative education projects that engage and inspire. 

Name of Employer: Elaine Grant 

Job Title: Head of Access Programmes 

Internship Scheme used:  

Employer Subsidies – Access to Internships | Employer Engagement & Student Employment | University of Exeter  

Feedback: 

“Jemima was invaluable to the programme and a great team member. She worked effectively in and out of the office. “

Student Quote – Link to Case Study  

“My internship has been life changing. Being at Mousetrap has opened the door to working in the theatre industry and highlighted the importance of working on a large scale project which changes so many lives. My internship was multi layered and gave me a 360 experience of working on a project from beginning to end. My skills have helped me get a full time job at Mousetrap. “

Internships | Access to Internships | Student-case-study-Mousetrap-Theatre-Projects

Student Case Study: Mousetrap Theatre Projects

Access to Internships (A2I), English, Internship Schemes, Leisure, Sport and Tourism, , , ,

Name of Student:  Jemima Unsworth

Degree Subject:  English

Job Title: Family First Nights Assistant

Company Name:  Mousetrap Theatre Projects

Type of Internship: Access to Internships (A2I) 

What were your key duties and responsibilities during your internship?

I assisted across the entire four month programme.

My roles included
– processing applications
– registering organisations.
– liaising with box offices, marketers, and producers.
– solving queries
– organising the launch event.
– assisting with work shops.
– creating resources for the programme.

What was your biggest achievement on your internship?

Processing 270 of the 300 applications and organising the launch event.

Were there any challenges and how did you overcome these?

I felt overwhelmed at points with my workload but was able to open up about this to make my work load more manageable.

Skills Learnt: 

  • Strategic Planning
  • IT
  • Networking

Attributes Developed:

  • Creative thinking
  • Independence
  • Work Ethic
  • Professionalism

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

My internship has been life changing. Being at Mousetrap has opened the door to working in the theatre industry and highlighted the importance of working on a large scale project which changes so many lives. My internship was multi layered and gave me a 360 experience of working on a project from beginning to end. My skills have helped me get a full time job at Mousetrap.

Student Case Study: Ask An Alum (UofE)

Administration, Advertising, Marketing and PR, Degree subject, Education, Teaching and Research, English, Internship Schemes, Student Campus Partnership (SCP), , , ,

 

Name of Student:  Emily Im

Degree Subject:  English

Job Title: SCP 5520 Ask An Alum Administrator

Company Name:  University of Exeter

Type of Internship:  Student Campus Partnerships (SCPs)  

What were your key duties and responsibilities during your internship?

My main responsibility was to manage and record Ask An Alum applications and then connect students and graduates with alumni who could give them careers advice. I also searched and inputted data from Raiser’s Edge onto Microsoft Excel, produced and scheduled social media marketing material to promote Ask An Alum, and wrote copy advertising Ask An Alum for the careers newsletter.

What was your biggest achievement on your internship?

I helped connect over 60 alumni with students and graduates who applied for Ask An Alum.

Skills Learnt: 

  • Ability to Work Under Pressure
  • Organisation
  • Customer Service

Attributes Developed:

  • Logical thinking
  • Confidence
  • Independence

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

I had a brilliant time as Ask An Alum Administrator for the University’s Employability team. My three lovely managers gave me support and guidance when needed but also welcomed my own ideas. There was a lot of data inputting involved but I had the opportunity to be creative too when working on the marketing side of things. The internship as a whole has helped me develop the skills I need for the future and boosted my confidence. Therefore, it was a worthwhile experience.

Student Case Study: University of Exeter

Administration, Art History and Visual Culture, Degree subject, English, Graduate Business Partnership (GBP), Internship Schemes, Sector, , , , ,

Name of Student:  Katie Smith

Degree Subject:  BA CH Art History and Visual Culture with English

Job Title: GBP 5063 Education Support Assistant

Company Name:  University of Exeter

Type of Internship:  Graduate Business Partnership (GBP)

What were your key duties and responsibilities during your internship?

  • Providing first-line enquiry and standard transaction education support service for students and academic teaching staff, and high-quality general administration support as required for Humanities programmes
  • Communicating with students, staff and members of the public over a broad range of enquiries and issues in a clear, professional and friendly manner via email, phone and face-to-face interactions
  • Training and understanding of a variety of general programmes and specialised database systems, with a high level of competency in Microsoft Office
  • Responsible for a number of key administrative processes within the subjects of English and Film, such as processing assessments and allocating modules, all of which required management of large databases, problem solving and attention to detail, both during the initial processing and subsequent checks.
  • Working closely with the student welfare team to process sensitive and confidential information in an appropriate manner for students with a variety of mental or physical disabilities
  • Improving the efficiency of other team members and tasks through devising clear, systematic methodologies and creating simple ‘How to’ documents, as well as continuously committing to internal training sessions

What outputs and outcomes did you deliver for your employer?  

Outputs = On a daily basis I would produce clear answers to student enquiries. Behind the scenes, I also produced ‘How to’ documents for internal use within my team, which helped to improve understanding of key processes and programmes. These were also beneficial for new starters. I also produced numerous reports for key members of staff, such as personal tutor allocations and module allocations.

Outcomes = I have had really positive feedback from within my team and have been given an above and beyond award for my hard work. The administrator I assist has also been able to focus on more important and complex tasks as they have trusted me to be able to take care of processes independently. In what has been a very tough year our team has been able to maintain efficiency, and I believe that is in part due to my efficient working and assistance.

What was your biggest achievement on your internship?

My biggest achievement was successfully allocating modules to all 2nd and 3rd year students on English and Film programmes. My administrator and line manager were both on annual leave, which meant that I was left responsible for the entire process, which I had not completed before. This process included harvesting the data of module selections from over 300 students, going through each student and creating a spreadsheet of potential module numbers, meeting with the Director of Education with our department to discuss these and which modules needed to be capped. I then needed to go through each individual student and allocate modules to them based on their rankings, as well as specific programme rules, ensuring terms were balanced and that they had the right number of credits. Many of the students had issues with their selections, and so I had to get in touch with them to explain the problems and provide solutions. Once all allocations were made, I then needed to open the record of each student on our specialised database programme SITS and add in/remove the modules they had been allocated. I also had regular assistant tasks to complete such as answering the phone and general enquiries. To achieve all of this, I ensured that I had all the information organised beforehand and set myself smaller more achievable goals throughout the week. As a result of this hard work, I was able to complete all of the above within the 5 days that my managers were away. Upon their return they were extremely impressed with how much I have been able to achieve. I would say this is my biggest achievement because I was really proud of my work ethic and how I was able to work so well under pressure.

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

It was challenging to start the position remotely, and this has meant that over 1 year on there are still members of my team I have never met in person. However, I think this has really improved my computer skills and communication. I have found it a challenge to provide customer service over the phone, however as this is a task required on a daily basis, I have pushed through and I think my confidence has definitely improved.

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?

“My internship experience has been really positive, and has been a great way for me to get a full time role in a real position without feeling out of my depth. Most administrative positions advertised require previous office experience, so completing this internship has given me a whole host of useful experience to take forward into my career.”

Student Case Study: University of Exeter

Degree subject, Education, Teaching and Research, English, Sector, Student Campus Partnership (SCP), , , , ,

Name of Student:  Ayooluwatomi Adesina

Degree Subject: MA Creative Writing

Job Title: SCP 5342 Research Intern

Company Name:  University of Exeter

Type of Internship: Student Campus Partnerships (SCPs)  

What were your key duties and responsibilities during your internship?

I was part of a team that analysed and coded extracted data under several categories. I weekly analysed data from the viral #BringBackOurGirls campaign as we looked at the impact of the post-humanitarian advocacy. As a Nigerian, I also offered insight into the political landscape in the region of our research.

What outputs and outcomes did you deliver for your employer?  

Output = A series of interpreted and coded data (viral tweets) on the #BringBackOurGirls campaign from 2014 to 2017.

Outcomes = To be determined by later stage analysis, which was yet to be carried out when concluding this internship.

What was your biggest achievement on your internship?

I had initially joined the research team to translate and analyse data (tweets) in local Nigerian languages. However, a need for more coders on the unit arose, and I decided to pick up a new skill. I learnt how to code and took on this new role in assisting the team, which increased our work output rate.

Skills Learnt: 

  • Ability to Work Under Pressure
  • Organisation
  • Leadership
  • Strategic Planning
  • Decision Making

Attributes Developed:

  • Motivation
  • Creative thinking
  • Independence
  • Work Ethic
  • Professionalism

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

“I was attracted to this internship because of the opportunity to be part of a team investigating society’s response to humanitarian issues. This project focused on international and domestic #BringBackOurGirls campaigns. I am pleased by the progress I have made on this project – from analysing and coding tweets to being a part of several brainstorming sessions that shaped different aspects of the project. Aside from improving my collaborative research skills, I had the privilege of working with inspiring lecturers like Dr Stacey Hynd and Dr Elena Gadjanova. They made the experience surreal. Finally, I am grateful for other research interns on the project.”

Student Case Study: University of Exeter

Degree subject, Education, Teaching and Research, English, History, Internship Schemes, Sector, Student Campus Partnership (SCP), , , ,

Name of Student:  Priyankha Khindri

Degree Subject:  BA English and History

Job Title: SCP5538 Research Intern

Company Name:  University of Exeter

Type of Internship: Student Campus Partnerships (SCPs)  

What were your key duties and responsibilities during your internship?

We hosted the morning meeting a couple of times each over the course of the internship and gave presentations to our group on areas of our research that we found most interesting We had a choice as to what topics we would research and were then responsible for compiling the research and creating a powerpoint of our findings We created and scripted a presentation which we gave to the Exeter City Council.

What outputs and outcomes did you deliver for your employer?  

The two main outputs of our work were a template for an ARCGIS Storymap website and an interpretation board to be placed in Exeter A major outcome was looking at what our next steps would be in terms of the continued development of a website and interpretation board e.g. what other teams/people would be necessary and how would the relevant funding be secured

What was your biggest achievement on your internship?

The biggest achievement for me personally was learning to work in a team. At university the work you do is your own and through the majority of your academic work the tasks are independent. However in this environment you shared your ideas and had them built upon by a myriad of other people and someone else had the power to improve and work on your outputs or ideas. The changes to my work and ideas were initially incredibly disheartening however by the end of it – as a result of group conversations and individual reflection – I came to understand that in a team no one person can have ownership of an idea or output. This resulted in me enjoying collaborative work and feeling prepared to join the workforce where team work is crucial.

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

As a result of how incredible our manager Nicola was and how wonderful the team were there was nothing that did not go well. One of the challenges was travelling to the Downes estate in Crediton where we were subject to some cultural insensitivity but Nicola had ensured there was a plan in place to address any unhappiness.

Skills Learnt: 

  • Ability to Work Under Pressure
  • Organisation
  • Leadership
  • Strategic Planning
  • Researching

Attributes Developed:

  • Logical thinking
  • Creative thinking
  • Independence
  • Work Ethic
  • Professionalism

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

“The experience was unique and unlike any other internship I know of other people having undertaken. It was eye opening and transformative as our team ranged from 18 year old students to people in the Devon community who were 60 years old. The diversity of the team made for a working experience like no other. It was also incredibly rigorous as a lot of the research we were undertaking had not been done before which made it tough but exciting work.”

Student Case Study: Axminster Heritage Centre

Degree subject, English, Environmental Work, Green Consultants, Internship Schemes, Libraries and Heritage, , , ,

Name of Student:  Alice Walters

Degree Subject: BA English with Study Abroad

Type of Internship: Green Consultants Scheme

Company Name: Axminster Heritage Centre

Job Title: Green Consultant

Description Of Company: Axminster Heritage Centre has a vision to delight and entertain visitors through interactive and innovative displays. We hope to exceed expectations by creating both an online and a ‘hands on’ experience that young and old can touch and interact with. In addition, we have a unique collection of original Axminster carpets artefacts and aim to tell the story, from fleece to floor, of this world famous ‘brand’ name in an enjoyable and educational way.

What were your key duties and responsibilities during your internship?

I worked for Axminster Heritage Centre every Thursday for five weeks – two of those days at the centre itself. Over the course of my internship, I assessed how well Axminster Heritage Centre was performing from a sustainability perspective. I then wrote a detailed report that gave recommendations about how they could improve their environmental credentials in the future. I found this to be both highly rewarding and an enjoyable experience.

What outputs and outcomes did you deliver for your employer?

Within my formal report, I included background information about sustainability within the museum sector, information on waste management and energy usage, assessments of partner organisations, and case studies of best practice. When researching other museums in Devon, I noticed that none of them had an environmental policy published on their website. I brought this to the attention of my employer, and suggested that this represented an exciting opportunity for Axminster Heritage Centre to be the first Devon-based museum to prioritise environmental sustainability in this way. I also wrote an Executive Summary that summarised my full report for the benefit of the museum’s trustees.

What was your biggest achievement on your internship?

Writing my report: it was 6000 words long, well-researched, and highly detailed.

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

My employer asked me to recommend some ways in which the museum could invest its money sustainably, but this was something that I had no prior knowledge about. I overcame this by completing some research, and ensuring that it was at least mentioned in my report so that it would be flagged up to the trustees.

Skills Learnt: 

  • Ability to Work Under Pressure
  • Organisation
  • Problem Solving
  • Researching
  • Time and Work Load Management

Attributes Developed:

  • Personal Awareness
  • Cultural Awareness
  • Logical thinking
  • Creative thinking
  • Motivation

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

“This role combined arts and culture with environmental sustainability, and this truly reinforced the importance of taking a holistic approach to protecting the environment – it’s not just one sector’s responsibility to operate sustainably, but everyone’s! I’d recommend a similar role to anyone who is interested in both sectors, and wants to know how they might intersect.”

Student Case Study: Cosmic

Degree subject, English, Green Consultants, Internship Schemes, , , ,

Name of Student:  Savannah Knatchbull

Degree Subject: BA English

Type of Internship:  Green Consultants Scheme

Company Name: Cosmic

Job Title: Green Consultant

Description Of Company: Cosmic provide an innovative range of services and support to help people identify their Digital need and to progress with their ambitions. Cosmic is a social enterprise offering digital skills training and services to a wide range of organisations, communities and individuals.

What were your key duties and responsibilities during your internship?

My key duties and responsibilities were making sure to complete the set of tasks given to me by Cosmic and research into how their digital practices and behaviours effect the environment. This included looking at if their hosting provider was actually green or just green washing, calculating how much carbon is produced by sending and email, and then putting all of my findings into the context of Cosmic’s daily business practices.

What outputs and outcomes did you deliver for your employer?

As a result of this research I created a master document with all of my research, including how I got to my conclusions and the sources I used. I then made a table with all of the key figures that I calculated during my internship so that they stood out and were easy to compare to one another. Finally, I created some infographics and posters containing the most important figures and facts that I found during my research that could then be distributed to the other members of staff within the company so that they could begin to reduce their digital footprints.

What was your biggest achievement on your internship?

I think the biggest achievement of my internship was being praised for taking the initiative to produce a usable output, such as the infographics, which could then be used by Cosmic to start putting my research into practice much faster.

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

It was a shame not to go into an office environment which is hard during corona virus. This could have meant that self motivating was extremely important as I mostly had independent work which meant I had to remain on track with my progress and research which I think I did well and was able to develop.

Skills Learnt: 

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

Attributes Developed:

  • Initiative
  • Perseverance
  • Professionalism
  • Confidence
  • Motivation

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

“For other students wanting to explore a similar job role, organisation or sector I would say that this kind of experience made me realise there’s so many different aspects of the sustainability sector which pretty much anyone could find an interest in. This internship felt particularly rewarding for me as I felt like I was doing something I’m passionate about while also doing work that could genuinely help the environment down the line if my research was implemented into Cosmic’s digital practices. And for that feeling alone I feel like exploring a job or this sector is great for anyone interested in the environment and sustainability.”

Heritage Innovation Website Content Developer – University of Exeter Culture Team

English, Pathways to Arts, Culture and Heritage (PACH)

“My internship experience with the Culture Team taught me some invaluable collaborative, management, and creative skills, and I would, therefore, strongly encourage students to participate in the Pathways internship scheme”

Name: Kate Debling

Degree Programme: BA (Hons) English

Year of Study: 3rd Year

Pathway Programme Completed: Pathways to Arts, Culture, and Heritage

Internship Role/Job Title: Heritage Innovation Communications Assistant

Internship Employer: University of Exeter Culture Team

During the summer of 2020, I undertook an internship with the University of Exeter Culture Team as part of the Pathways internship programme. As a digital content creator for the Exeter Heritage website, I created news and blog content pertaining to heritage-based academic research and projects led in the South West. Upon returning to Exeter for my final year of study in September, I was delighted to be offered the opportunity to extend my work within the team as a heritage innovation communications assistant.

The University of Exeter Culture Team seeks to protect heritage through continuous academic research and projects, led by both the University of Exeter and Heritage Exeter’s partners. Throughout my pathways internship, there was a strong focus on building connections between the university and external heritage bodies, as well as the collaboration between university campuses. In the continuation of this internship work, I have been able to be more involved in projects and partnerships between organisations that I had covered initially in the summer of 2020. In becoming more acquainted with heritage partners and academics, I was able to research projects more deeply and write more compelling pieces.

Alongside working on the university’s heritage research, partnerships and projects, being part of the culture team has connected me to a variety of individuals within the university. These connections have led to great opportunities for collaborative work, specifically through the blog aspect of the university’s heritage website. The blog, which introduced me to a new form of writing, has been a space for showcasing and recording a range of conversations with members of Exeter’s heritage and culture departments, its students and external individuals who work in the university’s overarching heritage practice. These opportunities have improved my knowledge of, and work within, the heritage network.

Having developed digital skills during my initial Pathways internship, remote working this year has been much easier. The flexibility of remote working also enabled me to keep on top of my studies alongside my work. Both of my internship experiences have taught me some invaluable collaborative, management, and creative skills, and I would, therefore, strongly encourage students to participate in the Pathways scheme and other internship opportunities offered at the University of Exeter.

Marketing Development Assistant – Powderham Live!

English, Pathways to Arts, Culture and Heritage (PACH)

 

“At a time when the Arts, Culture, and Heritage sector is facing unprecedented challenges, it felt amazing to work on a project that I know will bring so much joy to so many people, and that will help keep the magic of the arts alive!”

Name: Holly Van Ryssen

Degree Programme: English

Year of Study (at the time of completing internship): 2nd Year

Pathway Programme Completed: Pathways to Arts, Culture, and Heritage

Internship Role/Job Title: Marketing Development Assistant

Internship Employer: Powderham Live!

When I tell people that I study English at the University of Exeter, I’m always met with the following response: “Ah, so you want to be a teacher then?”. Certainly, I’d be lying if I said that teaching wasn’t a profession that I’ve considered. However, I’ve always believed that the beauty of an English degree is that it enables you to study a subject you love while at the same time leaving your options open to explore several different career paths. Perfect for someone who can’t make decisions!

Going into my second year, nearly halfway through my time at university, I suddenly became acutely aware that I had no idea what I wanted to do at the end of my studies. I was keen to start exploring the options I had available to me and, was hoping to be able to use the summer before my final year to gain some invaluable work experience. When I heard about Professional Pathways, a careers scheme run by the University of Exeter providing sector-specific training and week-long paid internships, I knew that I had to apply.

Then, of course, Covid-19 hit. We were all sent home, the Pathways assessment centre was cancelled, and it seemed as though the prospect of a paid summer internship was firmly off the cards…

When I received an email from the Pathways team informing all applicants that they were working on securing some remote internships, I was shocked! While I felt terrified at the prospect of applying for and completing an internship entirely online, I knew that it was an opportunity that I couldn’t turn down and that would provide me with invaluable experience moving forward into the future. Numerous cover letters, and a couple of video interviews later, I’d secured an internship as a Marketing Assistant at Powderham Live!. I couldn’t wait to get stuck in!

During my internship at Powderham Live!, I worked on many different projects, all of which aimed to find new ways to promote not only the event itself but also the young musicians and their huge network of supporters. In particular, I enjoyed creating a set of brand guidelines that will now be used to inform all content published by Powderham Live!, both in print and online. Not only this, but I enjoyed working on a new social media strategy; in recent weeks, it has been really rewarding to see many of the campaigns I planned featured on the Powderham Live! social media pages.

Having had little experience in marketing, I was worried before starting my internship that I wouldn’t know what to do! At first, both Emily (fellow intern and University of Exeter student) and I felt hugely daunted at the prospect of creating a professional document that accurately represented the values and ethos of Powderham Live!. However, both Derry (Heritage Manager at Powderham Castle) and AJ (Countess of Devon and founder of Powderham Live!) were extremely supportive, clearly explaining what they wanted while at the same time allowing us to indulge in our own ideas and creative spirit. We were even invited to whole team meetings where we were able to share what we had been working on and give feedback to the other team members!

During the Covid-19 pandemic, I found it extremely rewarding to work on a project with a clear social purpose. I know that the work I carried out during my internship will not only help the team behind the scenes at Powderham Live!, but will have a huge impact on the experience of young musicians in Devon. Indeed, at a time when the Arts, Culture and Heritage sector is facing unprecedented challenges, it felt amazing to work on a project that I know will bring so much joy to so many people, and that will help keep the magic of the arts alive!

Without a doubt, the experience I’ve had working remotely at Powderham Live! will set me in good stead when entering the job market during these difficult times. Thanks to the Pathways scheme, I’ve now had practice applying for, beginning, and completing an internship entirely remotely, an experience that I know will be invaluable moving forward into the future! In particular, I’ve been able to improve my video-based interview technique, as well as develop my ability to work from home productively, skills which will help me both when completing my third year of university online, and also when applying for jobs.

When I received the email from the Professional Pathways team back in May informing us of some remote internship opportunities, I very nearly didn’t apply… However, I’m so glad that I did! While I’m still not sure what I want to do post-university, I now feel more confident about the prospect of graduating in the middle of a global pandemic! Pathways 2020 has taught me many things, most importantly, how to be adaptable and open-minded in the face of adversity. However, best of all, it has given me an answer to that dreaded question: “What did you do over lockdown?”.