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

Throughout my internship, my main responsibility was to oversee the administration and organisation of the A2I scheme. This involved promoting the scheme to students, managing sign-up to the scheme, preparing internship agreements and subsidy payment preparation and recording the receipt of signed documentation. I also organised the payment of grants to students alongside the Student Finance Team. My other main task was to communicate with students and provide support and information about the A2I scheme.

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

My biggest achievement was being given the trust and responsibility to conduct student appointments. My career aim is to find a job doing one-to-one appointments with people, perhaps in the capacity of a counsellor or careers consultant so this was a fantastic opportunity for me.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I helped in the re-structuring and re-launching of the A2I scheme in Spring 2014 and I hope that my opinions as a recent graduate were of value to this process. I think my promotion of the revised scheme went some way to helping the funds be administered in a fairly timely fashion, to avoid too much of a rush towards the end of the University’s financial year i.e. the ultimate deadline for the scheme.

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

At one point during my internship, rightly or wrongly, I felt a little undervalued in my role. I requested a meeting with my line manager so that I could explain how I was feeling and she was extremely understanding and supportive. It was through this discussion that I was given the opportunity to conduct some student appointments which I think really highlights the importance of talking obstacles through calmly, honestly and openly.

“Rebecca came into our team full of potential but with limited experience of the UK workplace. In the 10 months Rebecca has been with us she has really grown into her role. Immediately she fitted into the team well and put a lot of effort into learning a lot of new tasks. As time progressed Rebecca assumed more responsibility and used her initiative to implement improvements to the scheme. Rebecca’s job is very varied including administration, marketing, finance, student support, networking, all of which she has undertaken to a highly professional standard. This year Rebecca has been directly involved in helping nearly 140 students secure paid internships across the UK and abroad.” – Employer Liaison Officer