Category Archives: Politics and International Relations

Organisation Development Consultant – South West Water

Employer Feedback, Management and Consultancy, Politics and International Relations,

South West Water Internship, UoE Internship, University of exeter Internship, SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I

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

Working within the Organisation Development team at South West Water, I was responsible for assisting in the delivery of business change projects across the company. This involved the development and implementation of new business processes, IT systems, organisation structures and performance management techniques.

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

This internship has been an invaluable experience, significantly boosting my employability, and has been vital in focusing my career aspirations. I have gained experience working on a number of different business change projects, learning key project management skills and building my confidence in the workplace.

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

Working for South West Water presented me with a steep learning curve, the role has been extremely challenging but equally rewarding, and I have received an excellent level of support from my colleagues every step of the way.  I was encouraged to use my own initiative and creativity, and have been given more responsibility as recognition for my hard work. No two days have been the same as I have gained experience working with a number of different departments across the business, supporting them as they undergo large scale changes. I have gained significant knowledge and experience of project and programme management, and recently obtained a PRINCE 2 qualification, something which is widely recognised in the UK and internationally.

“Rebecca has grasped every opportunity, often going above and beyond what’s expected of her and always produces excellent results – regularly exceeding expectations.  The professional, well thought out options and proposals that Rebecca has developed in response to both Business and Project challenges have her creative stamp on them and have been well received and utilised across a number of departments. At the start of the internship, Rebecca was given a number of minor projects to work on but soon demonstrated her ability to add real value to major, high profile projects, allowing her to gaining invaluable and transferable experience whilst developing her excellent reputation within the Business.  I have no doubt that Rebecca will be an asset to any team” – Line Manager

rebeccakelly

Online Marketing and Information Assistant – Education Business Partnership

Advertising, Marketing and PR, Employer Feedback, Politics and International Relations,

Universtiy of Exeter Internships, UoE Internships, SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I

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

I was the lead for the company’s social media presence. Initially, this comprised of thirteen Facebook pages which needed further development, plus a Twitter account that had limited updates and irrelevant content. I also published a monthly e-mail newsletter, press releases, edited websites, assessed statistics on Google Analytics and Facebook Insights, supported internal communications and helped to organise events.

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

I more than doubled the company’s followers on Twitter, without using any paid campaigns and increased the number of Facebook ‘likes’ by 400%.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I increased the awareness of social media across the company. Was also able to help colleagues with other projects, for example the securing of exhibitors for an event at Exeter Racecourse.

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

It has been a challenge to encourage one office to take on social media as a useful tool to promote services to young people and adults. This has been overcome by addressing the issue to senior management and undertaking training sessions.

“Alex developed a lot during our time with us. He also helped the company make positive moves in social media” – Line Manager

Environmental Performance Intern – Regen SW

Mining, Environment and Natural Resources, Politics and International Relations,

UoE internships, SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I

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

My role was to assist with collecting and analysing data for the Annual Survey of heat and electricity installations in the South West. This involved using both primary and secondary sources, and comparing the results with the 2020 renewable targets.

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

My data collection, numerical analysis and communication skills all improved.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I enabled the production of the key analytical publication to the time and budget. I helped to inform the sector of progress in the South West and promote the South West as an exemplar region in the UK.

PR and Marketing Assistant – ISCA College of Media Arts

Advertising, Marketing and PR, History, Politics and International Relations,

Universtiy of Exeter Internships, UoE Internships, SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I

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

The main objective of the role was one of reputation management. The school was looking to improve its reputation to sustain pupil numbers and therefore funding. I was taken on to increase PR and marketing activity and increase awareness of the good work the college does. The PR activity included ‘selling in’ stories into the local press about GCSE results, awards won by pupils and other positive college activity. The marketing role was very varied, encompassing advertising, website work, social media and print marketing such as newsletters and prospectuses.

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

The scheme has been a great stepping stone. I have consolidated skills learned through my education and learned new skills through the variety of tasks I was set.

Diversity Intern – Civil Service

Politics and Government, Politics and International Relations,

Parliament

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

This internship was primarily about the interns learning and understanding more about the fast stream and the role of a civil servant in government. Before I arrived I was allocated a fast streamer to shadow in the DEFRA department. I was meant to shadow her duties on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and then take part in some other activities on Monday and Friday. However, as the project she was working on was too sensitive and confidential (about the EU referendum) I was not able to, but she arranged for me to talk to various civil servants and other professionals instead. I met senior civil servants, professionals in Behaviour Insight Team and fast streamers in the Department of Health, Education, Work&Pensions, HM Treasury and DEFRA. My role was mainly just to network.

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

I don’t mean to sound too generic, but I really did overcome my alienation and fear of networking. Every interns experience was different, as it depended on the agenda that your fast streamer had set for you. My fast streamer set up meetings for me to speak to loads of people, so I was forced to reach out of my comfort zone and be bold to ask lots of different questions.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I think due to the nature of the internship, the benefits of the intern were limited as it was an internship where interns gain an insight into the world of a civil servant. However, during the week a lot of emphasis was placed on the civil service wanting to achieve diversity within its organisation. It was stated that even though their current workforce comprises of a minority ethnic background of 10.1% which is nearly reflective of general population (around 11%), there isn’t diversity among the senior roles. The civil service accentuated that the promotion of diversity it not just limited to moral reasons, but strategically they need to ensure they reflect the society to know how best to serve them. So, I brought insight into an ethnic minority’s viewpoint of the civil service and a chance for them to promote careers available to me that I may not have considered.

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

Not so much a challenge but an adjustment. I decided not to stay in Westminster (or nearby), but to commute from home as I thought it would be manageable. However, I found the travel draining, so I had to be very vigilant and organise my time well to ensure I was on time to all the events.

International Buying Intern – International Dance Supplies

Employer Feedback, Politics and International Relations, Retail,

Universtiy of Exeter Internships, UoE Internships, SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I

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

I began working upstairs in the offices on the company database (Khaos Control), and did extensive work with price lists – including calculating discounts, rearranging price lists, and sorting through characteristics of products. I also spent a lot of time working in a more practical role, helping out with Quality Control within the warehouse picking and packing department, print department, cutting patterns, creating and printing care labels for product orders, and general kit building when needed.

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

Doing the internship reaffirmed by desire to work within a smaller, but still expanding business where it is essential for each member of the team to help out across all departments. I have also greatly improved my skills working within the database and am not longer afraid of busy spreadsheets!

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I feel that during my time at IDS I managed to help out a large number of my colleagues in terms of lightening their workload, and perhaps doing the more practical jobs so they could be afforded the time to progress more with their workloads. I have been thanked on numerous occasions for taking on a mundane and lengthy job for someone so they could have the chance to make good ground on the work they needed to undertake.

“The 12 week internship has been extremely useful in supporting one of our busiest teams through a period of change. Grace was able to integrate efficiently and effectively into the team to provide support across a range of tasks and responsibilities.” – HR Manager, International Dance Supplies

Graduate Project Officer – University of Exeter

Human Resources, Recruitment and Training, Politics and International Relations,

Universtiy of Exeter Internships, UoE Internships, SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I

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

My role supported the College of Social Sciences and International Studies with the Higher Education Survey to record leavers destinations. I also worked to improve alumni relations with the college. To do this, I conducted a research project to encourage alumni to contribute to the University’s research. My project was presented to the research strategy group meeting of the college. I supported the employability team by recommending how to develop student Linked In profiles and links with employers.

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

To produce a report working alongside external stakeholders and academics.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I was able to reduce DLHE non-responses and to recommend how to involve alumni in research. The employability team have a clearer idea of college trends on Linked In due to the spreadsheet and recommendations that I presented to the team. I also assisted my team in the office with various duties.

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

There was some difficulty with conducting DLHE survey’s during tutorials but the support provided by the team ensured that we could complete DLHE surveys.

PB

Intern – Istanbul Policy Centre

Politics and Government, Politics and International Relations

Universtiy of Exeter Internships, UoE Internships, SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I

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

I assisted scholars researching the fields of; Syria, Israel-Palestine, Inclusive Economic Growth and Turkey’s AKP government. I also organised conferences, edited policy publications and took conference notes.

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

I learnt how a think tank operates and about the specific think tanks role in contributing to civil society research and policy recommendations.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I eased the workload of my senior colleagues by researching both general and specific information to contribute towards their publications. I helped run the administrative side and on-the-day organisation of the Norwegian sponsored Peace Capacities Network Istanbul conference.

031

Communications Intern – Civil Nuclear Constabulary

Defence and Public Protection, Media, Publishing and Journalism, Politics and International Relations

Universtiy of Exeter Internships, UoE Internships, SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I

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

During the course of the internship I planned for the launch of a new official Twitter account for the force and researched how this could be best utilised. I also wrote a number of articles to be featured on the website and wrote a variety of reports about individual tasks/topics which I was given by the team. I attended a 1 day induction course, where I joined new employees to learn about the organisation itself: the day ranged from Health and Safety to Firearms to the force’s operations across the UK & world. I was also involved in an afternoon of role play with the new recruits, which acted as a fantastic eye opener into how new officers are trained to deal with members of the public when on patrol. The internship helped hone my skills in areas such as communication, teamwork and delivering projects within a set time frame.

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

Communication. I was placed into a new environment and was required to communicate with a variety of different individuals, ranging from office staff, to police trainers, to the Chief Constable. A huge learning curve, but one which has benefited me incredibly.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

Over the course of the timeI was able to complete a number of tasks which had been in the pipeline for some time. The most important of these was the planning for the Twitter account.

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

Gaining security clearance was the greatest difficulty I had before I even started my internship. But after weeks of communication between myself and my mentor at CNC we were successfully able to complete everything and have myself cleared for work on site.

Work Placement Coordinator – University of Exeter

Human Resources, Recruitment and Training, Politics and International Relations,

Universtiy of Exeter Internships, UoE Internships, SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I

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

I coordinated the Politics Internship Programme which involved arranging work placements with MPs, the City Council, NGOs and Charities. I also screened student applications and provided feedback where appropriate; liaised with academics to develop work placements within modules and updated the website and intranet content.

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

I learnt to communicate with a variety of audiences in a professional manner.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I increased the number of placements available to students in the Politics Internship Programme.