Category Archives: Sociology and Criminology

STEM Outreach Assistant (Female Role Models Scheme) – University of Exeter, Penryn

Administration, Charity and Development Work, Education, Teaching and Research, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology and Criminology, Student Campus Partnership (SCP)

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

I have been developing current lessons in the box and produce new lessons, and, planning, researching and developing a ‘Green Powered Doll House’ project for big scale events. This project is a brand new project for 2017/18 academic year. I was assisting the line manager at preparing lessons, finding materials and in general and providing a summary report regularly.

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

I have gotten a lot better in communication both verbally and through email. I have also strengthened my project management skills, organisation skills and subject related skills. One of the outcomes that I am most proud of is the launch of the ‘Green Powered Doll House’ at Royal Cornwall Show 2018.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

My line manager mentioned that I have made a big difference in what they can offer through the college in the creation of new and exciting resources which schools can slot easily into their curriculum. It has filled a gap that she didn’t have time to do to such a high quality herself which has really helped the team.

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Leadership, organisation, decision making

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Perseverance, logical thinking, creative thinking

Research and Evaluation Assistant – YMCA

Access to Internships (A2I), Administration, Business and Management, Charity and Development Work, Economics, Education, Teaching and Research, Psychology, Sociology and Criminology

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

My main responsibilities included: interview volunteers about their experience of volunteering, interview project managers about the role and impact of volunteers in their project, shadow staff members in all departments to gain insight into their roles and how they interact with volunteers, design and run a focus group with a small group of clients to ascertain the impact volunteers have on them, transcribe and summarise interviews, produce a report about the findings of the interviews, outline findings, make recommendations for future work, and, present the report to key staff members.

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

My biggest achievement during this internship was gaining confidence in applying ‘classroom knowledge’ to real life problems and situations. I was able to see the project through from start to finish, which has given me confidence in being able to describe hands on experience in interviewing, research and evaluation.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I was able to complete a project that the employer had wanted to carry out for some time (but had previously been unable to), providing research and evidence that has a multitude of uses. They will be able to use these findings to potentially make changes to their volunteering processes, and as evidence in applying for grants.

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Problem solving, leadership, IT

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Perseverance, personal awareness, professionalism

Museum Assistant – Museum of Witchcraft and Magic

Access to Internships (A2I), Administration, Archaeology and Anthropology, Art History and Visual Culture, Classics and Ancient History, Education, Teaching and Research, English, History, Libraries and Heritage, Sociology and Criminology

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

My main responsibilities included cataloguing museum exhibition objects, researching museum objects, and updating the database. The cataloguing and research generally centered on the current Ritual Magic exhibition called ‘Dew of Heaven’. The bulk of the cataloguing material included a donation of various 20th century occult materials, which required further research using the museum library and the internet, and making links to other objects in the museum’s collections. Another main task involved scanning in object labels made by the museum’s founder and matching them with their corresponding objects where possible. Some of my minor tasks also included setting the museum up in the morning – sweeping and lighting incense, as well as operating the till.

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

My biggest achievement over the course of my internship included using my research skills to uncover information about the members of the late 19th and early 20th century occultist Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Various sources revealed fascinating and enlightening information about the order’s then-secret members. This task was a part of the cataloguing project that was one of my responsibilities, which I successfully completed by the end of my internship, which I then outlined in a blog post on the museum’s website.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I was able to finish a whole box file of labels which needed scanning and cataloguing on the online database, and I helped with research regarding the cataloguing project which lightened the workload of my colleagues and ensured that anyone seeking information about the objects would find a comprehensive description of them with links to related objects at the museum, as well as the sources that could provide further data.

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Teamwork and collaboration, customer service, focus on goals and outcomes

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Initiative, independence, work ethic, professionalism

Marie, Survey Project Officer

Graduate Business Partnership (GBP), Philosophy, Sociology and Criminology

Degree: BA Philosophy and Sociology 2017

Job Role: A Survey Project Officer undertakes data collection, inputting and profiling. Working with academics, graduates and postgrads they support survey completion and promote the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education survey.

Marie’s Experience: I am very interested in pursuing a teaching career, and the GBP is giving me good experience in preparation for this. It is helping me become used to managing a workload full time in a professional environment. I would definitely recommend GBPs to other graduates. They provide a great chance to try out different kinds of work on a temporary basis and in a supportive environment, or to develop the skills necessary for your desired career.

Data Analyst – Citizen’s Advice Bureau, Exeter

Access to Internships (A2I), Accounting and Auditing, Charity and Development Work, Psychology, Social Guidance and Community Work, Sociology and Criminology,

SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I

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

These included analysing data from their recent wellbeing survey, specifically exploring gender and age differences and summarising my findings in a report.  I also provided recommendations on how to improve the survey. Once this was finished, I helped with research into local estate agents (specifically whether they were adhering to new laws) and trends in Universal Credit claims.

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

Being able to work independently and successfully manage my time.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I helped with research (on estate agents) and provided a comprehensive report of their survey findings.

 

Global Employability Support Assistant – Employment Services, University of Exeter

Administration, Advertising, Marketing and PR, Archaeology and Anthropology, Graduate Business Partnership (GBP), Human Resources, Recruitment and Training, Philosophy, Sociology and Criminology,

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

Helping to run the Erasmus+ work abroad scheme by creating Internship Forms and making sure they are signed off in good time, giving students advice about how to find placements all around the world and dealing with queries and issues from both employers and students while on placement. Working within a very small team, I shared the responsibility of over 250 student placements with my manager. As well as this I held student one-to-one’s once a week to give advice about finding work abroad and organised any global events on campus, including employer presentations and small fairs.

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

My GBP role has allowed me to gain a confidence within a graduate role, that I did not have when I first finished University. As well as this, by working within a small team I have been able to streamline our internal work abroad paperwork processes to make sure that we can better keep on top of each student’s current situation. I have had just the right amount of freedom and direction to really improve my employability, which was the ultimate goal of my internship.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I believe that my internship enabled my team to improve some of our processes and resources, such as our ELE page and online webpages. I believe that my administration role helped lighten the workload of my manager and enabled them to work on projects we may not have previously had the time to undertake. By organising all of the employer and internal events for the Global Showcase for example, meant that my manager could concentrate on the marketing and advertising of the event in more detail.

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

Quite often I had to work independently, which to begin with was a challenge but in hindsight really helped me to get to grips with my role as I was forced to learn the huge amount of knowledge needed quickly. Another difficulty within this role is that almost daily I encounter queries that I had never come across before. A good knowledge of what other teams within the University did, and of what reliable online resources there were available meant that I learnt to think on my feet and find answers to these problems quickly.

Research Intern – Healthwatch Cornwall

Access to Internships (A2I), Archaeology and Anthropology, Charity and Development Work, Education, Teaching and Research, Health Care, Philosophy, Social Guidance and Community Work, Sociology and Criminology,

healthwatch

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

My main responsibility was to create a report on Advanced Care Planning- this involved researching the options available to individuals throughout end of life care, researching the main benefits of ACP, and formulating some plans to increase ACP within the county.

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

My biggest achievement was gaining confidence in the fact I have a versatile skill set that can be applied in different scenarios and in different lines of research to achieve strong outcomes.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I was able to help them promote internship opportunities within Healthwatch and allowed them to follow up on a previous report the published into end of life care.

Charity Volunteer – Macmillan Cancer Research

Access to Internships (A2I), Archaeology and Anthropology, Charity and Development Work, Social Guidance and Community Work, Sociology and Criminology,

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

I interviewed volunteers and people who are receiving support from Macmillan and then produced promotional material for Macmillan to use in order to spread awareness of the support they provide.

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

I really developed my communication and logistical skills. I contacted a number of different people, arranged to meet them and interviewed them all by myself.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I was able to produce a set of leaflets which will be used by Macmillan to promote the work that they do as well as encourage more people to come and volunteer for them.

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

I often needed to interview two people at once (the volunteer and receiver of care) at the same time and was sometimes difficult to find a time that suited all three of us. In order to overcome this i had to be very organised with my time.