Category Archives: Employer Feedback

Employer Case Study: Disability Wales

Education, Teaching and Research, Employer Feedback, Internship Schemes, Law, Student Business Partnership (SBP), ,

Name of Organisation: Disability Wales

Description of Organisation: Disability Wales/Anabledd Cymru is the national association of disabled peoples organisations in Wales striving to achieve the rights and equality of all disabled people.

Name of Employer: Miranda Evans

Job Title: Policy and Programmes Manager

Internship Scheme used: Student Business Partnerships (SBPs) | Career Zone | University of Exeter

Feedback:

“Our intern’s ideas were very good. She drafted a calendar of events throughout the year, created a list of university contacts and produced a survey to go out to our members. She also contributed to discussions within the company and provided positive support.

We were pleased to be able to offer our intern a placement opportunity and we were pleased with the marketing resources she produced for us.”

Employer Case Study: Morrab Library

Access to Internships (A2I), Charity and Development Work, Education, Teaching and Research, Employer Feedback, Libraries and Heritage, , , ,

Name of Organisation: Morrab Library

Description of Organisation: The Morrab Library is an independent library based in Penzance, Cornwall in the UK. It holds over 60,000 books, and extensive archive collections. Notable collections include the Dawson Napoleonic Collection comprising over 3,000 engravings and prints, photographic collections of over 15,000 prints and negatives, extensive runs of 18th and 19th century journals, the Jenner Collection of Cornish and Celtic books, and over 2,000 books printed from the 16th to 18th centuries.

Name of Employer: Lisa Di Tommaso

Job Title: Librarian

Internship Scheme used:  Access to Internships (A2I) 

Feedback:

“Our intern wrote a lengthy paper on the life of JT Blight within the context of the treatment of the mentally ill in 19th century Cornwall, which will be posted on our website and on social media. The paper will also be added to our archival collections, thus enhancing our understanding of the collections we hold. In due course, the intern will also return to deliver a talk to our members on the topic of her research.

This level of in-depth research and the length of the paper she produced were new to our intern, and she achieved a high standard in her work. She also worked largely alone, consulting myself and colleagues as needed, but essentially taking on the project and her choice of research materials herself, providing her with a great opportunity to learn about the techniques and process of academic research.

We very much enjoyed welcoming the intern as part of the team, and were incredibly sad to see her go when her time was completed. Her contribution to our knowledge of the library’s collections was greatly enhanced. I believe it was a highly positive experience for both us, and the intern.”

Employer Case Study – Quality and Standards Team

Administration, Employer Feedback, Graduate Business Partnership (GBP), Internship Schemes, Sector, , , ,

Name of Organisation: University of Exeter, Quality and Standards Team

Name of Employer: Simeon Paskell

Job Title: Senior Quality and Standards Advisor (CEMPS/CMH)

Internship Scheme used: Graduate Business Partnership (GBP) https://www.exeter.ac.uk/careers/employment-services/recruit/internships/gbp/ 

Feedback:

“Our intern made a huge contribution to the team, helping to not only maintain business as usual, but enable the team to complete additional tasks (such as a module amendment audit) and complete work well in advance of the academic year (such as helping to set up all Accelerate survey’s for 20/21).We were impressed at how quickly he gained confidence in the use of a wide number of systems and also in how the Quality and Standards team work.

I would say my experience of managing/working with an intern has been hugely positive. They were conscientious, professional, enthusiastic, capable and a considerate individual who fulfilled the duties of  their role extremely well. I would have no hesitation in recommending  my intern for other roles within the University. “

Employer Case Study – Global Systems Institute

Administration, Education, Teaching and Research, Employer Feedback, Internship Schemes, Student Campus Partnership (SCP), , , ,

Name of Organisation: University of Exeter – Global Systems Institute

Name of Employer: Andy Richards

Job Title: Global Systems Institute Manager

Internship Scheme used: Student Campus Partnership (SCP) | Employer Engagement & Student Employment | University of Exeter

Feedback:

“Hosting the internship was an incredibly beneficial experience for both our organisation and the student. It was a productive four weeks, we were able to progress a piece of work that needed to come off the back-burner and the intern learnt new skills. An excellent win-win.”

Employer Case Study: University of Exeter Biomedicine

Access to Internships (A2I), Biosciences, Employer Feedback, Internship Schemes, Science, , , ,

Name of Organisation: University of Exeter

Name of Employer: Sarah Richardson

Job Title: Associate Professor in Cellular Biomedicine

Internship Scheme used:  Access to Internships (A2I) 

Feedback:

“Our intern worked with the team to immunostain a collection of pancreas samples and then established an state-of-the-art AI image analysis pipeline to interrogate these. The results are likely to contribute towards preliminary data within a NERC grant application with some of our collaborators.

Learning the lab and image analyses methodologies, and increasing his confidence to work on these independently. This will have deepened his understanding of the practicalities of research, working with a team and applying knowledge gained during his degree.

Our intern has been great – enthusiastic and committed to learning. We have some great preliminary data for an interesting project extension that is likely to result in a publication and potentially more research funding for the university.”

Employer Case Study: Devon County Council

Administration, Advertising, Marketing and PR, Employer Feedback, Graduate Business Partnership (GBP), Internship Schemes, , , ,

Name of Organisation: Devon County Council – North Devon AONB team

Name of Employer: Jenny Carey-Wood

Job Title: AONB Manager

Internship Scheme used: Graduate Business Partnership (GBP) , 

Feedback:

“Our intern delivered such a varied range of tasks in just five months, working with a large number of colleagues and partner organisations to deliver concrete results in terms of 2 reports, 4 videos and all our social media.

It was a very positive experience and I am looking forward to recruiting another intern in the Autumn. We were impressed by the flexibility, hard work and skill set of the intern, her willingness to take on everything we offered her, juggling deadlines, excellent communication and joint working skills. The internship offered an opportunity to focus on and deliver key tasks that made a real difference to our work. Seeing our service through the eyes of a young person in their twenties has been hugely helpful.”

Employer Case Study: University of Exeter – MCRG

Administration, Advertising, Marketing and PR, Education, Teaching and Research, Employer Feedback, Graduate Business Partnership (GBP), Internship Schemes, , , ,

Name of Organisation: University of Exeter – MCRG

Name of Employer: Louise Vennells

Job Title: Senior Press and Media Manager

Internship Scheme used: Graduate Business Partnership (GBP) , 

Feedback:

“Our intern was instrumental to ensuring that our on-campus graduation celebration ran smoothly, in a covid era. She oversaw the complicated process of getting GDPR permission from graduating students, and managed our social media content, which saw particularly high levels of engagement. She has overseen a number of stories that have achieved media coverage, and increased our both the volume and quality of our output across our social media channels. Our intern has been a highly valued member of the team.

She launched and managed a new-look staff newsletter, using a new programme that allows for a more flexible format. She managed the transition ably and professionally, showing both creativity and attention to detail.

Our intern is highly capable and organised, and has been a pleasure to work with. She has progressed well in areas including media understanding and news writing, and has become a productive and creative member of the team.”

Employer Case Study: University of Exeter Library

Administration, Education, Teaching and Research, Employer Feedback, Graduate Business Partnership (GBP), Internship Schemes, Libraries and Heritage, , , ,

Name of Organisation: University of Exeter, University Library

Name of Employer: Philip Barraclough

Job Title: Library Digital Content Administrator

Internship Scheme used: Graduate Business Partnership (GBP) , 

Feedback:

“Having a Graduate Business Partner as part of our team meant that we were able to capitalise on their youth and enthusiasm. They brought a fresh perspective to our work, as well as the insights into student life and behaviour that come with having so recently been a student themselves. Their enthusiasm for all areas of Library work enabled them to complete routine tasks which allowed more senior staff to concentrate on designing and developing services and resources. But at the same time, our Graduate Business Partner was involved in these same discussions and contributed interesting insights and perspectives. Much of the Library’s social media activity this year has only been made possible the excellent and enthusiastic work of our Graduate Business Partner. Similarly, we have only been able to expand our accessibility guidance and provision by recruiting a Graduate Business Partner who was already familiar with this area and willing to collaborate with other Library staff to develop this. Whilst we may not be able to further expand this guidance and activity once our Graduate Business Partner leaves us, nevertheless without them we wouldn’t even have been able to make a start.

Apart from confidently independently managing their own day-to-day tasks to free up the workload of managers to concentrate on managing things, the e-book guidance webpage and library accessibility webpage on our library website only exist thanks to the hard work and contribution of our Graduate Business Partner. Similarly the increased social media content the library is posting each week is also a major achievement of our Graduate Business Partner. Finally, our Graduate Business Partner authored a blog post that was hosted on the Study Zone blog, something we have struggled to achieve in the past. They have lots of rather visible achievements to show for their time with us!

Overall, I would say the experience of having a Graduate Business Partner has been excellent and I would have regretted not recruiting one in hindsight. The only downside is that we were not able to make their contract permanent! Otherwise, I would have loved to have kept them on as a permanent Library staff member. The experience has been so positive that I certainly consider recruiting other Graduate Business Partners in the future with a view to hopefully retaining them as a permanent Library staff member.”

Employer Case Study: University of Exeter, Professional Services; Exams

Administration, Education, Teaching and Research, Employer Feedback, Graduate Business Partnership (GBP), Internship Schemes, , , ,

Name of Organisation: University of Exeter, Professional Services; Exams

Name of Employer: Sarah Miller

Job Title: Response Team Coordinator

Internship Scheme used: Graduate Business Partnership (GBP) , 

Feedback:

“Our intern made an impression straight away on joining his placement team in Exams. He showed great flexibility and adaptability to respond to the fast paced environment. He quickly learnt the systems and quickly became a person who was useful to the team in training other new starters. He has demonstrated many professional qualities and was able to secure a permanent job with the Exams department after a few months with them.

I would highly recommend the GBP scheme, our intern was an excellent worker who demonstrated many positive qualities we would want in employees. Very can do attitude and keen to learn everyday. Took on every task with relish and enthusiasm. All in all a very pleasant employee to manage.”

Employer Case Study – Harbour Housing (Cosgarne Hall Ltd)

Access to Internships (A2I), Access to Internships - SAN, Charity and Development Work, Employer Feedback, Graduate Business Partnership (GBP), Internship Schemes, Real Estate and Property, , , , , ,

Name of Organisation: Harbour Housing (Cosgarne Hall Ltd)

Description of Organisation: Harbour Housing provides accommodation and support for homeless and vulnerable people across Cornwall. We house a variety of people and our aim is to provide tailored support in order to help them to eventually live independently. People stay with us for up to and sometimes over two years in order that they have the chance to really turn their lives around at a pace appropriate to them, often moving through our different properties which offer increasing independence until they are ready to move on.

Name of Employer: Emily Hill

Job Title: Communications Manager

Internship Scheme used:

Graduate Business Partnership (GBP) , Access to Internships (A2I) 

Feedback:

“Our intern became responsible for our social media accounts and oversaw a vast increase in our following and engagement across these channels, including a 37% increase of our Twitter following and a 72% increase on Instagram. She also developed relationships with the press and was responsible for various stories being covered in print and digital media, including appearing herself on BBC Spotlight to represent the organisation. This helped to raise awareness for the charity and established us as a key player in the sector. She also gave presentations to local community groups which resulted in the development and improvement of stakeholder relationships which are really key to the successful operation of the charity.

Our intern helped to coordinate a response through the local media that helped to combat this and safeguard the reputation of the charity. The pandemic was also an unanticipated element to the internship and she responded well through being adaptable and flexible in her approach, taking on different roles where necessary including working on reports for commissioners and funding applications. The GBP also adapted her role during the lockdown period to support with efficient internal communication of information and coordinating a video for our Crowdfunder appeal that raised £1,000.

Our intern proved to be a huge asset to the organisation, creating engaging content for our social media channels and helping us to develop our relationships with the community as well as key stakeholders such as commissioners and members of local government. She excelled at liaising successfully with the press and developing innovative strategies to promote the work done by the charity, including establishing her own projects and seeking out stories internally. She has integrated positively within the organisation, made a lasting difference to the charity’s image and we are glad that she has accepted a full-time role with us which we offered her off the back of her internship.”