Category Archives: Charity and Development Work

Planning and Research Intern – All We Can, Methodist Relief and Development

1st Dec, 2016Access to Internships (A2I), Charity and Development Work, Education, Teaching and Research, Employer Feedback, Politics and International Relations, Travel and LogisticsLondon, UKkateadmin

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

I had a variety of tasks to fulfil during my time as an intern at All We Can as I had various roles in the organisation. I was first tasked to review their travel policy for when staff members would go to meet partners in developing countries. This required extensive research on the transport to and from, as well as in, the respective countries. After this I worked on the organisation’s country profiling documents, assessing which countries would be viable for AWC to work in and find partners. Once again this required research on many aspects of the country such as its HDI, political environment, corruption levels and cultural backgrounds. The third task I was given was to create a flow chart describing the organisations guidance on scoping new countries for partners to work with. I helped at a supporters awareness meeting in the Midlands where I represented the organisation and assisted with answering questions from supporters and clearing down the room. I summarised and tabulated answers from the questionnaires filled in by the international partners regarding the advocacy and humanitarian work of AWC, as well as investigating what the salary scales for international NGO’s staff working in developing countries was.

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

I received a first-hand eye witness experience of what it means to work in an international humanitarian aid organisation dealing with work directly related to humanitarian development with partners in developing countries. From this I have been able to gain a better understanding of what working in this industry entails, and all of the behind the scenes work that goes into making projects successful. The most rewarding of all was being exposed to a totally new, cutting-edge approach to humanitarian aid that I had not come across before in my studies whereby this small organisation is able to partner with communities and work not only with them, but for them. The people receiving the funding are at the table with the donors setting the agenda for the aid work that will take place in the community. This was incredibly enlightening and eye-opening for me.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

The work which I did for All We Can during my internship enabled them to accelerate their administration and planning programs regarding the new approach to partnerships in developing countries. This decreased and simplified the workload for several of the staff and provided support when several of the staff were away on international trips visiting partners. I also ensured the smooth running of the supporters awareness day.

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

There were some occasions when I struggled to understand how to formulate certain information and I was able to ask for advice and support to complete the work effectively. I was unable to access the printer from my computer therefore I emailed the work to a colleague and they were able complete this for me.

“Joel carried out research, providing global poverty and development statistics that fed into our country scoping strategy. He also analysed survey questionnaires on our humanitarian assistance and advocacy programmes and provided a summarised and condensed version of the results, spelling out trends and patterns. He also supported one of our volunteer training sessions.” – Head of Programme Operations.

Bee Surveyor – Buglife, The Invertebrate Conservation Trust

24th Nov, 2016Access to Internships (A2I), Animal Care, Biosciences, Charity and Development Work, Education, Teaching and Research, Environmental WorkCornwall, UKkateadmin

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

Surveying the status of the Andrena Hattorfiana bee across Cornwall and deciding upon the best course of action for its conservation.

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

I was able to work independently and make important decisions by myself which will benefit the species. Also, finding completely new and previously unknown sites for this bee in Cornwall was a real thrill!

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

Helped to ensure the protection and continual survival of one of the UK’s most impressive bee species. As a charity, Bug Life is committed to saving species from extinction and so my work helped them work out the best course of action for the conservation of Andrena Hattorfiana in Cornwall.

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

Living alone for a long period of time was hard but just forced me to become more productive. Th e only other problem I faced was working out what was the best course of action for the bee, as things like Golf Courses and Holiday Parks wanted potentially different things to the bee.

Research Intern – Healthwatch Cornwall

24th Nov, 2016Access to Internships (A2I), Archaeology and Anthropology, Charity and Development Work, Education, Teaching and Research, Health Care, Philosophy, Social Guidance and Community Work, Sociology and CriminologyTruro, UKkateadmin

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.

Animal Behaviour Research Volunteer – University of Exeter

24th Nov, 2016Access to Internships (A2I), Animal Care, Biosciences, Charity and Development Work, Education, Teaching and Research, Environmental WorkExeter, UKkateadmin

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

During my internship I ran 3 of my own research projects. First was the visibility of the red pandas and fishing cats at Newquay zoo. This involved visiting the enclosures 4 times a day and making observations on how many animals were visible and whether or not visitors were present. For the fishing cats this will act as baseline data. The zoo intend to make some improvements to the enclosure and then the new data can be compared to see if there has been any improvement to the visibility. For the red pandas, I observed three view points of the enclosure. My results found a footpath around the side of the red panda enclosure which led to a larger view of the enclosure and a significant increase in the chance of seeing a red panda, but this area was the least visited. Now this information is available to the zoo they can act on it and put up signs to lead visitors to the better view point.

I also continued some training with 4 species of Asian bird, training each species to feed from a different coloured feeding stick. This means if one species needs more food than the others, they can be target fed meeting energy requirements so breeding is more likely to be a success, but without increasing food for all birds which would be an increased financial cost to the zoo.

The final project was some behavioural observations on the same 4 species of birds as they are all due to be moving enclosure in the near future. These observations can be used as baseline data to ensure there are no dramatic changes once they have moved or perhaps even see an increase in activity.

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

In the labs at uni we do a bit of data collection, but it is really limited by time and we would only have a few hours in the labs a week. I have now gained the experience of a 4 week research project and learnt what its really like be a field-based research scientist.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

The data I have collected is going to be used in multiple future projects and the bird training I did has the potential to save money on expensive wax moth larvae that is fed to the breeding birds. Also increasing the visibility of the Red pandas and Fishing cats will increase visitor satisfaction and potentially lead to more people coming to the zoo.

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

On my first week my supervisor was away at a conference and after meeting 3 times prior to my start date I still had to undertake some pilot studies on my first day. I then had to make an executive decision as to which data collection methods were used as he was in Malaysia and I was therefore not able to contact him.

Environmental Education Assistant – Royal Parks Foundation

24th Nov, 2016Access to Internships (A2I), Charity and Development Work, Education, Teaching and Research, Environmental Work, Geography, Hospitality and Event ManagementLondon, UKkateadmin

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

I was involved in the everyday running of an environmental education holiday club in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London/ The Lookout, part of the Royal parks foundation education programme at the Lookout, Hyde Park.
This gives city children the opportunity to explore what the outdoors has to offer.
Tasks included:
-Supporting Ecology Centre staff with delivery of school sessions and holiday activities.
-Preparing equipment and resources for use, and ensuring they are maintained and stored correctly after use.
-Assisting with the day-to-day running of the centre, including daily set up and animal care.
-Maintaining the Ecology Garden and Edible Forest Teaching Garden, e.g. through planting and weeding.
-Supporting Ecology staff with organising and delivering the events programme and smaller activities for visitors.
-Welcoming and engaging visitors to the centre.
-Supporting other Ecology projects within the park and local community.

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

My biggest achievement was being confident enough to make suggestions alongside the work I was being asked to do. Because of this I feel as though I’ve been able to have a small influence and put my stamp on some of the programmes at these centres. One example, included suggesting there should be an education display in one of the class
rooms, and I then took on the task to complete that. I was very proud of the result.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I was able to be an extra help during the busy holiday period, mainly by preparing for lessons, laying out equipment and then taking an active involvement in the sessions with young people. I was also able to be a help with a huge amount of admin tasks for the Royal Parks foundation as their fundraising half marathon approaches in October. This was great to be involved in as the run raises money for the parks education programmes.

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

It wasn’t a huge problem, but I did learn a lot about time management when it comes to commuting on the London tubes. There is a lot of unreliability, so making sure I was on time and ready for work was sometimes made difficult by cancelled trains.

Communications Assistant – Elizabeth’s Legacy of Hope Charity

24th Nov, 2016Advertising, Marketing and PR, Biosciences, Charity and Development Work, Employer FeedbackLondon, UKkateadmin

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

Within the charity Elizabeth’s Legacy of Hope, my main role was Communications Assistant. I was also involved in promotion and organisation of ticketing for fundraising events. As part of communications, my responsibilities included keeping the charity website updated, search engine optimisation, social media, and coverage on the website of recent or upcoming fundraising events. I also had a role in the promotion of a charity concert and the upcoming Christmas Carol Service. Finally, I supported the charity manager with research into suitable trusts and foundations as potential new sources of funding for the charity.

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

My biggest achievement was that I learnt a lot about the organisation and management of charities, and also about issues in global health and development, which I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to study during my degree.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

During the internship I completed side projects, such as designing new logos and info-graphics, which the other members of the team wouldn’t have had the time to complete. Also I helped make more communications and publicity work towards the charity take place within the time available. Overall I hope my work brings more donations and success of fundraising events to Elizabeth’s Legacy of Hope.

“Hazel joined our small charity team for four weeks and supported us with event planning, communications and design, making a valuable contribution to our team and impressing us with her wide range of skills” – Charity Manager

Intern – National Youth Services

17th May, 2016Charity and Development Work, PsychologySri Lankaa2iadmin

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

I contributed to community development projects in Sri Lanka with SL volunteers; in partnership with The National Youth Services Council. The placement involved challenging situations demanding sensitivity to cross cultural communication and sensitivity. We had to adopt a mature leadership role through community teaching and social work with beneficiaries isolated through poverty.

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

Working abroad has shown me that I have the confidence to try new things and the ability to adapt to new surroundings. The work I was doing has helped to show that I have the mental strength and capability to work in difficult environments with often challenging situations. The most memorable part of my placement was working at the men’s special needs centre and seeing the reaction of the patients every time we arrived to run activities for them.

Impact Strategist – SportInspired

17th May, 2016Charity and Development Work, Employer Feedback, History, Social Guidance and Community WorkLondon, UKa2iadmin

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

My role was to make sure that each Community Games worked to ensure that all communications with various partners: corporate clients, sports providers, schools, parents, young leaders and volunteers, were as effective as they could be. I also made sure the delivery of the Games always went above and beyond expectations. On the day of the Games themselves, I briefed the sports providers and made sure that the volunteers and young leaders were mentoring their children effectively.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

It has been an absolute pleasure to work for SportInspired. The SportInspired team are AMAZING! They are extremely hard working, passionate and well, inspiring! I routinely smashed the 35 hour minimum for the working week not because there was huge pressure on me to do so but because I really enjoyed what I was doing and where I was working. I often found myself on evenings and weekends brainstorming ideas for how to streamline the processes for each Community Games and pitching to family and friends to get their employers to sign up with SportInspired. In the first week my role was defined as: ‘making sure each of our Community Games (multi sports festival) had as much impact possible.’ This wide ranging brief gave me the opportunity to immerse myself in all things SportInspired and know that what I was working on would have a lasting impact on the processes surrounding the Community Games. Inspiring children to take up sport is extremely rewarding and the Community Games days themselves are indescribably brilliant. There is no better feeling than what we describe in the office as a ‘mini Win’ – when you turn a child’s day around and with it their perception of sport. Following on from my internship, I hope to continue to work for SportInspired. I would just like to end by thanking Exeter and the Access to Internship scheme, for yet again demonstrating why Exeter is such a fantastic University.

“Felix used a successful blend of his array of skills and talents to be a valuable member of the team throughout the internship. This has been demonstrated through high level analysis of potential client organisations, demonstrating his ability to deal with complex and high level material, through to his boundless enthusiasm with supporting kids trying sports at our multi-sports festivals. He is a classic ‘go-getter’, combining his infectious enthusiasm with an impressive ability to use his initiative, and stay committed to what he is trying to achieve” – Managing Director, SportInspired

UoE Internships

Case studies from students and graduates who took part

Category Archives: Charity and Development Work

Planning and Research Intern – All We Can, Methodist Relief and Development

Bee Surveyor – Buglife, The Invertebrate Conservation Trust

Animal Behaviour Research Volunteer – University of Exeter

Environmental Education Assistant – Royal Parks Foundation

Communications Assistant – Elizabeth’s Legacy of Hope Charity

Intern – National Youth Services