I thought it would be useful to gain some work experience in the summer to improve my skillset. I accepted this internship because I would not normally have an opportunity like this before considering connections and my network.
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The application process required asking me various questions such as why I wanted to apply; what would make me a suitable intern; what I can learn and gain from the internship and what I can contribute to the company. After submitting this I was later emailed requesting a one-on-one call to meet the company CEO, here I was explained to, in more detail, the job role and specific tasks I would be carrying out over the course of the internship
It seemed more suitable for me as a first-year student with limited experience. The internship itself did not seem to emphasise specific skillsets but rather someone enthusiastic to learn which I considered myself to be. It highlighted working with and representing various tech start-ups.
Administering SIAN information: update maintain the SIAN member information both on our website and through writing feature blogs about selected businesses on our programmes.
Create (with the help of our software partners) a cofounder bio page where people can post their skillsets, interests, and availability.
Develop a data framework for us to capture from members, allowing us to demonstrate impact and spot trends as well as feeding into local and regional policy bodies.
Day to day I would be working on a handful of different tasks, so multitasking was a skill I improved through the course of the internship.
Since most of the tasks were to complete over the whole internship most of my tasks were split up little by little such as developing the SIAN website, keeping the SIAN business advice page up to date, working with the cofounder webpage developers and receiving updates from them.
Through working on these little tasks, I gained a wider sense of knowledge on how the network runs.
What I most enjoyed about the placement was being able to choose what tasks I could work independently on and the freedom I had. This also came with a responsibility to ensure I organised my day well with realistic goals. I also enjoyed how I had many different tasks to work on day to day, so it kept me from being bored. Furthermore, I enjoyed working with the people in a more relaxed environment, unlike university, there was not as much pressure to complete so many tasks in a small time.
I think the challenging aspects were ensuring I stayed on top of so many tasks and remembering what the tasks were. Since I had never worked with a business of that nature before, there were many new words and terminologies to keep up with.
The main skills that I had were skills I developed when working on group projects such as working in a team. Since the people I was working with had many different and contrasting skill sets I learnt more from them.
Since the placement itself was not necessarily related to my course it has not influenced my future career choice. Instead, I think it has introduced me to certain aspects and skills that I could make use of in the future when working on projects.
After my graduation, I would still like to work for a bioengineering company and hopefully some of the skills I have learnt in this degree may be useful.
Even if the placement you choose may not be directly linked to your placement, do not worry. There are still skills you can learn and people you may meet that can help you in the future. Networking is a very handy thing to be able to do.
Since the majority of my jobs were to be completed online, I was able to pick up skills such as photo editing with Canva; learning about registering domain names and also legal documents to be included when developing a website.
Form completed: 23 Aug 2022