Helping you get to where you want to be when you graduate
This is a once-yearly initiative from Basecamp Enterprise, where students can work on real-world sustainability and environmental business issues and be in for a chance of winning a cash prize between £150 to £300!
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At the time it felt like the end of the world but now, looking back, I can see what I have learnt and gained from this.
I want to share my story with you, not because it is extraordinary, but rather because failure is often viewed as something shameful that needs to be hidden, potentially isolating those experiencing it. If you are a student at Bristol, in any subject, feeling the weight of failure or fearing it, I hope this helps.
(more…)Iris Fang, postgraduate student at the University of Bristol shares her experience with the Business School Micro-Internship.
Introduction: Why I Joined This Programme
As a postgraduate student in Management (International Business) at the University of Bristol, I was eager to gain hands-on experience in applying strategic thinking to real-world challenges. That is why I applied for, a short but intensive micro-internship supported and delivered via the Business School Careers Team.
Unlike a traditional internship, this programme placed me in a consulting team composed of students from across the Business School disciplines. The task was to develop a strategic growth plan for a social enterprise client, The Remakery Oxford, a creative organisation focused on sustainability, upcycling, and community engagement.
Project Experience: From Theory to Action
Our client, The Remakery Oxford, operates in the circular economy space, transforming waste materials into meaningful objects while building community resilience. As student consultants, we were asked to propose actionable strategies for the organisation’s future development.
My responsibilities began by conducting market and competitor research, then moved on to a situational analysis using SWOT and PESTLE frameworks. One of the highlights was applying the Ansoff Matrix to generate realistic growth scenarios across four strategic areas: market penetration, product development, market development, and diversification. I collaborated with teammates mapping stakeholder ecosystems (funding bodies and local partnerships, etc.), designing a volunteer engagement strategy and drafting a donor outreach plan based on mission alignment.
Through this project, I sharpened my strategic analysis, stakeholder mapping, and report writing skills. All while learning how to communicate across time zones and disciplines!
Reflection: Lessons and Impact
This experience was a strong reminder that purpose-driven businesses face complex, layered challenges, from operational constraints to market competition. One of the biggest surprises for me was realising how much community-based organisations rely not only on funding, but on volunteer sustainability and public awareness.
Professionally, this internship has helped me:
…and most importantly: This project is also a great CV booster for me. I can stress it under “industry project” or “consulting experience” to demonstrate my ability to apply strategic tools in a real client service setting. In interviews, it provides an excellent STAR-style example (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to showcase the teamwork, problem solving and my understanding of the social enterprise model directly. So this project is really helpful in the interviews to build and describe my experience logically.
Advice for Future Participants
If you’re considering applying for the Business School Micro-Internship, here are a few tips:
Whether you are interested in sustainability, consulting, or simply want to apply what you have learned in class to a practical setting, this experience will push you to grow.
The Business School Micro Internship is open to Masters students in the Business School and in 2025/6 is running in February and March. Complete an expression of interest to join this opportunity here.
I’m Youssef, a University of Bristol student and former Team Leader with 180 Degrees Consulting Bristol. Here’s my journey from Student Consultant to Team Leader.
I was doing well academically, but lectures weren’t giving me the full picture of working life. As someone keen to learn early on, I was always looking for opportunities to apply what I was studying.
Then I discovered 180 Degrees Consulting Bristol, and it changed everything.
180 Degrees Consulting is a student-run consultancy working with charities and social enterprises for free. Students get real consulting experience, and worthy causes get professional-level strategic advice they might not otherwise afford.
My Peer Mentor mentioned it during one of our catch-ups, thinking it might suit me given how eager I was for real-world experience. The best opportunities often come through conversations with people who know you well; exactly why I’d recommend the Peer Mentoring scheme.
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I was just starting my final year of an Integrated Masters in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Bristol when I realised I needed to decide what I wanted to do next – and honestly I had no idea. I knew what I didn’t like, but wasn’t sure what I did like! I knew I liked talking to people and engaging with real world projects so I started looking at consultancy, found fire engineering by accident and it’s been the best career for me. I love my role and am so glad I ended up here, but looking back I wish I’d had a little confidence in my ‘soft skills’.
We were delighted to welcome Aid Box Community to work with students on the latest City Challenge.
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At this time of year, we hear a lot about employers on campus, graduate schemes and summer internships closing imminently.
You may also feel that other students on your course seem more “on it”. This can be overwhelming.
The first thing to remember is that everyone’s career journey is different and we are here to help with yours, no matter where you are starting from.
Here’s our advice about making sense of your career in the busy Autumn graduate employer recruitment season:
(more…)The Bristol Skills Accelerator (BSA) programme is designed to help students develop the workplace skills employers are looking for. Through four flexible online modules covering topics such as innovation, business models and leadership, you’ll build practical knowledge at your own pace, from campus or home.
Once you’ve completed the training, you’ll have the chance to apply what you’ve learned through a project placement with a real business or charity. Working in a small interdisciplinary team, you’ll spend around 70 hours across four weeks tackling real-world challenges, gaining valuable experience, and making a meaningful impact.
(more…)The SME Internship Scheme offers funding to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to help them employ you for a paid internship of at least 140 hours.
You can participate in the scheme by applying to our advertised opportunities on mycareer.
You can also approach organisations yourself to see if they would like to employ you by applying for the scheme.
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