My COVID-19 SME Internship: Joshua – Acnestis

Hi, I’m Joshua – a third year Anthropology with Innovation student.

I came to university as a mature student in 2016 and applied with the intention of immersing myself in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem and building a strong network of peers who are curious, passionate about discovering new ideas and dedicated to working on challenging problems. I quickly found this community on campus and I have greatly enjoyed meeting so many interesting people.

However, what’s really made my time at university so valuable was being able to connect with the wider community beyond campus and share those connections with my fellow classmates. The Careers Service has been a fantastic resource in this regard and I’ve heavily relied on their services throughout my time at Bristol.

My Internship

For my COVID-19 SME Internship, I spent four weeks with Acnestis, conducting research on the effects of the COVID-19 virus on different industries, travel for example. My aim was to understand how existing companies would respond to the pandemic and where opportunities for new start-ups to enter the market would emerge. The internship was broken down into three sections.

  • First, conducting market research to understand how industries would be affected
  • Second, undertaking consumer research to understand trends and forecast future behaviour
  • Third, ideating and developing new business practices that could be quickly developed and implemented by the team at a later date.

My Advice

If you’re a student and you are yet to complete an internship, I would highly encourage you to contact the Careers Service and find out more about the SME Internship Schemes and self-sourcing an internship. Having completed four internships through the SME Internship Schemes to date, I’ve found that it’s a fantastic way to develop new skills, expand your network beyond campus, and gain the practical skills needed to pursue a meaningful career on graduation.

As Joshua found, internships can be a great way to get work experience while you’re studying. Interested? The SME Internship Scheme – Widening Participation Fund is now open and we are advertising internship opportunities through mycareer.

Watch our intro video on the WP Fund to learn about finding a paid internship this academic year.

There are also other work experience opportunities listed here.

If you’re struggling with writing applications, you’ll find some useful resources and events here to help.

Need more support? Get in touch via Live Chat on mycareer.