Helping you get to where you want to be when you graduate
The internship was fully remote, so I could work from home on my laptop and optionally from university when needed. My main task was to use FlutterFlow, a low-code app development tool, to build the calendar and event section of the Kiki app.
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After graduating, I knew I wanted to gain further experience in media and publishing. However, I struggled to find any advertised internship schemes that suited me, and all the ones I resonated with seemed very cut-throat and competitive.
Deciding to use the SME Internship Scheme to my advantage, I contacted one of my favourite Indie Publications I have followed for some time – BRICKS Magazine. Being a small business with only 2 full-time employees, they were keen for the help so jumped at the opportunity straight away!
(more…)If you’ve ever worked in retail, hospitality, or any other part-time role while studying, you might have found yourself thinking: “This isn’t real experience – it’s just a student job.” But here’s the truth: your part-time job is absolutely real, and it’s packed with valuable, essential skills that graduate employers care about.
Many students assume that unless they’ve done a structured internship or placement, they don’t have relevant experience to talk about in applications or interviews. That’s a myth – and it’s time to debunk it.
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I began my Mechanical Engineering degree at Bristol after suspending my studies in Ukraine due to the ongoing conflict. Very early on, I discovered the Year in Industry programme and instantly loved the idea.
For me, it offered the chance to understand what engineering is like in real life, to adjust my expectations, and to get a sense of what I actually want to specialise in before choosing third and fourth year units. Plus, working on real client projects sounded far more meaningful than another year of exams.
Fenster is a Devon-based glazing specialist that largely focuses on ‘grand designs’ style projects across the southwest. The company manufactures, supplies and installs high-end aluminium solutions for both trade and commercial customers. I worked for the company for 16 hours a week between November 2024 and February 2025.
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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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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