My SME Internship: Yueqi – New Silk Route

Hi, I’m Yueqi.  In the final year of my postgraduate studying Marketing (Msc), I luckily found an SME Internship as a Marketing Intern for New Silk Route.

A photo of Yueqi smiling.

My internship included writing content on social media platforms, such as writing posts to attract customers to enquire about the company’s services and close deals.

Most of the time I worked remotely but I still needed to meet with customers to fulfill their desires and offer appropriate services. 

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How volunteering can transform your university experience

Volunteering in your local community connects you with others and creates positive change.

Over the past academic year, the team at Bristol Hub have supported over 180 Bristol students to engage in social action.

Bristol Hub manager Sorcha Young shares the impact that volunteering can have:

Bristol Hub students volunteering

“Social action takes many forms. It can range from donating money to good causes to creating campaigns or running community-based events. I love making a change by getting hands-on and volunteering in my community.”

Niamh Harrington, Bristol Hub one-off Volunteering Coordinator 

How volunteering enhances wellbeing 

85% of Bristol Hub’s student volunteers agreed that participation enhanced their well-being during university. Where there are many challenges to university, such as loneliness, academic pressures and an overwhelming amount to do, volunteering provides a space to escape and connect.

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My SME Internship: Mengying – NuNano

The SME Internship Scheme enables you to gain quality, paid work experience from small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK, including charities, social enterprises and start-ups.     

Mengying’s internship ran with funding from Bristol Innovations, here’s what she had to say about her experience: 

Mengying next to a red phone box

Hi, I’m Mengying, a current postgraduate student studying Management (International Human Resource Management).

I have just completed a Sales Internship with NuNano Ltd through the SME Internship Scheme, from January to April this year.  

NuNano is a company specialising in the design and manufacture of probes for atomic force microscopy and cantilever-based sensor devices.

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The social mobility superstars breaking barriers

The Student Social Mobility Awards (SSMAs), organised by upReach, celebrate the achievements of undergraduates from lower socio-economic backgrounds from across the UK.

The SSMAs recognise students who have excelled in their studies and beyond, and have demonstrated great resilience, determination or initiative, or boosted their employability in innovative ways.

Filipe Costa Figueiredo is a 4th year joint Honours Politics and Spanish BA and has been shortlisted for two awards:

  • Undergraduate Awards: Academic Success for those who have achieved the most impressive academic feats whilst at university, breaking through barriers in the process
  • Undergraduate Sector Award: Professional Services and Consulting which recognised outstanding achievement in specific career sectors while at University.

We chatted to Filipe (pictured below) about why he thinks he was nominated and why social mobility is important.

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Students rise to the City Challenge!

This academic year we have run some amazing City Challenges, boosting students’ skills and helping local community organisations to increase their profile and impact.

More than 90 students from across all years and a range of disciplines have given an afternoon of their time to help eight non-profits solve a real dilemma they were facing.  

In February this year, we welcomed student organisation Bristol Hub, who wanted ideas on how to recruit more student volunteers and raise their profile and reach with students.

Students presenting their ideas at the Cider Project City Challenge

Bristol Walk Fest joined us in April, looking for ideas to attract a younger crowd to their annual event and brainstorm fundraising ideas.

Last month we hosted Bristol Cider Project, a University of Bristol initiative, which needed ideas to source windfall and waste apples from Bristol residents to make into a community cider. 

Overall, the City Challenges Programme was instrumental in providing me with valuable insights into how community-focused initiatives can create a positive impact on society.” City Challenge student 

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My SME Internship: Rowan – Educational Action Challenging Homophobia

Educational Action Challenging Homophobia (EACH) is a multi-award-winning charity which works to affirm the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and reduce discrimination experienced because of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Since 2013, EACH has hosted 15 SME interns through our SME Internship Scheme. 

EACH branding, a cartoon drawing of people lined up in rainbow coloured clothing.

So why does EACH participate in the SME Internship Scheme each year? Here’s what Jonathan Charlesworth, Executive Director of EACH, says:

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Founder’s keepers – advice from a working start-up

The New Enterprise Competition 2023 has come to an end. We caught up with finalist Ben Wainwright who comes loaded with lived experience from the world of start up.


Tell us about yourself and what sparked your interest in entrepreneurship.

Remap founder Ben Wainwright.

My name is Ben Wainwright and I am a co-founder and CTO of Remap Mental Fitness.

At Remap, we teach working professionals and global brands how to train their mind to improve how they think, feel and perform.

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My SME Internship: Clara – Brave Bold Drama  

A selfie of Clara, smiling with the sunshine on her face.

My name is Clara. In my first year of studying Theatre and Film I undertook an SME Internship with Brave Bold Drama theatre company. My internship comprised different types of odd jobs and full-on projects. I worked in many different locations, including community centres, theatres and I did a big chunk of my hours remotely.  

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Work with us next year!

Each year we recruit a team of current students to come and work with us at the Careers Service. They are an integral part of our team and work on a wide range of exciting tasks.

From working face-to-face with fellow students to creating content for blogs and our social media channels, supporting the Bristol PLUS Award and getting involved in employer events, and even helping students develop their entrepreneurial skills – we don’t know where we would be without them!

We are excited to say that applications are now open for next year’s team.

All of these roles are part-time and designed to fit around your studies.

You’ll receive full training and will gain valuable, transferable skills through working in a professional environment, such as teamwork, time management, and communication skills. We have also been told, it’s a lot of fun to work with us!

We are currently recruiting for the following roles:

(NB: All roles will begin in September, so you must be a current student as of September to apply.)

Follow the links to mycareer to find out more and apply. Applications are open until Sunday 18 June 2023.

We caught up with some of this year’s team to hear a little more about their roles and why they think you should apply:

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