My SME Internship: Lana – Supported Independence

Hi, I’m Lana. I carried out my SME Internship as a mental health support worker at Supported Independence (SI), within their Redcliffe branch.

I began by attending three days of training: the first two days were company-specific training carried out by SI staff, and the third was run by an external company regarding breakaway and challenging behaviour.  On the days of my inductions, I shadowed a few different experienced mental health support workers with clients they supported.

After approximately one week of shadowing, I began working with clients one-on-one. This included: 

  • meal supporting clients struggling with eating disorders 
  • supporting clients with their day-to-day activities, such as trips to the supermarket, appointments, managing finances, and supporting with medication  
  • listening to those who wanted to talk about how they were feeling. 
Lana drinking a cup of tea

Throughout my internship, I learned how to better support clients in a person-centred way, whereby their individual needs were my priority.

I was given the opportunity to ask other support workers about individual clients’ needs in order to make them feel more comfortable with the way I approach them.

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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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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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How to get into: Start-ups and SMEs

Are you innovative, self-driven and interested in working in a close-knit work environment? Then working in a start-up or SME might be the right career move for you!

On 28 February, the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law invited University of Bristol alumni to talk about their experiences in start-ups and SMEs, as part of the ‘How to get into…’ event series.

Read on for our speakers’ top tips for those interested in pursuing a career in the sector, as well as an overview of the sector and some useful links.

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The Growth Stage: Entrepreneurial reflections and why you should enter

The Growth Stage of the New Enterprise Competition (NEC) is just around the corner, with applications open until Friday 5 May.

It’s an incredible opportunity for any new business, with a prize of up to £20,000 of funding.

A headshot of Beverley Samways.

We caught up with Beverley Samways, one of the runners-up from last year’s finale, who shares some of her insights on the NEC, and her thoughts on what it means to be an entrepreneur!

Beverley’s company, Unique Connections, provides innovative programmes and services to empower young people with disabilities and support them to help them thrive in their communities.

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Top tips for networking with employers at careers fairs.

Get Hired, our flagship spring careers fair, is back! Taking place on Wednesday 3 May, from 12:30 pm to 4 pm at Bristol Beacon, it’s a great opportunity to network with a variety of employers.

But how do you network effectively? We chatted with James Darley, CEO of Transform Society, to get his networking top tips.

“It’s critical that you get the most out of this unique opportunity to meet employers face-to-face and build your professional network, but often students worry about these events and don’t know how to get the most out of them.

As part of the ‘Prepare to get hired’ event series (aiming to help you get the most out of Get Hired), I will be hosting a skill session based on professional networking where I’ll discuss what professional networking is, why you need to do it and how to do it.

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My SME Internship: Mehwish – Resilience Brokers

Mehwish, smiling.

Hi, I’m Mehwish. I was given the opportunity to join Resilience Brokers as a Sustainability Projects Intern. Resilience Brokers helps organisations to use systems thinking to improve the climate resilience of places. 

Climate resilience is the capacity to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to hazardous events, trends, or shocks related to climate.

During my internship, I undertook five research tasks that revolved primarily around building resilient communities and communicating with stakeholders. These included:  

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My SME Internship: Nikoleta – Views For Change

Hi, my name is Nikoleta, and I’m doing a masters in Management (International Business). As my undergraduate degree I studied Marketing, so I decided to apply for the Marketing Intern position for Views For Change through the SME Internship Scheme. 

Views For Change is a corporate giving platform that enables brands to reward advertising engagements with donations to charity. 

A photo of Nikoleta smiling.

My tasks were: 

  • writing blogs and interviews 
  • creating and publishing social media posts 
  • researching potential clients 
  • coming up with ideas for new campaigns  
  • creating newsletters 
  • contacting charities
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