My SME Internship: Ben – SatSense

Hi, I’m Ben. I’m a second year PhD student in the School of Earth Sciences, focusing on understanding ground deformation of volcanoes using satellite borne radar imagery.

In April 2024, I worked as an Earth Observation Intern with SatSense, a Leeds-based SME (Small/medium-sized Enterprise) that provides services assessing, monitoring, and alerting for changes in ground deformation for a wide range of clients using satellite-borne radar imagery.  

A photo of Ben wearing waterproof outdoor clothing smiling, with hills and a lake in the background.
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Working for a scientific SME: advice from professionals

“Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) make up a large proportion of the UK’s economy and account for approximately 30% of graduate employment” (AGCAS, 2022),

Finding and applying for work experience, including internships, or graduate roles, in SMEs can be different to schemes with larger employers. In April 2024, the Careers Service invited three professionals, who work in scientific SMEs, to share their advice:

Scientist carrying out an experiment in the lab
  • Dr Mark Benizett, VetIMD – Pioneering isothermal molecular diagnostics solutions for the animal health sector
  • Dr Clio Andreae, GenomeKey – Biotechnology using cutting edge machine learning and DNA sequencing to treat Sepsis
  • Dr Ed Jones, Kelpi – World-leading sustainable materials innovation business – harnessing the properties of seaweed to create compostable, marine-safe, low-carbon bioplastic packaging
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My SME Internship: Christa – Extracellular 

Hi, my name is Christa and towards the end of my third year studying for MSci Biology I took part in an SME Internship with Extracellular.

Throughout the internship, I undertook a variety of roles in and out of the laboratory working to support my colleagues and complete my own projects independently.

A photo of Christa smiling in the sunshine.

About Extracellular

Extracellular's logo.

Extracellular is a start-up company focusing on supporting cultivated meat companies to get their products to market. Cultivated meat is produced by cultivating animal cells, removing the need to raise and farm animals for food

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My SME Internship: Cecilia – Bristol City of Sanctuary 

A photo of Cecilia smiling. She is smartly dressed and looks like she is at a conference.

Hi, I’m Cecilia. Having completed my internship at Bristol City of Sanctuary during my International Development MSc, I am filled with gratitude for the invaluable experiences and personal growth it has brought me. Working as a campaigns and communications intern in such a vibrant organisation has been an incredible opportunity, and I am excited to share some insights and highlights. 

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My SME Internship: Chaeyeon – Learning with Parents

Hi, I’m Chaeyeon. During my second year studying BSc Psychology, I completed an SME Internship as a Content Intern at Learning with Parents. They are an education charity, empowering families, schools, and communities to have enjoyable home-learning facilitated by parental engagement.  

A photo of Chaeyeon smiling at the camera.

Parental engagement, involving parents to support child-led learning activities, can be promoted to families of different shapes, sizes, and socioeconomic backgrounds to tackle educational inequality that is largely driven by early provision.

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My SME Internship: Emma – Neurometry

Hi, I’m Emma, a Neuroscience BSc graduate. In 2023, I spent six months working as a research analyst with Neurometry.

I started as an intern on the SME Internship Scheme from January to April and then Neurometry extended my contract.

Neurometry is a start-up that is developing cognitive training tools for older adults. The company is based in London but mostly works remotely.

A photo of Emma, smiling to the camera.
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My SME Internship: Audrey – Pointer Consultancy Group

Hello! My name is Audrey and in my first year studying Economics and Maths, I completed an internship at Pointer Consultancy Group.

Pointer is a small but growing consulting company based in Bristol. It focuses mainly on project, bid, and change management but has begun offering sustainability consulting to help companies achieve their environmental, social and governance goals.

I worked at Pointer part-time during term time from February until June, completing 10-12 hours per week, mostly virtually from home but also coming into the office for a few hours each week.  

A photo of Audrey, smiling.
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My SME Internship: Noa – Under the Wing Productions

My name is Noa. During my third year studying Classical Studies I got the opportunity to do a 10-week internship at Under the Wing Productions (UTW) through the University’s SME Internship Scheme. 

A picture of Noa smiling

UTW is a Bristol-based video production company that focuses on developing aspiring filmmakers.

I have always had a keen interest in filmmaking and the media industry, so when I came across the advert for this role, I knew it would be the perfect opportunity for me to gain valuable skills and experiences, whilst also building up my CV for when I leave University. 

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My SME Internship: Anika – Safer Industries

“Hi, I’m Anika. For my SME Internship, I was working for a start-up called Safer Industries Ltd.

A photo of Anika smiling.

I worked closely with the founder, Tim, to begin fleshing out the brands of his company and organise some elemental ideas around environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policy.

Apart from occasional meetings in local Bristol cafés, my work was remote and flexible.

By the end of my internship, which spanned two months part-time during term-time, we had collaboratively created logos for one brand and created a Venn diagram covering some starting points for what would later be developed into a comprehensive and novel ESG policy. 

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