It’s World Environment Day! We’re celebrating by recognising the great work that our SME Interns do with organisations that are making a difference.
“Hi, my name is Emelia. I am in my fourth year of my Maths MSci and last summer I completed an internship with Rubbish Ideas as part of the SME Internship Scheme.
Rubbish Ideas provides products and services to their clients relating to improving the lifecycle of rubbish. This takes a few different forms, such as education, design ideas, and web applications.
The IKEEP programme offers students free business training and industry experience through a paid team placement with a small enterprise.
Marketing undergraduate Nina tells us about her IKEEP project placement with non-profit Better Together and how it’s inspired her future career plans.
Nina, can you tell us about your IKEEP project with Better Together?
Better Together offers workshops and resources on online safety, specifically targeting parents, guardians, caregivers, teachers, and other professionals working with children and young people. They also provide workshops tailored to adult internet use.
Francisco is a physics postgraduate studying for a PhD in Functional Nanomaterials. He told us about his recent IKEEP (Intrapreneurial Knowledge Exchange Enterprise Pathway) placement, helping Safer Industries to develop their human resources (HR). to develop their human resources (HR). This project ran with funding from Bristol Innovations.
Francisco, can you tell us more about your IKEEP project?
Safer Industries primarily focuses on services and products for clients to improve their safety and prevent criminal activity.
We were tasked with laying the groundwork for their HR operational guidelines and policies, such as the Employee Lifecycle and Personal Development Programme.
This meant getting to know the company’s culture and goals, along with existing industry standards and best practices, the legal space the company operates within, and a fair bit of reflecting on what our ideal workplace would be and how to bring it about for future employees.
The arts sector offers an incredible range of exciting and diverse career options. However, navigating it and figuring out how to get onto your chosen career path can be unclear.
The creative industries don’t tend to mass recruit so you might have to think a bit differently about how you find and approach opportunities.
Understanding what kinds of experience and qualifications you need in order to pursue your desired career is an important first step.
Many industries expect to see a portfolio or are looking for specialist skills. Our sector guides are a great place to start when looking to kick-start a career in the arts.
These helpful guides have tailored information and advice about industries such as the performing arts, digital media, and heritage.
Finding work opportunities
Finding opportunities in the arts can be more difficult than in STEM. Less opportunities are widely advertised in the arts industries, particularly in very competitive sectors such as film and television.
Making speculative applications is therefore a great way to target your energies towards the companies and the roles that you would like. Even if your application is not successful, speculative applications can be a great way to get on a company’s radar and make connections which may help you in the future.
Some students then take on a project with an innovative SME. We caught up with epidemiology postgrad Aman Jat after he finished his IKEEP placement with medical tech start-up Microsol.
Aman, can you tell us more about the project you were working on?
Microsol is a science start-up focused on delivering AI-enabled software products for predicting aerosol properties in respiratory drug delivery. Microsol directly contribute to the advancement of respiratory therapeutics, which is beneficial to society and the economy.
The aim of our project was to plan Microsol’s public launch. A key objective was to develop a marketing campaign, find prospective investors from data and expand their network, as well as enhance their web presence.
For our latest City Challenge, we teamed up with local Bristol charity BristolHub, an organisation that supports University of Bristol students to tackle social challenges, learn about issues and connect with each other.
So what is a City Challenge? and why should you take part?
We caught up with Hannah (BA Politics and International Relations) and Apoorva (MA Economics and Finance) who attended the most recent City Challenge, along with Will Westgarth of Bristol Hub, to hear all about the programme and why they recommend you take part in a future one. Here are their five top reasons :
1. You can make a real difference to a local charity
During a City Challenge, you help a Bristol non-profit tackle an issue they are facing. You learn about a local cause, help improve them and have a positive impact on the local community. Our most recent challenge was with Bristol Hub. Hannah, who’s in her second year, said, “I aspire to work in the non-profit sector so insight into a small charity and the way it works was really helpful for me.”
The charity gets a lot too.
Will of Bristol Hub said, “The Challenge helped Bristol Hub further understand students’ desires when it comes to opportunities and how we can best reach out and connect with students. They came up with incredibly detailed and well thought-out presentations, with suggestions which we will take on board for the next academic year.”
Hi, I’m Jemima, a second-year computer science student. Last summer I completed a month-long SME Internship with Vounder Analytics
Vounder Analytics builds bespoke insurance data systems for other organisations and is moving the actuarial and insurance industry away from dated and unsuitable tools such as Excel.
My experience
Before my internship, I did not think I would have been capable of the tasks I worked on. However, the workplace was a brilliant learning environment.
My tasks were clearly explained and presented to me in manageable chunks, with ample opportunity to ask questions. I also learnt a lot about insurance and actuaries (I didn’t even know what an actuary was before I started!). All in all, I was presented with fulfilling and diverse work, without being overwhelmed.
Scams come in many different forms, but the people who carry them out are always looking for new ways to make easy money. To detect a scam and avoid being tricked, here are 10 things to look out for:
Last month, the Bristol Students’ Union hosted its much-anticipated annual Student Volunteering Fair, as part of Student Volunteering Week.
The fair had a lot to offer, with over 40 organisations showcasing their work and encouraging students to get involved.
From supporting refugees to empowering older people, there was a diverse range of organisations present at the fair and it was an excellent opportunity for students to develop their skills and make meaningful connections with like-minded individuals.
The Bristol Mentors scheme matches successful applicants with an alumni mentor who will help you explore ideas, share advice and give you an edge to break into the job sector that interests you.
To celebrate Bristol Mentors now being open for applications for the class of 2023/24, we caught up with Lucy (BA English Literature, 2019) and Grace (MA Law, 2019) to hear about their experiences as student mentees on the programme.
Both former mentees have since taken the role of mentor for two current students. From mentee to mentor, and student to graduate, they are full of valuable experiences worth sharing!
Lucy, EDI Lead for Communities at the National Literacy TrustGrace, Trainee Solicitor at CMS UK(more…)
