My SME Internship: Cecilia – Bristol City of Sanctuary
Category: Work experience and internships
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.
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.
(more…)A career in law for STEM students
Graduate Recruitment Manager, Zoe Reid and Alexander Gower, a partner at Osborne Clarke (a law firm in Bristol) gave students an insight into how to navigate the legal career as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) students. Here is their advice to students in the Faculties of Engineering, Life Sciences and Science who are interested in a career in the legal sector.
How to get work experience (even if you don’t have experience)
At this time of year, you might be thinking about how to make the most of your summer break. It can be an ideal time to get work experience before the next academic year begins.
Work experience not only looks good on your CV or LinkedIn profile, it can also help you:
- Gain a competitive edge when applying for graduate jobs or further study. It can also be a requirement for some careers.
- Develop skills and confidence, gain insights, and build your professional network.
- Decide whether a career area is right for you.
But where to start? It may feel like many internship deadlines have passed. Or perhaps you want to know: “how am I supposed to get experience without previous experience?” It can feel like employers ask for lots of skills and experiences to apply for their internships.
(more…)IKEEP project 2024: Our experience working with Bristol Hub
The IKEEP programme offers students the opportunity to gain intrapreneurial training and engage with industry on knowledge exchange projects through a paid team placement with an SME.
Three undergraduates, Jack, (Economics and Management), Olivia (History and Spanish) and Kristina (Politics) recently completed one of our projects with Bristol Hub.
We spoke to them about what they have gained from the experience.
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.
My SME Internship: Andrea – Famli
How extracurricular activities helped me graduate into the music industry
David Simkins is a 2023 MA Music with Innovation graduate with a developing career in music and media.
Between working at a local record label alongside his studies, conducting student orchestras and scoring soundtracks for media projects, (including two feature films and a short film), being mentored by the Head of Marketing at Sony Music’s Columbia Records and interning at SoundCloud, David (pictured right) has been busy in the past 4 years!
Drawing on his experience with soundtracks, tech, and client management, David is pursuing a music career in creative sync and marketing while working to improve industry transparency, education, and inclusivity, especially for the LGBTQIA+ community.
We caught up with David about how his extracurricular activities throughout his degree helped him get to where he is:
Finding work experience as a social scientist
Lots of social science students are looking for work experience but are struggling to find something that’s right for them. If you’re searching for valuable work experience to help you in your career plans, here are some ideas to help you in your search.
Top tips from the public sector
To find out more about work experience in the public sector, I spoke to James Darley from Transform Society. He was clear that there are often plenty of opportunities to get work experience in the public sector, it just requires some research to find them.
Councils can advertise opportunities for local students on their website, so it’s worth signing up to their jobs mailing lists. Bristol City, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire are our local councils.
Tips for applying for laboratory internships
Are you an undergraduate looking for laboratory internships?
Finding lab internships for the first time can be confusing, you may be unsure how to start and feel a little overwhelmed. We’ve taken the opportunity to break this down and share some insights from Carol Huang, a UoB MSci Plant Science student, who has successfully gained opportunities within the UK and Europe.
When should I apply?
- Peak time is November to January ready for a summer start (typically July – September)
- Some will be available later in the year (but usually only accessible via supervisors who have secured funding)