Tag: Careers Experience

I would 100% recommend to other students to take up an Internship

Author lisafoote | Posted on

I would 100% recommend to other students to take up an Internship. The work experience was an invaluable contribution towards real-world relevant experience listed on my CV which, ultimately, I feel helped in me landing a fantastic placement job and permanent part-time work!  

Brody Wilton BSC (Hons) Computer Science, role: Web Developer, employer: Believe.digital 

Describe how you felt on your first day in your internship

On the first day of my internship, I was pretty excited to start working as a web developer. I joined university after having applied (unsuccessfully) for many web development jobs after being made redundant from my first web dev position. To start a paid internship within a year of starting University was a great feeling and showed that I hadn’t been unsuccessful due to lack of skills.  

What key skills have you learnt through your internship and how do they link to your course/ career goals?   

The main skills I learnt whilst working through my internship were how to successfully work independently and remotely as my role was primarily work from home; 3 days at home, 2 in office. I also refined my web development skills in JavaScript, HTML and CSS. I learned a lot more about developing within a PHP environment as a lot of the projects I worked on were primarily WordPress websites.  

Would you recommend other UWE Bristol students take up an internship and why?   

I would 100% recommend to other students to take up an Internship. The work experience was an invaluable contribution towards real-world relevant experience listed on my CV which, ultimately, I feel helped in me landing a fantastic placement job between my 2nd and 3rd years of University. I was also offered continued, permanent part-time work during my 2nd year as a result of a successful internship over the summer. Shout out to all at Believe.digital (especially Rob), it’s a great company with a brilliant working atmosphere and I’d 110% recommend it as a place for anyone to work at as an intern; everyone is super helpful when starting out and if you don’t know something, it really isn’t an issue, just ask.  

Boosting confidence, knowledge and CV through an internship

Author lisafoote | Posted on

I’ve learnt how to apply my knowledge from university in real-life situations and how the real engineering world functions as a business. Relevant skills I’ll need to be successful in my career

John Nicola BENG (Hons) Automotive Engineering, role: Mechanical Engineer Intern, employer: Emvio Engineering 

Describe how you felt on your first day in your internship   

I felt excited but also on the edge as it was before I knew what I would be doing. 

What key skills have you learnt through your internship and how do they link to your course/ career goals?   

I have learnt how to apply my knowledge from university in real-life situations and how the real engineering world functions in terms of business. These are both relevant as in my career I will need both these skills to be successful. 

Would you recommend other UWE Bristol students take up an internship and why?   

I would highly recommend other UWE Bristol students to take up an internship as it will boost confidence, knowledge and cv in the subject. 

Key skills learnt through an internship

Author lisafoote | Posted on

I would absolutely recommend taking up an internship, particularly with the support that the UWE scheme provides…While academic courses provide you with a basis in the necessary skills and knowledge for a career in industry, they cannot simulate the reality of the world of work, or prepare you for the expectations, standards, conventions, collaborations and consequences of working on real-world projects 

Brendan Ashby BENG (Hons) Architecture and Environmental Engineering, role: Architecture Intern, employer: Box Twenty 

Describe how you felt on your first day in your Internship 

I experienced a balanced combination of nerves and excitement on the first day of the internship. Obviously, there is a lot to set up and a lot to take in on the first day, and I felt as if I somewhat rushed through some of the administrative induction processes in my eagerness to get working on projects and prove my worth. The company itself was very welcoming and small scale with around 20 employees, which suited me as I was able to develop relationships with all staff and to benefit from advice and expertise from a range of areas and perspectives. Box Twenty make a point of encouraging an active social programme to facilitate team building and office energy. In my first week, I joined a team bike ride, which helped enormously to make me feel more comfortable. One thing I found very challenging during the initial weeks of the internship was having a substantial amount of coursework to do for a module resit. I would encourage any prospective interns to avoid this, if possible, as it is extremely helpful to allow yourself time in the evenings and weekends at the early stages to assimilate all the new information.   

What key skills have you learnt through your internship and how do they link to your course/ career goals?   

My internship was for a building services engineering firm, but construction projects are in collaboration with a wide range of related disciplines, so much of my work involved design team meetings and coordinating with architects, clients, planners, other engineering disciplines, utility providers, etc. One thing I have taken from this is the value of relationship building in this context, and the value of asking questions and raising concerns in order to share and accumulate detail and knowledge, and to clarify and coordinate all parties on the same wavelength. On a specific note, related to this as a building services engineer, the role as a consultant is frequently to check, warn and inform designers of spatial requirements and conflict issues, to avoid serious problems further into the process. This requires confidence in your own knowledge to raise concerns, but it is always better to speak up. The spatial coordination processes involved are often complex and have knock-on effects on other professionals’ work, so consistency and clarity of communication is key to this. The nature of construction design is iterative, so one valuable thing I learned is the necessity to design at an appropriate level of detail for the stage in order to avoid wasting time.  

I worked a lot on one project which I helped to develop through formal design stages during my time with the company. Much of my work was conducted on software such as AutoCad, BluBeam Revu and Revit, and I gained some very valuable knowledge in terms of drawing standards and modelling processes. Above all, experience of the collaborative workflow processes and practical familiarity with RIBA stages of work I feel will stand me in very good stead in industry. I am more encouraged than before towards the engineering side of the industry. However, the internship was invaluable in giving me an understanding of the perspective of all related disciplines.    

Would you recommend other UWE Bristol students take up an internship and why?   

I would absolutely recommend that other UWE Bristol students take up an internship, particularly with the support that the UWE scheme provides. While academic courses provide you with a basis in the necessary skills and knowledge for a career in industry, they cannot simulate the reality of the world of work, or prepare you for the expectations, standards, conventions, collaborations and consequences of working on real-world projects. An internship experience provides a great deal of clarity on future career plans by showing you not only which aspects of an industry correspond to your ambitions and skillsets, but also those which are less appealing. I feel this view of working roles is invaluable in preparing you for both the choice and the reality of future career paths.  

UWE Internships – a great way to spend the summer, gaining experience and money

Author lisafoote | Posted on

I would absolutely recommend the UWE internships, as a great way to gain experience which can really help you to find a job when you graduate

Lunda Dimbelolo BA (Hons) Drama and Acting, Internship role: Assistant Director Intern, employer: Bristol School of Acting 

Describe how you felt on your first day in your internship

I felt quite nervous but quickly found my feet at the drama school. I was welcomed by the project leader Sam Bridges, who explained what we would be doing which helped to clarify the role. It did feel as though the advertised was different to the reality, in good and bad ways. I found myself met with challenges as the actors were aged 16-18 and some had behavioural problems, but once a rapport had been built this proved to be a positive challenge and taught me a lot about observing behaviour, which is great when directing.   

 

What key skills have you learnt through your internship and how do they link to your course/ career goals?   

 Directing tools, exercises, people management. As well as a glossary of contacts that I can use, work has been offered.  

Would you recommend other UWE Bristol students take up an internship and why?   

I would absolutely recommend the UWE internships, as it’s a great way to spend the summer, gaining experience and money. It also really helps for final year having worked in the role you aim to graduate in.  

Empowering change for women’s equality.

Author hannahnuttall | Posted on

by Bassmala Elbushary, BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science

There are numerous reasons why I wanted to volunteer. Firstly, I wanted to use my passion (helping others) to make a positive impact and explore where my passion can be useful. That’s why when I found out about the volunteering opportunity at FORWARD, I did not hesitate to get involved. FORWARD strives for African women’s rights and I was so keen to amplify the voices and challenges African women encounter. Furthermore, I wanted to get involved in change-making and have a positive influence on people’s lives. This could be from raising awareness to writing letters to MPs. Lastly, I wanted to meet people who have similar mindset and want to make a difference in this world.

How I got involved in volunteering

It was 2019 when I found out about FOWARD. My mother has a friend who knew the manager of the organisation and the organisation was promoting their volunteering opportunity. I was so keen to apply.

I got involved by completing an application form. It was open to all African women living in England and Wales. Then, I completed a three-days training in Cardiff. After completing the training, I became a youth fellow in the organisation.

My Project

During my training programme, I was asked to work as a group to find solutions to some of the issues African women face. At the end of the training, I was asked to create a social project.

For my social project, I decided to make a Facebook Live exploring the issues Sudanese women face and discussing solutions with them as a group. In the Facebook Live, I got my mother and my little sister to discuss their opinions regarding women’s rights. The Facebook Live was very successful as I had over 5000 views.

The second part of my social project was to hold a discussion group with the Sudanese women and men. I booked a venue, and I invited all the Sudanese women in my local area to discuss the issues Sudanese women face and I asked them to work in groups to come up with solutions. Then, I went to London and conducted a discussion group with the Sudanese men and how men can support the women and influence policy makers in Sudan.

I highly recommend volunteering to everyone because you gain plenty of experience and skills.

Community Impact

Primarily, my volunteering has helped the audiences that I gave my talk to about Sudanese women’s right and most of them agreed with the points I spoke about. The feedback from the discussion group were all positive. Some stated they ‘can make a difference’ in their lives. Others said they felt ‘empowered’. Secondly, some of the audience from the focus group asked me to conduct another focus group because they enjoyed it and found it very beneficial.

How volunteering has helped with my career goals

During my training, I developed my confidence to engage with wider audience and the support that I received from the organisers made me believe in myself. In my chosen career as an Biomedical Science Lecturer, I will need the confidence to perform presentations and focus groups.

I also learned teamwork and communication skills through the group work and the discussions I did. This links strongly with my chosen career because I will have to work in a team to conduct experiments/produce a research paper.

Most importantly, I learnt time management skills because I had a deadline to complete the social project by. Time management skills is highly favourable in my chosen career as all the work has a specific deadline.

Finally, I built a strong network which is very essential if I want to progress further. Having a strong network is vital for references and to gain advice from experts. As I became a youth member at the organisation, I am in the process of launching my own international project in Sudan developing the rural area. The organisation’s manager is supporting me to finalise my proposal for funding.

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