Asima Ali, Teaching Assistant at Somerville Primary School, Somerville Road, Small Heath, 4 July 2011-22 July 2011

Overall, my experience at Somerville Primary School was overwhelmingly satisfying. It was a significant and advantageous internship placement that has truly broadened my horizons. Funded by Alumni, I was given the privilege to take on a teaching assistant role at a mainstream public school. This was of particular interest to me as I was unsure whether teaching is the career I would want to go into. The role of a teaching assistant involved, helping children to understand the task assigned to them, listening to them read, giving them encouragement to take part in discussions and most importantly attempting to boost their morale. This was, without doubt a challenging role to play. But, regardless it allowed me to build upon and develop new skills. Some of which involved, patience, listening skills, having a good sense of interacting with others. I personally feel this role has developed me as a person and I feel teaching is definitely my career choice. What I enjoyed the most during my placement was the satisfaction that comes with each successful day. No two days were the same, everyday brought new challenges but it was fantastic to see how children were keen and had the willingness to learn. This experience was very memorable and one that will help me greatly in the future. For instance, it will be the basis for my PGCE application and a foundation to my career of teaching. I am grateful to the university, the career and employability centre as well as Alumni for providing such opportunities to open new doors for the younger generation! It was an experience I would take part in again and again!

To Whom It May Concern:

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the grant that you offered to support me

over the summer, it was very valuable.

My experience at the British Red Cross has been fantastic; the members of staff

were welcoming and friendly. My role involved screening destitute asylum seekers

and refugees and handling cases. I am currently still undergoing training under the

supervision of an experienced case worker from the organization before proceeding

to being an independent case worker. My supervisors empower me to interview

clients using my own knowledge, ability and initiative; they only step in to guide me

through the decision making needed to meet client’s needs. I have had a range of

the organization’s case workers supervise me, all of whom have been impressed by

my ability to confidently adapt to my role with ease and a natural flair.

I have also been blown away by my ability to fit in easily and work well in a team

working environment, I enjoy my role very much, even under supervision, never

have I felt insecure and conscientious as a result of being observed. I have always

been focused on the client, putting them and their problem at the centre of my

agenda. Gaining this experience has been a beautiful way of reassuring me that I

want to work with and help people as my career profession. I derive so much joy

from supporting clients that I have been blessed to be involved with. I have up to

two more sessions of being under supervision before progressing on working

independently and I can not wait.

Whilst training I have learnt the sort of support British Red Cross offers to destitute

refugees and asylum seekers, the criteria each client needs to meet to be eligible for

support, report writing, etc. I also know how to handle complex cases and refer

clients to other agencies that can support them. I have developed new knowledge of

the laws and regulations concerning refugees and asylum seekers in accordance with

the Home Office. I log my new knowledge and experiences in a journal, this will

influence the module on Immigration which I will study in year 3.

I am unable to provide you with a picture of me on task, I carry out my role in a

private room with a client and it seemed inappropriate to take a picture during this

process. I have however provided you with my British Red Cross ID card; I hope it will

be useful as it proves that I am a member.

Thank you once again for your support.

Yours sincerely

Janet Nambuya

Internship Details

Student name:

Lynette Nabbosa

Internship/Job title:

Birmingham City Council Internship

Internship

organisation:

Birmingham City Council

Internship start and

end dates:

6/6/11-1/7/11

Please write 250-300 words about your experience. Could you include comments on

the role, what you enjoyed/found challenging about the experience, what skills you

developed and how you think your experiences will benefit you in future.

By contributing to the Local Centres SPD I feel I have developed professionally and

having the chance to work in a real office environment has given me insight to what

tasks and responsibilities would be expected of me if I were employed. The site visits

have correlated with my uni projects and I feel like I will be one step ahead next year

as I have had the chance to put what I am taught into practice. I have also

determined which line of work I want to go into after I graduate, thanks to this

placement and by completing many tasks while here, I feel that I have enhanced my

credentials.

The strengths I have developed as a result of my placement include:

- A knowledge of the project area and the council

- Ability to carry out research

- Ability to analyse reports/policies

- Knowledge of new and upcoming policies

- Geographical mapping systems and I.T skills

- Understanding of equal opps policy

The weaknesses I have identified in myself during placement are:

- Time management

- Organizational skills

I intend to rectify my weaknesses by taking responsibility and organizing myself via

writing e.g. daily notes and objectives. The placement has helped me prepare myself

for my next level of my course because I have had a chance to put theory into

practice so I should be one step ahead in terms of insight and understanding on the

next level of my degree. I have also seen that working in industry suits me so after

improving on my weaknesses I can look into it for my career prospects.

2011-06-01 to 2011-08-01. Odilija Guntoriute

An internship in Lithuanian National Tourism Centre (United Kingdom, London).

My main responsibility was to promote Lithuania as a tourism destination & help

tourists to plan their journeys.

In the course of the two months. I’ve communicated with British Airways & Wizzair

to promote Lithuania in their travel magazines. Furthermore, I’ve organized 3 press-

trips to journalists from Food&Travel; Vice; Vertu; Automobile Magazine; American

GQ magazines. I’ve also improved the official Lithuanian National Tourism website by

means of updating information provided to tourists.

During the internship, I’ve gained day-to-day office skills, such as making phone

conversations with clients and responding to official emails. I was also trained to

update the website content using Content Management System.

Furthermore, in the middle of my internship Lithuanian Ministry of Economy

suspended funding for this office. This gave me an opportunity to work under heavy

pressure – on our work quality depended the future of this office. Organising press

trips under such circumstances was extremely difficult, but this situation made me to

improve my negotiation skills. Negotiating with other tourism offices, which are

based in Lithuania, so that they would use their funding; with restaurants and hotels

so that they would regale journalists without expecting to get an advertisement and

negotiating with journalists so that they would reduce their needs and put

advertisements in their articles of hotels and restaurants.

This internship did not just enhance my CV, but during it I have learned a lot of

things that will help me in future jobs. During this internship I also had an

opportunity to get to know people from Lithuanian Embassy, which will help me to

get an internship in the Embassy itself.

(My manager: Augusta Jaudegyte; director@lithuaniatourism.co.uk )

Bethan Partridge

Cassandra Barnett: Internship Bursary

I worked at Storm Communications this summer in Southwark, London. I was

thrilled to be able to partake in this which I managed to arrange myself, as it enabled

me to gain invaluable transferable skills as well as being able to have a glimpse of the

working London life. They were brilliant in including me with the clients. I even went

to meetings at the News International building to meet with journalists and was able

to talk to them about the products we brought with us. This led to coverage in the

papers after they had reviewed the product, which was very exciting as I was able to

be a part of the process.

The people I worked with were great, so friendly and always happy to help, it

even turned out that the Managing Director of the company went to Birmingham

University, did a very similar course and lives in the same town as me at home in

Buckinghamshire. This as you can imagine was very reassuring for me for the future!

At the end of my time doing work experience they also told me to get back in touch

with them when I graduate as they would love to work with me if the relevant job

was available.

I am grateful for the bursary fund as it meant I was able to get work

experience in the field I am interested in working in. I can now include this on my CV

as well as discuss my experiences in work interviews when I graduate. For these

reasons I would advise other students to take this opportunity if they get the chance.

Work experience testimonial Cole Glenister

During this past summer I took part in a two-week period of work experience at

Warren road primary school in Orpington. The money that was granted to me by this

alumni bursary fund was invaluable, as it allowed me to put my all into the work I

was doing with out having to take on other jobs to support my financial situation.

During my time at Warren road I was given the responsibility of teaching many

different classes and year groups physical education while under the supervision of

their official teacher. This was a fantastic opportunity for me as I have aspirations of

becoming a primary school teacher when I complete my degree. I learned a huge

amount teaching the kids. I gained an insight into planning lessons and trying to keep

the whole class involved throughout an hour session with them. Also, in my work

experience I was asked to help the staff of the school in accompanying the children

on two trips away from the school. Firstly, to the science museum where I helped

escort the children around the museum. This was a valuable experience for learning

how to control a group of students in an outside environment. I also took the schools

cricket team on a trip to a local quick cricket tournament, which I took part in and

won when I was their age. And we managed to win the tournament again which was

a great experience. I really got to know the children well, which made the experience

even more valuable. I also helped organize the school sports days for various year

groups. I set up the equipment, helped officiate some of the events and also took

pictures, which is why I do not appear in the pictures from the days out. However, I

assure you that I was there and I am behind the camera.

Testimonial for internship at Colour DNA: David Middleton

My experience at Colour DNA was great; it is a social media company that allows

users to learn about new things according to things they already love.

I learned so much of the social media industry how it worked, where it’s

going and how to make money from it. The company is a start up and when I started

working there this summer they had only been going for a year. This gave me a more

direct and in depth insight into how the company worked. I dealt face to face with

the site designer, CEO and programmer, which was a great bonus for me.

The grant I received was a great help, it allowed me to travel in and out of

London everyday and without it I would not be able to afford to pay for the train.

The internship was unpaid so the grant not only made it feasible but also made the

time spent there worthwhile. Without the grant I would not have been able to work

for Colour DNA, and would not have been able to learn about one of the newest and

fastest growing industries in the world.

I am still in contact with Colour DNA, and have been offered a job there next

summer, potentially in America. Without this grant none of this would have been

possible and I am so thankful to the University of Birmingham alumni for giving me

this grant.

Short testimonial

Dominika Kaczkowska

I have been a voluntary research assistant to ‘Exploring the Role of the EU in

Domestic Change in the Post-Soviet States (2011 - 13)’ project at the University of

Birmingham. My daily duties included materials collection and selection. I was given

a task of researching the European Union’s influence on Moldovan domestic politics.

I also looked closely how the European Union’s presence has influenced Moldova’s

visa liberalization and its improvements in this particular area.

This work experience was very enriching and it provided me a very important

perspective in the world of academia and governmental affairs. I have understood

what kind of effort it takes to produce an enormous research project. I have focused

on only small part of research and it took me a long time to divide information

accordingly to project’s objective. Against the undergraduates’ assumptions those

research projects do contribute to the understanding of policy makers and other

researchers. Thanks to this work experience I have finally understood how this

process work.

This work experience proved that I will likely to continue my education to PhD and

beyond. I intent to specialize in the European affairs as I see that people will

specializations have better professional experience than those who do not. The

insight in this research project allowed me to understand what I can expect in my

future as the researcher. I am also closer to know what will be my object of the

research, which will be in policy making of countries belonging to the Eastern

Partnership.

Jack Renner

Sport has always been one of my great interests and it has always been a dream of mine to

work in the industry. Over the month of July I was given the opportunity to fulfil this dream

working for a sports marketing/advertising firm called Fast track.

This opportunity of work experience came about after I sat next to one of the companies

employees at a party; her work sounded interesting and immediately I wanted to explore

further. I asked for her email and contacted her a couple of weeks later asking if they offered

any work experience. After face-to-face and phone interviews I was offered a month’s work

experience.

I was assigned to work for Team 2012; obviously with the Olympics only a year away this

was an incredible opportunity to see the work going on behind the scenes to ensure the

Games are a huge success.

Over the month I was involved in was shown every aspect of the job and what it entailed.

The area I was most interested in was the work with the press in the lead up to the Games.

Throughout the month I was involved in securing athletes for News International, dealing

directly with the sports editors of The Times and The Sun.

As well as all the work there were a few perks of the job. I got to have a go at the new

Olympic Canoeing Centre being shown the ropes by a bronze medallist at the Athens Games.

I also got to play basketball with Phillips Idowu, the world triple jump champion and one of

Britain’s great medal hopes in 2012.

Overall I had a great month at Fast track. I was given far more responsibility than I

anticipated and was truly put out of my comfort zone. The skills I learnt during the month

will be useful in any job and any walk of life. In particular this work has taught me the ability

to be disciplined, well organised and having conviction in myself and my work.

I’d like to thank the University of Birmingham for their very kind bursary, for without it I

would have really struggled to complete this work experience that I found so valuable.

I completed an internship with Bright Light PR, a fashion PR company in London,

during July 2011. I gained a £300 bursary from you in order to help fund my month

of work, and without it I simply would not have been able to afford the costs that go

alongside working in London. Having this bursary meant that I could gain valuable

work experience in the area of work I wish to do after I graduate, without worrying

about money issues.

The money I was awarded was used in a number of ways. Travel to and from London

everyday was expensive and having the bursary meant I was not under any form of

financial pressure. I was able to buy lunch and pay my way through the month of

work, which I would not have been able to do without the £300.

Because I was relaxed and positive about the financial side of things, I was able to

settle in to my internship quickly and calmly. I gained absolutely fantastic experience

at the PR firm, and got to know the girls very quickly. Bright Light is a relatively small

PR company in comparison to many in London, but I loved that, because it meant I

gained first hand, inside knowledge that many others may not have in other

companies. The girls were extremely welcoming and put me right in the deep end

with jobs and tasks. By the end of my first week I was emailing and calling magazines

and doing similar jobs to the girls who had been working there for months.

Through having my bursary, and completing my internship I feel I have broadened

my horizons and gained useful experience for the future. I am extremely lucky to

have had the opportunity to gain a bursary, and I would advise anyone with the

chance, to take it up, because it is a great support for any student who wishes to

gain work experience but perhaps does not have the financial support to do so.

Rose Reynolds

3rd

year BA Sociology student

Research Project Testimonial

Who: Sohaib Ahmad, 2nd year BSc. Mathematical Economics and Statistics

Where: Centre for Household Assets and Savings Management

What: Research Associate Internship

I decided to undertake research alongside my education, and into the summer of

2011, because I wanted to learn more about practical Microeconomics, about how

the modern family interact with the rest of the economy and things similar to this

topic.

With this aim in sight, I worked with Dr Karen Rowlingson and Dr Ricky Joseph on

several projects. I wrote ‘An Introduction to Islamic Finance’ 1 and also wrote

another paper ‘A Potential index for Asset Inequality’ for my mentors to check and

to help me improve on. I further took part in round table meetings to fully engage in

the CHASM group.

The money was useful because it meant that I could afford to stay away from home

and undertake this work, previous to which I could not. I learnt a lot from my

experience. I learnt Advanced Quantitative Statistical methods as I was greatly

exposed to specialist packages for the Asset Inequality work. I had to become very

comfortable with a program called SPSS. It’s also going to help me in my future

academic career, as I am already comfortable with more complicated packages. Also,

the essay work that I did improved my writing capabilities. Finally, I hope that my

findings helped the academics I worked under. I understand that my work for asset

inequality may be published alongside findings of Dr Ricky Joseph, which is always a

bonus.

The internship at CHASM has improved my CV greatly, because as a second year

student, very few students have undertaken research. This means that if I do plan on

entering the job market, my chances are improved.

1 http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/college-social-sciences/social-

policy/CHASM/briefing-papers/islamic-finance.pdf

I am currently studying Geography and Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Birmingham. My work experience placement was working with the Greenspace Improvement Service located in Walsall, this organisation works with Walsall Council to regenerate local parks within Walsall and is involved in the major restoration of the Arboretum.

My role involved assisting the co-ordinators of Greenspace Improvement Service Sam Mills and Louise Harris, attending a progress meeting of the Arboretum at Walsall Town Hall as well as helping to write a report on a local park, Reedswood Park which has been given a budget of £250,000 by Walsall Council to regenerate.

I enjoyed visiting Reedswood Park as I was involved in the decision making process of the improvements that were needed in order to attract the community. I took part in measuring the footpaths around the park, making a stock list of what the park contained such as bins, benches, play equipment and researching the cost of the regeneration.

I found using spreadsheets quite challenging as I have not had much experience in producing these, however, it gave me a chance to have a better understanding of how they might be used to present data.

I developed a variety of skills which will help me in the future such as writing a report assessing the park in order to decide on necessary improvements and the rationale behind them. I learnt the processes behind regeneration programmes, the importance of public participation to ensure the park does provide its community with what they actually want and how expensive these projects are, therefore, money has to be extremely carefully spent on the most appropriate facilities.

I believe the experience will benefit me greatly in the future as there is an increasing demand by employers for graduates to have work experience which relates to their degree. Furthermore, it gave me the opportunity to apply what I have learnt so far in my degree to real life projects, I had to think for myself, make important decisions and meet deadlines. I have also made contacts within the industry to obtain further work experience and build upon the skills I have learnt from this experience.

Maria Sheridan