eNHANCING SKILLS
OUR CONTRIBUTION
- We encourage students from all disciplines to apply for our internships, as a chance to gain ‘real world’ experience and additional transferable skills outside the Higher Education sector.
- Our students bring their academic knowledge and research skills to your project to make a difference.
- We have sponsored successful opportunities for our students in a range of diverse sectors. Examples include internships and placements with BT, Unilever, Defra, Microsoft Research, Amazon, Genomics England, the Cabinet Office, Department for International Trade, Cambridge City Council, Newsec, and the UN.
- Doctoral students and post-docs in industry work on real industrial problems such as: data standards, ethics, barriers to technology adoption, behavioural changes, corporate culture, AI, cyber security, ageing society, etc.
- Placements can be one to six months, part time or full time.
- There is no cost to participating organisations.
RECENT WORK
AVIVA
Our collaborative research project with Aviva supports its ‘Building Future Communities’ initiative, seeking to protect homes, businesses and communities from the effects of extreme weather. Together we are exploring the Built, Natural and Social environments that will impact the immediate future, as well as in 5 and 10 years time.
GLAXOSMITHKLINE
GSK uses decision and modelling science to understand the wider Healthcare industry. One of its projects with Cambridge Grand Challenges students was to validate a Discrete Event Simulation model, aimed at estimating the capacity for new oral research on how to expand and enhance an existing model for GSK’s vital R&D asset pipeline.
HEATHROW AIRPORT
Our students worked with Heathrow’s Learning and Development team to determine wide trends and patterns associated with learning in the workplace. During the course of the project, the team was additionally tasked with reporting on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on workplace learning.
ADVANCED MOBILITY UNIT
Our collaboration explored the value of quantum computing for application in smart cities, looking into future transport systems in dynamic commuting communities. From the initial workshop, the company was able to derive a list of potential projects and research to enable further collaboration with Cambridge Grand Challenges.
WHY DO an internship?
Working with our collaborative partners our placement students benefit with valuable experience and new transferable skills
LEADERSHIP AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
- Learn new skills and add to your knowledge base while gaining confidence in your abilities
- Opportunity to practice communication and teamwork skills
- Gain industry knowledge first-hand from an organisation and professionals
- Provide evidence that you have initiative, are reliable, and have a sense of responsibility
- Achieve a sense of accomplishment by contributing to an organisation
NETWORKING
- Diversity – You can be working with people of all ages, educations and backgrounds (in university, you and your classmates are studying the same degree, you’re probably of a similar age and hold similar ambitions)
- Meet new people and practice networking skills while establishing a network of professional contacts, mentors, and references
CAREER EXPLORATION
- Learn about a career field from the inside and decide if this is the right career field for you
- Learn how to use different ways of communication in commercial organisations
- Work alongside a professional in your chosen career area
- Open the door to advice for the next steps to take on your career path
- Prepare 3rd year PhD students for the ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowships as part of the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF)
RESUME ENHANCEMENTS
- Gain valuable experience and accomplishments to add to your resume and/or enhance your application to a job
- Apply some of the ideas learned in your PhD and provide a bridge between student and the professional world
- Create an advantage over other job applicants
- Potential for a full time job offer at the end of the internship based on your performance
TIPS 101: PLANNNG YOUR PROJECT
- Using your academic knowledge in a commercial environment
