During the summer, I had the amazing opportunity to work on a two-month research internship at the School of Psychology as part oftheir commitments towards the Athena Swan Charter, which promotes the values of inclusion and equality in universities all over the country. The study I conducted, with the supervision of Dr Clare Sutherland, focused on understanding how we can better support women in senior leadership positions, while gaining better knowledge on what measures can be taken to better encourage more women into these senior leadership roles.
During the internship, I gained an array of research skills such as learning the precautions a study needs to consider to be approved by ethics, effective ways to recruit participants, and how to ensure participants feel comfortable in an interview setting to retrieve robust and reliable data. I also had the opportunity to work alongside two fellow interns, which I personally found very beneficial when it came to bouncing ideas off one another and reaching out for advice when I may have been unsure about something. In addition to this, I enjoyed being part of the EDI Committee Meetings at the School of Psychology and listening to the idea’s members of the school have to make it an inclusive environment for all.
This internship has been an incredible experience, and I would strongly encourage other students who may have an interest in research, or desire to learn more about it to put themselves forward to research internships that may be advertised in the future. I’m looking forward to building on the skills I gained from this internship in my fourth year and believe they will help me immensely when writing my thesis.
I would also like to thank the School of Psychology for the funding I was given to complete the internship, Dr Clare Sutherland for supervising me and giving valuable advice, and Simon O’Laocha and Elsa Anderson for being great colleagues turned friends!
Tyra will begin their fourth year of undergraduate studies in September 2023.
