My name is Dorian Stoyanov, and I am a Computing Science student at the University of Aberdeen. Over the summer I have been working as a Student Intern at the Grants Academy, responsible for assisting my team in multiple tasks.
Applications Process
The application process felt like a road with multiple opportunities, to be honest. I applied for a couple of positions that were relatively similar. From all the interviews, I put the most effort for the Grants Academy’s, as I love research and thought that the experience I could get there might be useful for my future career path as a research enthusiast. Luckily, I got accepted.
Pro Tip: When applying, be honest about your experience and make sure that when you think of activities you have undertaken, you are able to see the skills that you have acquired. Make sure to check what are the qualifications and if your profile matches them.
The interview was supposed to be in person; however, I could not come for in-person and I liked how flexible the recruitment process was. I met some of my colleagues and they seemed lovely, and we ‘clicked’. After a week I received the positive news and waited for a month to get my introduction to the internship and meet my team, finally, in person.
Internship overall
The first week was stressful since I did not know what to expect. I met my line manager and we discussed how the internship was to proceed. The internship consisted of two stages:
- Grants Academy infographics and the Library of Successful Applications
- The SafePod and the SafePod Network
During the week I needed to familiarize myself with the Grants Academy and their projects and trust me when I say that the team has plenty of them.
Pro Tip: Relax, the first week is introductory. It certainly could be stressful to adapt. Also, if you think that your internship is taking long to begin, it is because your line manager is kind enough to not put pressure on you during the first week.
Infographics
During the second week, I commenced the infographics creation, using Canva. I needed to have several meetings with my line manager and the Communications team.
I liaised with a person who was kind enough to walk me through the process of my internship and what to expect. Infographics need to be visually pleasing, but there is also the question of how you make it accessible. How to make it easy to read and not dense in text?
My experience as a researcher assistant, making STEM studies more accessible came into practice. I also installed a different software to format some items, as the free version of Canva is not ideal.
Also, I thought I would be finished by week 6 for the infographics, but our team works with the Agile framework and every day you work on a different task.
Eventually, I ended up with two versions: a leaflet (6 pages), and a poster. Honestly, it was my most favourite task, as I am passionate about graphic design and I love working with data analysis (I needed to analyse and extract the best data to promote the activities of the Grants Academy).
Library of Successful Applications
Our team stores a Library of successful grant applications from UKRI centres. I asked multiple staff members from the University and created two databases:
1) Academic staff I have contacted (to keep track of whom I should reach up to next)
2) Responses and the Library of successful applications
Pro Tip: It is summertime, which means that a lot of staff members are on leave. Waiting could be slightly nerve-wracking.
Overall I managed to improve the Library of successful applications by 35% or, in other words, 35 more approvals. I learnt to redact sensitive data using Adobe Acrobat Pro, and to communicate with different groups of people and improved my writing and organisational skills.
Safepod and the SafePod Network
Lastly, I needed to familiarise myself with the SafePod facility that is to be built on campus. (A SafePod is a safe setting that provides the security and controls for data that requires secure access for research.) With the SafePod you can access The SafePod Network and then access Data centres.
I compiled a database consisting of the Data Centres and their datasets and the category.
I also created a Python program to make my life easier and to place the data in the database. I tried web scrapping and learnt more about APIs, also that you should be careful when dealing with sensitive information.
Pro Tip: Think how you could make the most out of your internship. For instance, I did not need to use Python, nor learn more about APIs, but did my best to be efficient.
For the Safe Pod Network and the SafePod I needed to create a questionnaire using SNAP. The questionnaire software was slightly difficult to navigate but I learnt my way around it. This is important for my future career path, as research fields usually use questionnaires.
My team was great, I genuinely enjoyed my experience working for the Grants Academy. Everyone was fun to work with. I loved how our team used the AGILE framework, and I was not bored.
Everything was flexible and I needed to adapt. Also, I got a free gym membership, so I really cannot complain.
I also learnt that I could be productive and not procrastinate as much, working in an office. It gives me the pressure to be as productive as my colleagues.
To all the people that want to apply, trust me it’s worth it!
Any questions, feel free to reach out to me: u17ds20@abdn.ac.uk
