My name is Zuzanna and I'm currently an intern at postgraduate admissions department through the InternPlus scheme at the University of Aberdeen. Simultaneously I am also a second-year student studying for a joint degree in Business Management and International Relations.
After hearing about the InternPlus Programme for the first time, I immediately knew it would be a perfect opportunity for developing and improving my professional skills during my studies and for gaining relevant experience for my future career. The internship offers me a totally flexible schedule which allows me to smoothly juggle work along with my studies. My role as an intern at the Postgraduate Admissions includes performing research into the feasibility of introducing a deposit scheme in the admissions process. The role requires of me an analysis of high volume of qualitative and quantitative data along with its presentation, and interpretation. At the end of my internship, I will be able to provide relevant insight into whether the postgraduate admissions should and could introduce a deposit scheme, allowing me to make a mark there and leave with a feeling that I have conducted a relevant piece of research that will make a change.
My onboarding process was divided between meetings online and in person. My first day induction took place in person, face to face with my manager. I also had a meeting online with other Interns within the programme, which gave me an opportunity to discuss our first impressions and shared experiences. The first week was exciting as I encountered lots of new tasks, a new desk, fresh faces, and lots of new names I could not possibly remember. Fortunately, during my first week, I was invited to a coffee and cake for one of my colleague’s ‘leaving doo’. That was a wonderful opportunity to meet the team in a more of an informal way. I’m glad that I had an opportunity to meet the team in person, however building relationships online is equally important. Therefore, it’s essential to stay alert, have the camera on, actively engage as it helps to fit in more, builds relationships and leaves a good ‘professional’ impression. I work both at the office and from home. I really enjoy working in a ‘blended’ way as the office grants me more interaction with my colleagues and helps me fit into my new role, whereas working from home allows me to fully focus on my tasks and saves me time commuting. Since the beginning of the internship, managing time and organizing tasks was quite easy, as my manager has prepared a schedule with deadlines, so I knew of what needed to be done and when.
Among the key skills that I have learned so far are time management, learning online professional etiquette, analysing high volume of data and improving my communication and IT skills. I’m confident that the experience I have gained with the InternPlus Programme will be viewed as valuable by my future employer.
