3 reasons why you should consider applying to an on-campus internship right now

By Charis Gormley , MEng Biomedical Engineering Student and Student Employability & Careers Intern

As a student, on-campus internships have always intrigued me as a unique way to engage with university life, while developing key skills and gaining valuable experience. I'm in my fourth year studying Biomedical Engineering, and this semester, I've also been one of the Student Employability & Careers Interns in the College of Science & Engineering, focusing on student voice and events.

It's been an enriching experience, professionally and personally, so here’s a few reasons why you should consider applying to a role.

Developing my skills

Throughout my university experience, I've gotten to experience being a home student, living on campus, completing a year abroad in Canada and being a member of several student societies. Having a broad base of experience is one of the factors that initially attracted me to applying for my internship as I feel I've had experiences that are relatable to many students.

Since starting the role, a lot of my work has involved the collection of student opinion. I've spoken to students across the College about their views on careers and employability to inform the College’s decisions for improvements in this area. This has been really informative as a student and has also given me experience in planning events, writing reports and more. I’ve been able to develop essential transferable skills in a professional role that’s related to Engineering but also involves work that’s varied and applicable to any other industry.

In addition to Engineering, I've always been interested in content creation and marketing. By working with other student interns, I've been able to learn and apply relevant skills in this area and help develop and participate in the creation of social media content.

Developing my career thinking

I'm someone who has never been completely sure on the direction of my future career. I've always been interested in lots or fields both academically and personally and believe having a wide range of interests and skillsets is extremely useful. I think university is a time where you should utilise the opportunity to learn new skills and gain diverse opportunities due to the benefits that this has across all areas of life.

By engaging in this internship, I've learnt so much about the work and multidisciplinary approach that goes into careers and employability at UofG and gained valuable insights from this. I've been able to invest in learning about my interests including social media and provide a student perspective to how student voice can be amplified and utilised when making decisions. By diversifying my skills I have learned the importance of collaborative and multidisciplinary work, this is something I would hope to apply to a future roles in engineering where collaboration and human centred design is important.

Getting practical careers and employability insight

Although I used the Internship Hub to apply for this job and previously attended careers fairs, working in the careers and employability team has exposed me to the opportunities available within the University.

Through speaking to other students about careers and employability I've considered my own opinion in the area and utilised the tools and resources available to learn more about careers and employability from an engineering perspective. This has included improving the structure of my CV and LinkedIn and applying application and interview tips.

Final thoughts

My time as an intern so far has been a really valuable experience. I've been able to gain professional experience while studying for my degree and learn skills in a new field. I'd recommend an on-campus internship to any student looking to gain experience and to utilise the opportunity to work and explore a new field and follow their interests during their time at university even if they vary from their degree.

Other resources

Our Finding Internships Masterclass: Join our last Finding Internships Masterclass of the 2023-24 academic year to learn about various opportunities and how to find them

Our Internship Hub: Browse paid on-campus and local internships

"What it's like to be a student intern at the University of Glasgow": Read about the experiences of our past student interns

"How you can leverage the skills from your degree and beyond to enter a new industry": Read our intern Kate Allan's advice on how to use your skills to explore new areas