Name of Student: Lucy
Job Title: Research Field Assistant
Description of Organisation:
The Centre for Ecology and Conservation (CEC) at the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus in Cornwall is a world-leading hub for research and education in ecology, conservation, evolution, zoology, behaviour, microbiology and marine science.
What was your biggest achievement on your internship?
After spending time shadowing my line manager, I was trusted to handle eggs, chicks and adult birds. It was a huge confidence boost to be trusted with the most precious element of the research, which involved animal handling. This was in addition to my main duties.
Were there any challenges and how did you overcome these?
Pacing myself was my most notable challenge as the physical work was hard going and I needed time to recover. To overcome this challenge I needed to be brutally honest with myself and then my line manager in order to meet my commitments throughout the whole field season. By reducing my work to 1 day per week, I was able to sustain my internship from April – June.
Would you recommend this internship scheme to other students?
Yes I would definitely recommend the A2i scheme to other eligible students.
If you would like to find out more about the A2i scheme, you can contact the team via a2i@exeter.ac.uk. You can also visit the student and employer facing webpages here.