NTU Graduate Internship Scheme “drives innovation and efficiency”
Nottingham Trent University (NTU)’s annual Graduate Internship Scheme connects businesses from across the UK with recent graduates seeking to implement their academic theory and employability skills.
Previously the scheme has provided fully funded support for businesses over 6-12 weeks, with many choosing to extend beyond this period to continue working with the exceptional talent of their intern.
An interview with CBIT
In 2023, Nottingham Business School’s Centre for Business and Industry Transformation (CBIT) - who cultivate industry transformation by supporting innovative start-ups and entrepreneurs, bringing together transformative research, practice, and education – discovered the Graduate Internship Scheme through the employability team, and were keen to get involved in fostering the talent of the future. They took on two graduates from the School of Science and Technology and Nottingham School of Art and Design, taking on the roles of Full Stack Engineer and Graphic Design / Content Creator.
We have engaged with graduates in the past and have consistently been impressed by the fresh perspectives and contemporary skills they bring to our business. Their energy and eagerness to contribute positively impact our team dynamics and productivity.
(Georgi Iliev, Venture and Product Development Manager, CBIT).
The project
“The initial phase was primarily about onboarding and integration into our teams. Both graduates quickly adapted to their roles, showing remarkable initiative and commitment to their projects.
The WordPress developer focused on website development and optimization, while the Graphic Designer worked on creating a suite of marketing materials including templates, logos, and brochures that supported our marketing efforts.” (Georgi Iliev, Venture and Product Development Manager, CBIT).
After the successful initial weeks, CBIT decided to extend the internships to ensure that the interns could complete their projects. In addition to this they took on additional responsibilities and collaborated with additional departments within the business.
The impact
The graduates bring with them value – with benefits beyond the scheme. Their ideas can lead to long term improvement to processes and offerings, that in turn lead to growth and innovation. The scheme significantly benefitted CBIT’s business by enabling the interns to add new skills and perspectives to current projects. This led to an increase in traffic and user engagement, along with an increase in success rates for marketing campaigns.
We plan to continue participating in the Graduate Internship Scheme. We are also considering offering permanent roles to exceptional interns, as their contributions have become integral to our operations.
(Georgi Iliev, Venture and Product Development Manager, CBIT).
Get involved
Applications are now closed to take part in the 2024 edition of the Graduate Internship Scheme, however if you are interested in taking part in future cohorts please get in touch via grad.internship@ntu.ac.uk.
