About Myself
My name is Elena, I graduated from the University of Salford in 2023 with a 1st in BSc Geography. My interests were mainly focused on sustainability and development. My dissertation was titled “Ukrainian preconceptions versus the lived reality of life in North Wales”, I chose this topic because I am interested in engaging with communities and hearing about what issues affect them most, something which I think has helped me in this internship.
Why did I apply to the job?
I applied for the internship after one of my course mates who is working as the Graduate Sustainability Communications and Engagement Officer in the Sustainability Office suggested it would be a good experience. Since graduating I had been working at the British Red Cross and was looking to work somewhere where I would be able to use my degree and gain some real working experience of sustainability.
My Role
Prior to starting, I didn’t realise the amount of work that the sustainability team is involved with, from working to decarbonise the university, working with academics to embed sustainability into teaching, collaborating with Salford Rangers and Salford Museum and Art Gallery, to championing multiple sustainability campaigns such as Plastic Free and Hedgehog Friendly Campus.
As a communications/campaigns assistant my day-to day activities differed depending on what campaigns were happening. My typical responsibilities in the early weeks when our ‘Go Green Salford’ Campaign was taking place was to take part in and facilitate the events, as well as getting content to be used on multiple social media platforms. I have had the opportunity to represent the sustainability team by doing presentations both online and in person to students and staff, which has really helped me to develop my public speaking skills, communication, and the ability to engage an audience. Additionally, I have been involved in the planning and delivery of Hedgehog Awareness Week and Plastic Free July, so have seen the inner workings of co-ordinating a timetable of activities and liaising with relevant stakeholders to make sure everything is organised.
Another part of my role has been working alongside the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Officer, on developing a framework and collating case studies of successful implementation of ESD into programmes and modules across the university. This was interesting as it allowed me to learn about something totally new and get stuck into it straight away. This work also looks at the role of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and where they fall into the three pillars of sustainability, so it was a good opportunity to bring knowledge from my degree to the work I was doing.
My favourite part of the internship
My favourite part of the internship has undoubtedly been the team I have worked with. Working in a relatively small team who are all so committed to what they do and have extensive knowledge in their area has been inspiring. All the team have been amazing at sharing their knowledge with me and encouraging me to get involved with their projects. Equally because it is a relatively small team, I was given the opportunity to try new things. For example, prior to the internship I had no social media or engagement experience, but as the internship progressed, I realised I enjoyed trying to engage people on social media and get across the teams’ messages. On the social media I was able to try creating reels on uos_sustain for the first time, something which I ended up really enjoying!
Being able to use my initiative has meant that I have also been able to write and create multiple communication materials such as blog posts, infographics and contributing towards the monthly sustainability newsletters. I also found that I really enjoyed engaging with people in person, whether that be with students on stalls, or with community members on litter picks. One activity I particularly enjoyed was presenting at a local primary school about our Hedgehog Friendly Campus Accreditation, it was great to see so many school children so engaged and who already knew so much!
I also got the chance to take part in multiple professional development opportunities. Over the course of the internship, I completed Carbon Literacy training and completed an AQA Summer Tree Identification course. I also was able to use LinkedIn Learning to complete several courses to further my knowledge of things like scope emissions, and ESG (Environmental, social and governance). The internship also offered a lot of variety in my day-to day work. I was able to attend litter picks in Peel Park and Media City, attend accessible communications workshops, sustainability summits in Manchester and Lancaster, and attend the Green Flag Awards in York.
Working next door to the Old Fire Station Bakery was a perk too!
My future career prospects
I have secured a job with GMCA (Greater Manchester Combined Authority), where I will be seconded to Bury Council as a Graduate Regeneration Officer and will also be completing a Master’s degree in Urban Regeneration and Development. I am really looking forward to being able to pursue my interests in development and looking at how real-life change can be made in Greater Manchester. This internship has confirmed to me that it is an exciting time to be in Greater Manchester as it is increasingly becoming a hub for growth and innovation. Securing this job was made possible due the support I received from the Careers Service throughout my internship, and also all of the opportunities that the Sustainability Office has provided me with!