Programming, web development and data forensics at the 2022 Digital Interns at presentation evening

19 August 22

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As the end of August rolled around, the sixth Discover Digital Summer Internship drew to a close with a packed presentation evening to showcase the projects the interns had been working on.

At this year's presentation evening we heard what our interns had been up to at their summer placements, ranging from marketing projects, programming and web development, data reporting and learning about data forensics. The placement companies this year, Cortex, Resolution IT, First Central Group, PwC, Deloitte, EY Channel Islands and the Digital Greenhouse included the nine interns on projects designed to give a real sense of what working day-to-day in the digital sector can be like.

We first heard from Will Dereham who has spent the summer working in the advisory team at PwC, learning about how to optimise prioritisation to create value in his work and sharpening his programming and web development skills.

Secondly, Evelyn Stevens shared the marketing project she has been leading at the Digital Greenhouse, generating awareness for the memberships on offer with a series of member interviews in multiple media formats that are housed on the website, and learning how to use editing programmes to create videos to be shared on the DGH social channels.

Next Cortex's intern Samantha Preece presented her work on Seahorse - a time management system in Blazer. She worked on data reports for various business functions, like time and client management. Learning how to write efficient code, debugging it and writing in c-sharp. Samantha's biggest takeaway was learning how to use programming skills in a professional environment and in client relations.

William Stoddart interned at Deloitte, building his programming skills in VBA (visual basic for applications) courses and learning about cyber incident response. While working on business evaluation sheets, William also coded new output sheets to share the data without affecting formatting. In the later weeks of his internship, William had been learning about cyber incident response, shadowing a first responder from the UK and studying digital forensic data collection tools.

Lastly, we heard from Callum Wood, who had been working at First Central Group with two other interns Jared and Xavier on a team management platform and trying to improve its user experience in Azure. Callum shared his work on the wireframes and the coding process using visual studio and the collaborative sprints that the team has been on. His greatest takeaways were the coding expertise and the experience of working in a team.

Please keep reading for a snippet of the day-to-day life of 2022's Discover Digital Interns and their experiences on this programme below.

A day in the life of an intern

Jared Sarchet

Placement Company: First Central Group

What does the day in the life of a Digital Intern look like?

At the start of the week, we would sit down and plan what task would be tackled that week, how this would be done and how long it would take. then we would start work on the tasks.

What have you been working on during your internship?

I worked on improving a webpage used by agents in the call centres to help and improve their experience with the page and improve their productivity

What skills have you developed during your placement?

I have developed a basic understanding of HTML and JavaScript coding languages.

Has the internship helped you with future career choices?

This internship has definitely helped with future career choices as I now have experience in this industry and I now know what I do and don't enjoy about this line of work.

Lastly, what would you say to students looking to take part in the 2023 internship?

I would highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in a career in the digital area.

Evelyn Stevens

Placement Company: The Digital Greenhouse

What does a day in the life of an intern look like?
A day at the Digital Greenhouse for me was always different depending on what stage of the marketing campaign I was working on. I have spent days speaking to members, filming interviews, creating and editing videos and writing articles.

What have you been working on during your internship?
During my internship, I have been working on interviewing different members about how they use the space and what made them decide to join the Digital Greenhouse. I have then taken these interviews and cut them down into short videos and added graphics and background music to them, this makes them more interesting to watch. This is all part of an awareness campaign that the DGH has put together with me.

Which skills have you developed during the placement?
During my placement at the Digital Greenhouse, I have developed my skills in a range of Adobe platforms including Premiere Pro, After Effects and Illustrator. I have also had the chance to work on my social skills in a professional workplace. Gaining the confidence to talk to many of the members that come and go from the space.

Has the internship helped you with future career choices?
This internship has really helped me be able to pinpoint what I want to achieve in the future. I have had the opportunity to speak with a range of different people who all have different jobs and it has really led me to find some interesting careers. Not only have I found out about different careers through members but the people I have been working with over the 6 weeks. From them, I have been able to see all their individual work come together to create the media and programmes that are posted online and on social media.

Lastly, what would you say to students looking to take part in the 2023 internship?
For students looking to take part in the internship next year, I would tell them to go into it with an open mind and be ready to learn new things, share ideas and be themselves!

Ewan Sarchet

Placement Company: Resolution IT

What does the day in the life of a Digital Intern look like?

Every day was different but most days I would be on a computer researching and testing different software. Occasionally I would sit in on different meetings to get an understanding of how working at the company would be.

What have you been working on during your internship?

I have evaluated 5 different software programmes for the deployment of 3rd party software updates.

What skills have you developed during your placement?

Communication, organisation, teamwork

Has the internship helped you with future career choices?

Yes. The internship provided a great insight into what working in IT would be like.

Lastly, what would you say to students looking to take part in the 2023 internship?

If you're considering IT as a potential career path then this is a great opportunity to learn more about what working in the area is actually like.

Samantha Preece

Placement Company: Cortex

What does the day in the life of a Digital Intern look like?

Development of reports using Blazor.

What have you been working on during your internship?

I was assigned to develop the reporting section of Seahorse, a billing and time-management system. I have been working on the development of dynamic reports based on time entries, which can be used by clients during meetings.

What skills have you developed during your placement?

I have developed skills in efficient, maintainable code writing, especially in C# which I had not worked with previously. I have also learned to think from the viewpoint of a user, determining potential requirements for the software.

Has the internship helped you with future career choices?

Participating in the internship has confirmed my decision to pursue a career in software development.

Lastly, what would you say to students looking to take part in the 2023 internship?

I would encourage anyone considering this opportunity to take it. It is a great experience and allows you to understand how your skills translate into a real-world environment.

Callum Wood

Placement Company: First Central Group

What does the day in the life of a Digital Intern look like?

Usually, the day will begin with a short discussion about what tasks we plan on doing that day. We then begin working on these tasks making sure to review each other's work throughout. Often we will have meetings throughout the day to plan future tasks, discuss ideas and review our current progress.

What have you been working on during your internship?

During this internship, we have been working on redesigning and improving the agent portal to make it more efficient and manageable. This was mainly done by recoding or adding code to existing areas of the portal.

What skills have you developed during your placement?

During the placement, my skills in using technology have developed. Having had no prior experience with coding I feel I now have a moderate understanding of the different coding languages and how to use them. Another skill I have developed during this internship is planning. Before beginning the project we extensively planned out how we would execute each task and what the final product would look like. This meant that when we began working on the project the process ran smoothly. and efficiently.

Has the internship helped you with future career choices?

This internship has definitely helped me with my future career choices. My aim is to work in the graphic design industry so the digital skills I have learnt as well as frequently presenting ideas and outcomes will be very useful for this career path.

Lastly, what would you say to students looking to take part in the 2023 internship?

This internship is a great opportunity to experience what it's like to work in a specific industry and work on a meaningful and exciting project. This internship provides valuable skills that will be very useful for your future career path.

Will Dereham

Placement Company: PwC

What does the day in the life of a Digital Intern look like?

Anything from writing code for a prototype, discussing solutions with other members of the team, to meeting with partners and directors to pitch my ideas and develop buy-in.

What have you been working on during your internship?

I have been designing and developing a prototype for a cloud-based application to generate highly customisable financial reports. I have also met with leaders from all areas of the firm and learned more about many areas of business.

What skills have you developed during your placement?

I have increased my skills in identifying the requirements of a solution, and prioritisation of tasks in order to maximise output. I have developed my web development skills and knowledge of web technologies.

Has the internship helped you with future career choices?

It has given me a sense of what working in the professional services industry would be like, and shown me how this links to technology. It will also be a valuable experience to put on my CV and talk about when I apply to universities and future jobs.

Lastly, what would you say to students looking to take part in the 2023 internship?

After a great first year, I was very happy to come back for a second year. It's a great way to earn some money while learning lots and having a good time. I recommend it to anyone interested in technology.

William Stoddart

Placement Company: Deloitte

What does the day in the life of a Digital Intern look like?

Working as an equal member of the team regardless of being 'the intern'. Being given tasks that develop core skills required for business & being included and participating on projects even if the time at the business is short-lived.

What have you been working on during your internship?

Digital Forensics, Cyber Incident Response, Programming, Presentation making, Plenty of researching

What skills have you developed during your placement?

Further development of skills in MS Powerpoint & Excel. I have also learnt a new skill in basic programming, something that I would want to expand my knowledge on.

Has the internship helped you with future career choices?

Yes, it has opened up an insight into a line of work that I could see myself going into in the future.

Lastly, what would you say to students looking to take part in the 2023 internship?

Even if you're unsure if you have the skill level required, you should have the confidence to give the internship scheme a shot as it is a rare opportunity that will provide more benefits than you could anticipate.