Intern Blog
Meet Alastair, our intern Research Consultant, and follow his progress as he spends a year with theIDLgroup finding out what life as an International Development Consultant is all about. To find out more about our internship scheme, or other opportunities with us, click the links to the left.
Name: Alastair Stewart
Job Title: Research Consultant
Qualifications: MSc Agriculture and Development (University of Reading), BA (Hons) Politics with International Relations (Lancaster University)
Country Experience: Participatory field research in Northern Tanzania, Communications Advisor for NGO in India, Youth Worker for Christian Aid in UK with field visit to Nicaragua.
January 2012
The potential this internship offers to enhance technical and project management experience was a major reason for applying to theIDLgroup, so it has been reassuring to see that the company is willing to invest in training and development. Within weeks of joining I had attended a proposal writing course and upon return in the New Year I was introduced to the intriguing world of GIS.
To win the interesting assignments in developing countries the company has to be able to write responsive, compliant, competitive and distinctive proposals. Like many application processes, there is an art to writing a successful bid and this two day workshop explored the blend of thoughtful planning, confident selling, attention to detail and lateral thinking that all contribute to creating a winning proposal. By the end of the course we were brimming with ideas to use in forthcoming proposals; from little tricks that make big differences to the organisation’s approach to the proposal writing process.
GIS (geographic information systems) is a software program that I never got to use during my degree so I jumped at the chance to get involved in an introductory training session. The one day workshop included some GIS theory, how and where to find compatible data, setting up an associated database and how to construct maps from the data collected. One project I am currently working on is exploring the transfer of agricultural technologies for which we are using GIS to visualise how certain technologies have spread within and across countries. The training was a great way to better understand how GIS can be used in the work we do and I can now appreciate how these maps are made and contribute more effectively to the project team.
So, at the end of month two I’m feeling a little wiser and the training section of my CV is looking a little longer. Both courses have been interesting and enlightening and I look forward to putting the new skills leant to good use. I’m sure there will be more courses to come so I’ll remember to mention in future blogs. Next month I’ll be writing about what it has been like moving to Bristol and what I’ve been up to outside of the work routine.
December 2011
Internships. They have been discussed frequently in the media of late. Type it into guardian.co.uk and you get a plethora of abuse about no wages, zero progression and slave labour. Type it into the jobs site and there are plentiful opportunities in said unrewarding activities. So naturally, upon graduating from my MSc at the University of Reading, friends and family were apprehensive about my plans to start an internship at theIDLgroup. I convinced them that this was the perfect opportunity to expand my experience in a sector that I was passionate about; truth be told I was a little nervous myself. Despite promises in the interview that this wasn’t a dogsbody internship I secretly feared being presented with a pair of marigold gloves and a toilet brush upon signing the contract.
So, I’m now a month in and those gloves have not, as yet, been left subtly on my desk. The first two weeks were packed full of in-depth inductions about the company’s history and future plans, the staff, the inner workings of a consultancy and how to work the coffee machine (for my own cup of coffee, not the whole offices’). As soon as this deluge of information settled I was ready to start and have been involved in numerous and varied tasks, including attending a training workshop on proposal writing, participating in the set-up of a project investigating strategies for facilitating agricultural technology transfers across countries in Africa, developing capacity statements and enjoying the social side of office life with the Christmas party and welcome drinks.
I am working in the Rural Growth and Livelihood Security Portfolio as it is relevant to my interest and qualifications in rural development, sustainable agriculture, livelihoods and climate change adaptation. I will explain more about the role of a Research Consultant intern in future blog entries as well as updates on training, travel and life in Bristol. The idea of this blog is to create a better understanding of what it is like to be an intern at theIDLgroup and to be used as a reference point for people interested in applying to the internship in the future.
My decision to join theIDLgroup on the internship scheme was based on the potential to access a variety of opportunities in a sector related to my studies, build my experience in both technical and project management skills and gain the essential experience needed for a career in international development. Being a paid internship there is no need to live off exasperated family for a year, another important factor in making my decision. theIDLgroup’s record of keeping interns on as full-time staff is also a welcome indication that this internship is not viewed by the company as an excuse to exploit cheap labour but as a way of training up young development specialists that want to stay with the company. It is early days but the signs are good so far; I’ve been made to feel a part of the team, trusted with responsibilities and attended training workshops and there is much more planned for the New Year.