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Working Globally from NI: My INTO Queen’s Internship

Queen's student on laptop in One Elmwood staircase
Student researching the "Working Globally from NI" programme

Queen’s student Claire McGurk completed an internship with INTO Queen’s as part of the Working Globally from NI programme. Read how she got on and apply here.


The global organisation felt like a family 

INTO QUB is part of a wider worldwide network, with many similar education centres across the world. It provides a stepping stone for students to attain the qualifications necessary for university, with classes delivered in a similar format to those in university. INTO also assists international students to develop their English language ability before commencing university. To me, INTO QUB has the same friendly atmosphere and community feeling as a school. As well as achieving academic goals, the students were provided with many opportunities to socialise and develop friendships. 

I boosted my CV 

The application process for the internship made me focus on improving my CV and developing my interview skills. This will be of great assistance when applying for placements next year in Spain. Ciaran McMullan in the Placement Office was particularly helpful and gave me some great tips on improving my CV.

I gained office experience

I gained useful experience of what an office based workplace will be like once I graduate from university. Key to this was regular communication with team members, with daily meetings and clarification of the tasks I was to complete. Of particular value was the regular use of Excel and Canva, allowing me to increase my skills in the practical use of these packages. Above all, I was made to feel very welcome and was given structured tasks to complete with both clear direction in advance and helpful feedback upon completion. I was very lucky to have had Ciara Murray as my mentor, as well as working alongside Javlan and Sulekchya. 

I got hands-on experience

 One of my main tasks during my internship was to organise a Graduation Reception for all the INTO students graduating from QUB this year. I drew up and issued the invitations; sourced and ordered decorations, food and merchandise for the event. We got a strong turnout, and everyone had a great day. It was clear that for the graduates, their time in INTO had been a key part of their QUB experience. I was really impressed with the teachers and the student support services staff. It was clear that there was a strong bond between the students and their teachers and support staff at INTO.

The work was fun

I was also fortunate to take part in in several other events at the centre, including a poster presentation day; bingo; a campus tour and a garden party. I really enjoyed working on a script for a ‘Day in the life’.

Joining INTO as an intern for a month was a very positive experience and I am grateful to both INTO and to the Global Opportunities Team for this fantastic opportunity. 

To find out more about Working Globally from NI. 

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Inside My Marketing Internship with Mourne Dew Distillery

Distillery

Businesses Management student Rosie Alexander completed a virtual internship with Mourne Dew Distillery as part of our Working Globally from NI programme. Here is how she got on. 

In June, I started a marketing internship with the local spirits company Mourne Dew. I was excited to get started as I knew the experience was going to be insightful and beneficial. As a first-year student, this opportunity has afforded me the ability to discover where my passions lie and gain experience in an area in which I have an interest.

Researching the company

Before beginning my internship, I was impressed to learn about the story of Mourne Dew and the multi-award winning gins, whiskeys, vodkas and poitíns they produce. Based in Warrenpoint, Mourne Dew is inspired by the essence of the Mournes, infusing their drinks with botanical flavours to create a unique taste. I was really interested in this company due to their values of tradition and pride for the island of Ireland, as well as their commitment to quality. Working for an up-and-coming local company interested me greatly and I was excited to be gaining some insight into the marketing side of things.

My first campaign

The majority of my internship has been remote as I live quite far from the distillery. In my first week, I was introduced to the team and learnt about the different projects Mourne Dew have been working on. I got stuck in with tasks such as finding new accounts, working on current campaigns, such as the Fathers’ Day competition and communicating with partners to help promote Mourne Dew’s products. I was especially interested in social media marketing and took charge of the LinkedIn account. This responsibility allowed me to be creative and I really enjoyed thinking up different campaigns and posts. Another task that interested me was looking into the distillery’s international presence, as they are beginning to expand into Europe, the USA and Asia. It was exciting to progress on international plans as I could see the business’ growth.

On the road

A few times I got to go on the road with Neil Fleming, the Sales and Marketing Executive. This allowed me to see how sales and distribution works and I enjoyed meeting Mourne Dew’s contacts. It was great to see the products physically and I learned so much about how a small but growing business is run. I especially enjoyed our sales pitch at the Northern Lights Bar, as I was able to find out a lot about the different types of drinks that Mourne Dew produces and what makes them so unique.

Visiting the distillery

In addition, I was able to visit the distillery itself in Warrenpoint. It was fascinating to watch the distillation process of the gins, vodkas, whiskeys and poitíns, and I loved smelling all the botanical ingredients that infuse the drinks. It was interesting to see that each batch is made by a recipe by hand, and each part of the process, from distilling to bottling and packaging, happens in the one place. It was also lovely to meet all the team, including Donal and Noel (the owners), Lydia (who does social media and photography) and Donal and Tag (who work in the production process). I also met the other intern Claire, who I had been working with remotely for 3 weeks of my internship.

An amazing insight

Working with Neil these past 4 weeks has been invaluable, and I have learned so much about both marketing and how a local distillery is run. I have thoroughly enjoyed every second of this internship and would encourage anyone considering a programme like this to go for it! It has truly solidified my future vision of working in marketing and I have made some friends and connections along the way. I have gained amazing experience and insight and will miss my time at Mourne Dew greatly.

Apply for Working Globally from NI. Find more internship and work experience opportunities, visit MyFuture.

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Queen’s intern abroad designs award-winning fire fighters’ helmet

Sean, Florian, and Professor Cai wearing different prototype firefighter helmets.

Imagine you’re a firefighter entering a burning building. The room is so thick with smoke that you can’t see. How do you know which way to turn? This was the challenge set for Queen’s Electrical and Electronic Engineering graduate Sean Hackett before he helped design an award-winning fire fighters’ helmet that tells the wearer which way to turn with a simple buzz to the left or right of the head.  

As an IAESTE (International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience intern), Sean is enjoying a year placement as an intern at the Visual Intelligence Studio in Carnegie Mellon University in the USA, where he is part of a research team exploring a safer communication tool for firefighters. 

Under Senior Systems Scientist Dr. Yang Cai, the ‘Haptic Helmet’ prototype conceived by Sean’s team won the award for “most commercially viable” at the NIST Haptic Interface for Public Safety Challenge. The contest assessed the use of virtual reality environments as a development tool for creating safety technologies. 

As part of the project, Sean and the team travelled to Denver, Colorado for live demos in a fire fighting training facility. This practical experience allowed them to understand how firefighters navigate unfamiliar paths through burned buildings filled with smoke and noise.

Sean said: “The experience of interacting with real-life firefighters and working independently on solutions has been very interesting for me.”

The prototype helmet

Dr Yang said: “We encourage engineers to find simple solutions that work in the real world. “Although I give them instructions to guide and get them started, I also encourage them to use their own knowledge and experiment because in the real world there is no textbook that tells you what to do and engineers have to work on a lot of problem-solving”.

Along with Dr Yang, Sean and the team worked to develop technology that successfully improves firefighter’s safety and efficiency of in the most challenging and hazardous environments.

Sean with fellow intern Florian Alber

During his internship, Sean has also been helping edit a research paper for presentation on “Indo-Navigation and Fire Fighters Activity Recognition”. 

Dr Yang commented: “Students and participants from western Europe have a brilliant work ethic. Together, they produce research papers and work on innovative solutions, adding value to the lab. Some European interns have great writing style in addition to other talents and that is monumental when it comes to writing and editing research papers for conferences, which is great additional help.”

Sean works on drone projects for public safety alongside a fellow researcher

According to Sean, it wasn’t hard settling into the new environment thanks to the immense support offered at the lab. “Of course, it’s challenging to be away from friends, family, and home. It takes a little while for the initial adjustment of the processes and procedures but once that is done, it’s pretty smooth sailing.”

Sean and Florian check out the Grand Canyon

The year stateside has also given Sean the opportunity to experience American culture and interact with people from diverse backgrounds, participate in social activities and enjoy American adventure and sports.

To find out more about IAESTE internships, visit https://iaeste.org/open_internships

More about Sean’s research

To discover more work and study abroad programmes, visit our Global Opportunities page