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General Internships Skills Team

The Festival of Sleep

The 3rd of January marks the Festival of Sleep, an unofficial calendar event that encourages everyone to rest after the busy holiday period.

Given this, and that it is a new year, I thought that it would be a good time to highlight the importance of sleep. More specifically, the role that sleeping plays in being a successful student. As well as giving you all some top tips on how to improve your sleep.

Ginger cat sleeping on a white bed.

Why is sleeping so important for your studies?

Here are 4 reasons why students should make getting a good night’s sleep a priority:

1. Sleep gives you energy

This is definitely the most obvious reason, but when we don’t get enough sleep, we don’t have enough energy to get through the day. In turn, we might not have enough energy to attend our lectures or study. If this happens frequently, then it’s easy to see how this could impact our academic performance as we would miss out on course content.

A person with their head down on a desk covered with open books.

2. Mental and Physical Health

Sleeping plays a vital part in our body and brain functioning properly. When we are deprived of our sleep, we are more at risk to both physical and mental illness (Norbury & Evans, 2018; Harvard Summer School, 2022). It is clear to see why this would also impact our studies. When you don’t feel the best in your body, you don’t always perform as well in day-to-day activities.

If you’re struggling with your mental health, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Mental Health and Wellbeing Team. You may also find our World Mental Health Day blog useful to see what help is available to you at the University.

3. Sleep effects your mood

Poor sleep also leaves us more likely to have low mood. This includes being more irritable and easily stressed (Harvard Medical School & WGBH Educational Foundation, 2007; Harvard Summer School, 2022). When studying, you need to be able to manage the stress that comes with your workload. This links back to your mental health as continually missing sleep will have a big impact on your mood and mental wellbeing.

A person looking stressed and holding their head in their hands while looking at their laptop.

4. Problem solving

According to Cappello (2020), sleeping can improve our ability to solve problems and our critical thinking skills. Both of these skills are useful for our university studies.

5. Consolidation of memory

This is potentially one of the most important ways that sleep supports academic success. When we sleep, new information that we have learned in the day is consolidated and made into a solid memory (Harvard Medical School & WGBH Educational Foundation, 2007). When studying, you will learn a lot of new information on a daily basis. Getting the right amount of sleep, as well as revising, will help you to memorise what you have learnt (Cappello, 2020). This is best summarised below:

“When we sleep, brain oscillations help new vocabulary to become better integrated with our existing knowledge. This means that when we wake up, we have stronger and more useful memories of the new material.”

(Gaskell & Henderson, n.d.)

Improving your sleep

Given all the information above, you can see how sleep plays a big role in our studies. If we do not get the right amount of sleep or if it is poor quality, then there are negative consequences that we can be susceptible to. It is clear that we need to make sleeping one of our top priorities.

However, this is often easier said than done. Sometimes it can seem impossible to make good sleep a priority, especially when there are factors beyond our control that impact our sleep (Harvard Summer School, 2021). For example, your mattress may be poor quality, you may live in a noisy area or you may have pre-existing health conditions (Harvard Summer School, 2021). Unfortunately, there are a lot of factors that can stop us from getting the sleep that we need. But, there are still small steps that we can take to ensure we are doing the most that we can to get good quality sleep.

A white fluffy cat falling asleep while laying on a pet bed.

1. Know how much sleep you need

There is a lot of information online regarding how much rest we need. The recommended amount varies depending on your age group. According to Harvard Summer School (2021), people aged between 18-25 need 7-9 hours of sleep a day. With anything under 7 hours a night leaving us “chronically sleep deprived” (Norbury & Evans, 2018:2). While this may give us some guidance on how much sleep to get, it’s not specific to individuals.

While researching this blog, I found some advice that may help you find out how much sleep you need. All you need to do is ask yourself, ‘how long do I sleep for when I don’t have to get up?’ (Harvard Summer School, 2021). For example, on a weekend do you get a couple hours extra in bed than you do during the week?. This is a great way to start the the journey of making sleep one of your priorities.

2. Limit your caffeine intake

If you’re anything like me, you love a good brew throughout the day. I know that I usually have an extra coffee if I am feeling particularly tired and have low energy. But, consuming too much caffeine, especially near bedtime, can be detrimental to your sleep (National Health Service [NHS], 2021). It can be particularly bad if you get yourself into the routine of not being able to sleep, consuming caffeine to give you the energy you need and then not being able to sleep again. One way to combat this is to limit your caffeine intake or swap to decaffeinated beverages near bedtime (NHS, 2021).

Kermit drinking tea out of a glass mug via Giphy.

3. Be consistent

If you want to improve your sleep hygiene, you need to be consistent (Chandler, 2019). It’s not ideal to try and ‘catch-up’ on the rest that you have missed by sleeping for extended periods of time on a weekend or by napping (Harvard Summer School, 2021). Rather, you need to be consistent in your sleep routine, including when you go to bed and when you wake up. I know this isn’t always possible with the demands of your studies, work, family and student life, but you should at least try to make your sleep routine a priority.

4. Relax before bed

Part of every bedtime routine should be a wind-down period, where you relax before sleeping. Reading a good book or evening using an app for guided meditation are some ways that I like to unwind before sleeping. This time is important so that you can do something you enjoy and help you to forget about the stresses from your day. Don’t forget that you can always check out the Library’s Leisure Collection for your nighttime reading!

A child smiling while reading a book in a yellow armchair via Giphy.

Another way to help you see your bed as a relaxing space is to minimise what else you do in your bedroom (Harvard Summer School, 2021). This is particularly important for students that study and rest in one room. If this is the case, you need to be able to separate your space into work zone and a relaxation zone. Although it might seem comfortable to sit and do your studying in your bed, it is best that you use your desk as your work zone. You could also work in the Library if you live near campus or in a local coffee shop whenever possible so that your bedroom is solely a place for relaxation. You can read more about the importance of your study environment in our SkillsGuides.

5. Don’t forfeit your sleep

Sometimes you may feel like the only way you can keep up with the demands of your studies is by pulling an all-nighter (Harvard Summer School, 2021). Maybe you need to cram in some revision for an exam the next day or you have an essay deadline that is fast approaching. But, forfeiting your sleep is the last thing you want to do. As mentioned, sleeping is essential for strengthening your memory and recalling information, as well as being able to concentrate (Cappello, 2020). So, you actually need to get your rest before any form of examination.

Being able to manage your time is an extremely important skill for all students to learn. Hopefully, by planning your schedule, you won’t have to sacrifice your sleep to keep up with your studies. An easy way to start this is by looking at your modules and writing all your assignment deadlines and exam dates in your diary. That way, you know what you need to study for and focus on first. You can also plan the time you will spend on reading, revising, working and doing things you enjoy. In doing this, you should be able to avoid cramming in your revision last minute and staying up all night. To learn more about time management, check out our SkillsGuide for more tips.

A hand holding a stylus to write on a digital weekly planner on a tablet.

Catching your zzz’s

If you have learnt anything from this blog, it’s that sleeping is super important. Not only does it play a huge part in keeping us physically and mentally well, it also helps us succeed as students. So, make your sleep routine a priority this year.

Stitch wearing a onesie snuggling into bed with a teddy via Giphy.

For reference

Cappello, K. (2020) The Impact of Sleep on Learning and Memory [Blog post]. Chronobiology and Sleep Institute. 21 December. Available online: https://www.med.upenn.edu/csi/the-impact-of-sleep-on-learning-and-memory.html [Accessed 01/01/2023].

Chandler, D. (2019) Study: Better sleep habits lead to better college grades. MIT News, Internet Edition. 1 October. Available online: https://news.mit.edu/2019/better-sleep-better-grades-1001 [ Accessed 01/01/2023].

Gaskell, G. & Henderson, L. (n.d.) Sleep for a better education. Available online: https://www.york.ac.uk/research/impact/sleep-better-education/ [Accessed 01/01/2023].

Harvard Medical School & WGBH Educational Foundation (2007) Sleep, learning and memory. Available online: https://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/learning-memory [Accessed 01/01/2023].

Harvard Summer School (2021) Why you should make a good night’s sleep a priority [Blog post]. Harvard Summer School. 28 May. Available online: https://summer.harvard.edu/blog/why-you-should-make-a-good-nights-sleep-a-priority/ [Accessed 01/01/2023].

NHS (2021) Why am I tired all the time? Available online: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/sleep-and-tiredness/why-am-i-tired-all-the-time/ [Accessed 01/01/2023].

Norbury, R. & Evans, S. (2018) Time to think: Subjective sleep quality, trait anxiety and university start time. PsyArXiv. Available online: https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/9eaqr [Accessed 01/01/2023].

Categories
General Interns Internships

How the University Library is like the TARDIS

November 23rd marks Doctor Who Day. A day which celebrates when the iconic sci-fi show first aired in 1963.

You may be asking, “But what has Doctor Who got to do with the University Library?”.

Well, I know it seems a little bit random, but stick with me. As a Doctor Who fan, I couldn’t pass up on the chance to celebrate this day and I am always open to trying new things with the Library blog. So, that got me thinking, “How can I incorporate celebrating this day through the Library social media?”. As you may have guessed by the title of the blog, I came up with comparing the University Library to the TARDIS. As it seems, they actually have quite a lot in common, so let me tell you how!

A digital 2D drawing of the TARDIS which is on the left hand side. On the right hand side is the Brynmor Jones Library in a blue colour.

Comparing the TARDIS and the Brynmor Jones Library.

1. You can travel through time and space

The TARDIS is the Doctor’s method of travelling through time and space. It stands for ‘Time And Relative Dimension In Space” (BBC, 2014). The Doctor and their companions have been able to see different planets, the end of the world and so much more using this spacecraft.

Unfortunately, we don’t have that kind of technology, but we do have millions of resources in our collection. Using books, journals, archive material and more, staff, students and associate members are able to travel through space and time in their own way. Not in a physical sense, but in the ability to read and learn about our past and future. A little bit cringe, I know, but it’s true! The volume of sources available through the Library enable you to find information on anything you can think of throughout time and space.

A pile of five open books on top of a desk. Behind this are 4 more piles of closed books.

2. They’re dimensionally transcendental

One thing every character notes about the TARDIS when they first encounter it is that it is bigger on the inside than the outside. The same can definitely be said for the Brynmor Jones Library.

While you may look at the Library and think “it’s huge, how can it be any bigger?”, what you don’t see when you look at the exterior of the Library is the basement.

Below the Tower and the ground floor is the Library basement. Here you can find art, overstock books that are no longer in use, and old theses. It doesn’t stop there as you can also find the Hull collection, closed access material, closed journals, the South East Asia collection and so much more housed in the basement.

The Library basement. In the center of the image is a concrete floor and above there are 5 white lights along the walk way. Also above are metal vents. To each side of the concrete corridor are rows of white rolling shelves that are filled with books and other Library materials.

On my tour around the Library, I found that the basement was like an endless maze, with each room leading to another.

In addition to the physical space in the Library, we also have eBooks, access to eJournals and other online resources. Therefore, what you have access to through the Library is so much more than the 7 floors of the physical building.

It’s easy to say that like the Doctor’s TARDIS, the Library is bigger on the inside than the outside.

3. The inside

Due to the enormous size of the TARDIS interior, many episodes of the show have depicted the different rooms that you can find in the spacecraft. This includes bedrooms, gardens, storage, a wardrobe, a swimming pool and its very own library (BBC, 2014; The Doctor Who Site, n.d.). In most episodes, viewers can see the control room which is just behind the doors of the TARDIS.

An image of a metal swimming pool ladder attached to a concrete floor. The ladder is going into a clear, blue swimming pool.

Now, the Library doesn’t include a swimming pool, but one could argue that the Welcome Desk on the ground floor is our control room. Here the team work effortlessly to support students, staff and visitors in using the Library space, facilities and more. Similar to the control room in the TARDIS, the welcome desk and the other various staff offices that can be found in the Library are essential to its day-to-day running.

We also have many other rooms and areas that you may not have expected. There is an art gallery and The Cube, which holds our rare books. You can find the Library café, a Student Kitchen, Teaching Rooms, Philip Larkin’s office, conference rooms and the Reading Room. Students can also book group learning rooms for study.

The Library’s Art Gallery. The white walls are covered in framed artworks. On the floor there are two grey benches. At the end of the bench is a sculpture of a nude female form.

Access to these facilities is granted by your staff, student or associate membership and you will need your card to enter the Library. In a similar way, the TARDIS can only be entered by those with a key. However, the gallery and café are open to the public!

4. The 1960s influence

The exterior of the TARDIS is a Police Box from 1963 (BBC, 2014). The TARDIS is meant to be able to blend in with its environment. In 60s Britain, the TARDIS will have done so as Police Boxes were used as a way of contact before mobile phones and walkie-talkies (BBC, 2014). The TARDIS is still presented as a Police Box due to a fault.

The Brynmor Jones also has a sixties influence for its exterior. The original Library was built in the late 50s and officially opened in 1960. The Tower block extension was added to the Library in the late sixties. In 1967 it was renamed the Brynmor Jones Library after the University’s Vice-Chancellor at the time.

The Library has since been redeveloped to meet the needs of staff and students in the 21st Century. But, you can still see many of the Library’s original 60s features including the light-well on the First Floor and the skylight.

The First Floor of the Brynmor Jones Library in 1960. Students are sat at desks around the original lightwell. You can still find this in the Library today.

While the TARDIS was designed to blend into its surroundings, it is safe to say that the Library definitely does not. This place of study towers above all other buildings on campus and easily identified by all.

The exterior of the Brynmor Jones Library on a bright, clear day.

Conclusion

I hope you have enjoyed this little blog for Doctor Who Day, I certainly had fun writing it.

I will leave you with a Doctor Who quote to remind you just how great your University Library can be. Here you have access to the best sources and facilities for being successful in your academic learning and beyond.

“You want weapons? We’re in a library! Books! Best weapons in the world! This room’s the greatest arsenal we could have. Arm yourself!”- The Doctor David Tennant

The Doctor (David Tennant) from Doctor Who, ‘Silence in the Library’, Season 4, Episode 8.

For Reference

BBC (2014) A beginner’s guide to the TARDIS. Available online: https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/tardiscam/intro.shtml [Accessed 19/10/2022].

The Doctor Who Site (n.d.) TARDIS rooms. Available online: https://thedoctorwhosite.co.uk/tardis/rooms/ [Accessed 19/10/2022].


Find Jess’ other Library Blogs here:

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Interns Library insider

A Week at the Brynmor Jones Library

In July, the Brynmor Jones Library welcomed two work experience students from local schools. Sev and John both worked with staff for one week, and kindly agreed to tell us about their experiences.

Sev

My week at the Brynmor Jones Library started on Monday with a morning of induction and health and safety with Helen. During the week, I was shown a lot about how the library works.

I got a chance to work with the rare books collection in the Cube and created a display cabinet for the University Open Day. It was themed around tragedy and romance, with books including Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and D. H. Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers.

Sev’s ‘Tragedy and Romance’ rare book display

Between creating the display cabinet and researching the books used inside it, I got to work in Collections on the library database, and in the basement doing stocktaking. I was also in the Reading Room quite a lot doing available holds and KDL tagging.

Working with the rare books with Helen was my favourite part of the week!

John

This week at the University of Hull has been interesting and really enjoyable. When you mention a library, many people will have the image of a dull and boring place, but that’s not always the truth – some libraries go above and beyond to make it interesting and useful to all, and the Brynmor Jones Library is one of them.

I also started making a display case of some of the rare books, which I found really interesting. My theme being war, I picked out some of the most memorable and impactful books as a way to remember some of the wars that shaped our country.

John’s ‘Remembering War’ rare book display

The library staff were very nice and welcoming, and they kept me busy and engaged. It was fulfilling knowing that I was helping out.

This post is authored by Sev and John, two of our work experience students (July 2022).

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Internships

John Weightman my internship reflections

John Weightman

The halfway point of my internship journey

It is strange to think that I’m already halfway through my internship, it has been about 6 weeks since I joined the Library Skills Team. As you may remember from my first blog post when I first started, I was a mixture of nerves and excitement wandering where my internship journey would take me. It is always natural to be nervous I think when starting a job. Though it’s safe to say those nerves didn’t last that long working with such a friendly and welcoming team. 

Road, Travel, Winding, Road Trip, Landscape, Street

What have I been up to?

In the first week of my internship, we just had our basic training going through fire safety and things like that. We also met all the staff and I got to meet the other Interns. At first, there was not a whole lot to do but Lee my supervisor gave me an opportunity to write a few small sections for the staff Digital Skills course. I got to write about Fake News and how to avoid online scams like phishing. In addition to this Lee also recommended to me and my fellow interns some MOOCs (Massive open online courses). These courses are very useful and when I had any downtime while working, I took a look at them and enrolled in a couple of courses.

Digital Skills Course

Computer Boomer GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

So, that was pretty much my first couple of weeks, but things didn’t really get going till it came to adapting the study skills course for students. For this, I first looked through everything that was written for the staff digital skills course and considered what could be useful for students. Some aspects I could use and just change slightly for a student audience, and I found ways to adapt some of the material aimed at teachers to work for students. I also came up with my own ideas and what digital skills I felt were relevant to students.

Later I discussed with Lee how we were going to deliver the content for students. We both felt that students would probably not engage as much with the course the way it was presented on Canvas so, we had to go in a different direction. As I have experience blogging and Lee wanted to get more content published on the library blog, I suggested writing the course as a series of blog posts. Lee seemed very interested in the idea and we came up with the plan for a post each week throughout the year. This way it feels less like a course, and it makes it easier to digest all the content over a full year than over a few weeks. We decided to call it #TechItUpTuesday if you want to see the latest post, please check it out and feel free to give me any feedback you have.

Reflections

Confused Dog GIF by HIF Australia - Find & Share on GIPHY

I am very much enjoying the experience so far; I’ve got to meet some very nice and friendly people. As I am working remotely it has also been most helpful to have a half-hour call almost every day just to talk about things other than work. I have also got the chance to stretch my writing muscles particularly with all the posts I have queued up to write for the digital skills course. I am now anxiously looking forward to what the rest of my internship has in store.

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Internships

My Internship Progress – The Halfway Point

Joanna Rawnsley

I can’t believe it’s already October. It’s autumn which is my favourite time of year, Halloween is upon us, but more importantly, I’m halfway through my internship with the Skills Team.

Let’s Recap

I am creating a brand- new, Public Communications skills guide. One section is all about blogging (ironic isn’t it), because Public Communications are pieces of writing, or visuals like posters and infographics that are created for the public sphere. This guide will go into detail about everything students need to know for such assessments.

What I’ve learnt in the last 6 weeks

By researching what it means to write for the public and the different formats used, I’ve developed new writing techniques and learnt the many factors of what goes into these formats. I’ve realised that the language I use, and my vocabulary has broadened, because writing is a craft. The more you practice, the more skilled you become.

As well as my writing, my proofreading and editing techniques have also developed. These are crucial to me as an aspiring author/poet, but also a blogger. Even though I’ve now completed my masters in English and Creative Writing, I will always be striving to develop my writing and editing techniques and this internship is providing me with this experience.

Something I haven’t had experience in before was copywriting, but it is a career I have been contemplating. I’m thankful for having the opportunity to learn how to copywrite and develop this skill further. The research for the copy was extensive; going down numerous rabbit holes, but if my studies taught me anything, it’s that sometimes these rabbit holes can be fruitful. It just so happens this was the case as I’ve now completed the copy for the guide.

The best is yet to come

With the copy completed, it’s time to build the skills guide. Helping with its construction and design were optional to me, but I want to make the most of the time I have working here. Learning how to design a website and how to use HTML coding is an area I’ve been wanting to get into. After completing my internship, I am looking at working in marketing and/or social media and having some web design expertise will make my applications stand out.

To sum it all up

In the last 6 weeks, I have become more confident in myself and my capabilities whilst gaining expertise in areas that will help me in my future career. A lot can happen in 6 weeks, so who knows what I’ll write about in my final update come November.

Here’s another autumnal image, because it’s pretty. There’s really no other reason for it being here.

Right, back to work for now!

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Internships

Intern life so far

David Moore

David Moore

The Journey so far – this is the sixth week and halfway through my journey as Visual Design Intern.  The experience has been enlightening, eye-opening and fun to experience the work environment.  I have not just sat at my home computer; I have also experienced the office life twice.  This is very new but familiar as I was also a student that visited the library.  As an Intern, I have seen different aspects of the library such as where the staff work.

These two work styles are very different from my experience with working from home I gain access to my software and a familiar atmosphere.  The downside to this is face to face contact which is now slowly getting back to some normality.  The one thing that I have found helpful is the daily meetings.  These help me start and motivate my day and helps me practice using a camera and teams. 

Within this time, I have gained a clear understanding of my role which is to help the other Interns design images and videos.  This is for the Skills Guide and Digi skills.  Creating images, I used PowerPoint and their icons.  To create these icons I changed their size, colour and merged them together to create simple images.  For the videos, these are instructive videos on how to create blogs, magazine articles, letters, opinion pieces and wikis.

Conclusion

In conclusion to my journey so far, I would say I have gained valuable experience and knowledge to move forward and carry on with my journey.

So, bring on the next six weeks.

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Internships

What does customer engagement mean to me?

Codey McShane

Codey McShane

Hi again, it’s me, Codey, and I’m back with an update on the progress of my internship. Last time I mentioned that I’m the Customer Engagement and Communication intern, and I talked a little bit about what customer engagement broadly means. Now that it’s been a few weeks I’ve had a chance to dig into the role and figure out exactly what customer engagement is, why it’s so important, and how I can take that information away and produce something insightful and interesting by the end of my internship. I’m going to share some of what I’ve been up to with you all, and my thoughts throughout the process.

What is customer engagement?

One of my first tasks was to do some research into the ways that other academic institutions consider how best to engage with their customers. They do this by creating a Customer Engagement Strategy (CES), a plan of action regarding how they can ensure their service understands and meets the needs of their customers. Customer engagement is also about communication, because how else can they know exactly what the customer wants?

Why is it important?

There are many more aspects that make up customer engagement – inclusivity and accessibility, marketing, feedback and setting expectations – but suffice to say, it encompasses so much and that’s part of why it’s so important. Having excellent engagement with our customers means that they’re getting the most out of all that the library has to offer and increases their trust that the library will continue in providing excellent resources.

What have I been doing to try to improve the library’s customer engagement?

After doing some research into other institutions’ customer engagement strategies and plans, I delivered that information in a meeting to the library’s CES team, highlighting similarities and differences between theirs and ours. I identified a lot of common themes and some interesting stuff that was missing, and I think that information will really help shape the library’s strategy for the better. Part of the reason for my specific internship existing is that as a previous student at the University of Hull, I was a customer of the library, and potentially have some fresh insights into what it means to engage with a customer.

As a result of that feedback, you can now find the library’s Customer Engagement and Communication Strategy online on our website and see for yourself the commitment the library has made to provide excellent support to students, staff, and the general public.

Another interesting thing I’ve been working on is user testing of the library’s website. It’s increasingly important to have a robust online presence currently, and ensuring that the library’s online content is useful, easy to use and not hidden away is vital. We recently hosted a user testing session where a first-year student helped us to see exactly how a user interacts with our website, and because of that amazing feedback we’re already planning to improve parts of the site. It’s important to the library that we’re able to see our content through the eyes of a customer, to make sure what is being produced is effective.

What am I doing next?

So far, I’ve got more user testing sessions planned, which should hopefully give us a nice range of feedback from which to improve the library website. I’m also beginning the process of delivering some information directly to customers in the form of a skills-guide or blog post.

That’s all for now – hopefully that’s been interesting and I’m looking forward to my next internship blog post where I’ll be reflecting on the internship and will have some more stuff that I’ve delivered to present to you all. See you next time!

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Internships

Introducing: David Moore

Travelling through the up and downs of my journey as an intern

Where to begin …….

David Moore

It all started last year at the end of my degree finishing Entertainment and Games Design in which I gained a 2:2. This is where I learnt my creative flare and learnt to level up my skills.  Then my journey hit a roadblock where I could not expand my horizon and lost my motivation and due to the lockdown did not know which way to turn.

Looking beyond the horizon I looked at LinkedIn for connections and contacts regarding opportunities and Udemy to make sure my skills with other tools did not fade and learnt new skills.  One day whilst looking through LinkedIn I saw an opportunity called Humberside Internship Programme (HIP).  After a few weeks and many conversations, I received an email inviting me on an internship.  I felt in disbelief and delighted to have been invited.

So that journey pressed forward…

So, first week arrives and I am introduced to the Skills Team and the project I would be working on. This was exciting but nervous.  Throughout the talks I felt that my head was going to explode with the information, websites and steps to take forward.  With the help of Lee and the other members of staff and interns it showed me a guiding light into the unknown and this has been a good learning curve for me.

In this internship my title is Visual Design Intern.  My focus is to look at the skills guide and create a more welcoming and easier experience to this website for the user.  This includes: 

  • Opportunities to add rich media (animations, quizzes, videos and so on)
  • Supporting the others to enhance their work with media

At my journeys end…

I would have enhanced the skill guide with rich media and gained experience in the working environment and working within a team. This experience would give me confidence to move on to the next adventure and hopefully many more experiences to come.

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Internships

Library Internships

The University Library is happy to be hosting four internships, providing four of our recent graduates with paid work experience. Our interns all started 23rd August and will be working with us for 12 weeks. They will be delivering defined projects, and we look forward to the energy and enthusiasm they will bring.

You can find out more about our new interns via our new University Library Blog over this week. Each of our interns have written an article to introduce themselves. Here is the publication schedule:

Tuesday: Codey McShane – Customer Engagement & Communications Intern 

Wednesday: David Moore – Visual Design Intern

Thursday: Jo Rawnsley – SkillsGuide Intern

Friday: John Weightman – DigiSkills Intern