Students at the School of Economics are able to engage with a range of internship activities while studying at the University of Sheffield. This year, the School of Economics funded five students as they completed their work experience at a variety of companies and institutions, including the Chartered Institute of Housing, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and Which?.
Allegresse completed her internship with National Energy Action (NEA), a charity that works to end fuel poverty. She had the following to say:
“My project looked at how fuel poverty links to economic growth and how different energy policies might affect both. The work was a nice mix of research and real-world policy. I learnt how to take what I know from my economics degree and apply it to a social issue that has a direct impact on people’s lives.
One part I really enjoyed was seeing how wide the effects of fuel poverty are. It’s not just about people’s bills, it ties into health, education, and productivity too. That made me realise how important it is to think about the bigger picture when talking about economics and policy.”
But it’s not just our students who benefit from our funded-internship scheme. NEA feedback “Having a student intern over the summer helped us expand our skills base in an area where we currently have limited resource. Allegresse approached every task with enthusiasm and produced work of great quality.”
Madina completed her internship with the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH). “The internship centred on producing a research paper on Shared Ownership, examining the tenure’s history, policy rationale, and eligibility rules, while also assessing affordability and accessibility for different groups”, she told us.
“A particularly rewarding aspect was the chance to engage directly with housing providers and sector experts whose work I had previously only encountered in academic literature. Through this process, I developed skills in conducting interviews, strengthened my data analysis abilities and advanced my research practice.”
Madina received equally excellent feedback as the CIH had the following to say. “We very much enjoyed having a student intern… The internship programme is an excellent opportunity that allows students to experience working environments, and to be exposed to potential new sectors and workplaces.”
While our students get settled in for their next year of study, we look forward to seeing what opportunities they take advantage of over the coming months.
