we have just completed our busiest summer yet. We had more than double the number of interns we have had any previous summer, and this is looking to be the case for the majority of our intakes going forward
Tell us a bit about your role and how it supports the business?
As Head of Experiential Learning and Placements, I lead our internships team and oversee the pairing of students with employment opportunities across London whilst they are undertaking their semester abroad. On top of this, I’m always looking to grow and develop our experiential based learning programmes by growing our relationship with existing partner universities, onboarding new partners and agencies, as well as looking at how we can help independent students to benefit from our programmes.
What has been your career highlight to date?
Without a doubt, it has to be overseeing the launch of our virtual internships programme. At a time when we were all spending months on end working from living rooms, bedrooms and spare bedrooms, it was extremely rewarding to not only diversify what we offer as an organisation, but to also still be able to help hundreds of students to gain invaluable work experience for when they graduate.
If you were not working in this sector what other industry would you have pursued a career in?
Education has always been my passion, which I studied at university with the plan of becoming a primary school teacher. However, if I was not in this field, another passion of mine is true crime (solving it, of course!) and I would have loved to work in this field see if it’s everything the Netflix documentaries make it out to be!
What are the emerging trends within your sector and have these changed since Covid-19?
Across the board, we are seeing more students than ever before look to us for support with issues related to their mental health and wellbeing. From speaking to many of our partners (both academic and employment), this seems to be an ongoing emerging trend across student and colleague populations, which is accelerating post-pandemic. Whilst of course it’s not a nice trend to be seeing, it’s reassuring to know that so many organisations are working together on finding new ways to support people.
Covid-19 has had a huge impact on our industry, what is the one thing that you have learnt personally or professionally during this time?
I think the one thing we as an organisation have really learned and developed over the last two and a bit years is our ability to think on our feet and be more adaptable as teams, partners and as a business as a whole.
What is your crystal ball forecasts for the period ahead and how quickly do you think your business can recover from the pandemic?
For AES, and the placements department specifically, we have just completed our busiest summer yet. We had more than double the number of interns we have had any previous summer, and this is looking to be the case for the majority of our intakes going forward. As travel has been extremely limited for the past couple of years, I think everyone is now taking advantage of the opportunity again and realising it’s importance.
What would you say our biggest challenges and opportunities are as an industry currently?
As an industry, students now more than ever expect their study abroad experiences to be so much more than just classes and working. As providers, we need to work hard to ensure we maximise their entire time in country and curate the best possible experiences whilst they are here including the educational, working, cultural and social aspects of a semester abroad.
How do you think Covid-19 will change our industry (if at all)?
After a prolonged period of being stuck at home and being unable to travel, Covid 19 has heightened and amplified the importance of being able to travel and being able to experience new cultures and opportunities – as shown by our record intake numbers this summer!
Find out more about BETA member Anglo Educational Services here
Published 01 November 2022
