Internship at Tyndall is built on the vision of nurturing our students of STEAM to the next phase of their career. Students of STEAM encompass many areas and we welcome those seeking careers in science communication, marketing and other professional services.
Internships are one of the first steps many young students and graduates take to developing their careers.
We caught up with recent interns Rebecca Quinlan (Tyndall marketing intern) and Sorcha MacManamon (ESA Space Solutions Centre Ireland intern) to hear what they had to say about their internship experience.
View our current marketing internship vacancies here.
.jpg)
Marketing Intern,
Tyndall National Institute.
Tell us about yourself
My name is Rebecca, but everyone calls me Becky! I am a very friendly and outgoing individual. I have a passion for helping and communicating with others and I adore everything STEAM related! I studied in UCC and have a BSc in Microbiology, an MSc in Management and Marketing and a PG Cert in Biopharma processing.
The main reason I decided to study science as an undergrad was to help give people a better quality of life by researching and manufacturing biotherapeutics to treat disease. People rely so heavily on science for daily life and I wanted to be a part of new discoveries to help treat patients. In addition to this, I chose to study my MSc to ultimately marry these two industries together, to help companies pitch ideas to investors, and help secure funding for new exciting projects.
As I have a passion for STEAM and communications, I have also been involved in a lot of outreach activities and participated as a scientific communicator at different events to help promote STEAM activities and educate kids.
Tyndall’s Marketing internship was unique, and it really allowed me to put my two passions of science and marketing together. It was the perfect blend of science and the arts! An easy win-win for me!
Tell us about your role at Tyndall?
I had the amazing opportunity to work as a Marketing and Communications intern working alongside many experts in the Marcom and Commercial team. My internship was held virtually but the team was always there to make sure I was never alone and lend a hand when I needed help. I had many incredible opportunities which allowed me to showcase my creative ideas and skills. Most recently I was involved in the Postgraduate Publication of the Year competition which involved varied tasks from landing page development, photoshoots, collaboration with students and staff, content creation and an organic social media campaign across four social platforms; Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
My work varied each day which I really enjoyed as I had the opportunity to gain experience in a wide range of areas, in such a short period of time. Some of my daily tasks included but were not limited to; social media management and engagement, market research, comms planning for content pipeline, content creation, media production, reporting, digital strategy, email marketing, keyword research, SEO and so much more!
My work also involved a lot of collaboration within the Marcom team and internally across Tyndall as well as assisting the centres within Tyndall. I also participated in the Tyndall’s Sports and Social Committee where I got to meet more people from Tyndall and build new connections.
I loved everything my internship had to offer. The team were friendly, helpful and were always open to listen to my ideas for new content strategies
What motivated you to apply for an internship with Tyndall?
At the time I was searching for a new challenge and experience which married my passions for science and marketing. I had previously been working in the e-commerce industry and wanted to gain more experience in the science or biopharma industry. At the time there were not many companies offering in-person internships due to COVID-19, but not many were involved in virtual internships either. I knew I wanted to gain relevant experience in the scientific industry, and I needed to find some way to achieve this goal.
I had seen on social that Tyndall was looking for a Marketing intern for a virtual internship and thought wow, it must be fate speaking! I am a big believer that everything happens for a reason and thought this would be a great opportunity for me to gain relevant experience for what I want to do in the future, and it would be the perfect stepping stone!
I had also worked for Tyndall in the past as a summer science intern working in the advanced Microbial Surfaces group. I remember loving Tyndall’s vision and values and thought they aligned well with my personal values and reflected a workplace I would love to work in.
What surprised you the most about your internship?
Due to the pandemic, my internship was carried out virtually online. As I love talking to people I was worried I would be working on my own and not get the chance to meet new people. I was surprised at how friendly everyone was and how they wanted to take the time to get to know me personally. I had many wonderful coffee catch ups with my team and also other amazing people who were willing to help me with anything I needed which I really appreciated. Everyone was so kind and I was surprised at how I still managed to get to know so many people through virtual coffee meetings and calls.
How did you develop personally and professionally during the internship?
The team really gave me freedom and responsibility to work on projects on my own, try new things, and challenge myself. They treated me like a real working professional and gave me tasks they knew would challenge me and help me become a better marketer and build valuable transferrable skills I can use further in my life.
I had the chance to work on my own to deliver results and solutions to any problems I faced. Tyndall is like one big family who want the very best for their students, and staff will help you in any way they can in both your personal and professional life.
I also had the chance to practice my soft skills during presentations. I had the amazing opportunity to present my results from my campaign at a meeting with senior management and Tyndall’s CEO. I was very excited to present and so grateful my team had so much faith in me to be able to present in front of many important people on Marcom successes.
I had also never had relevant scientific communication experience and this internship will help me stand out against others in my field who may be looking for the same opportunities as me.
Do you have any advice for future interns?
Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself and make things happen. If you know you want to achieve something for yourself, don’t be scared to take the first step at getting there. Go out and seek what you want. Spend your time doing things you love to do or want to do. Sometimes our biggest enemies are ourselves when we say we can’t or shouldn’t do things.
Furthermore, do what you want to do in life not what people expect you to do or should do. It’s okay to change career. Don’t be afraid to try new things after college. You don’t have to stay in one job or the degree you graduate with in the end. If you feel something is for you, go try it. You have nothing to lose, only to gain more knowledge, skills and you grow as a person! Trust in yourself and the process.
.jpg)
ESA Space Solutions Centre Ireland Intern,
Tyndall National Institute
Tell us about yourself
I am an Astrophysics graduate of UCC and I am currently studying a two year Masters programme. The first year of my Masters was in Luleå University of Technology, in the Arctic Circle studying Space and Atmospheric Science. I am about to start my second year of the Masters programme, which will be in Toulouse in France, where I will study Astrophysics and Planetology.
Tell us about your role at Tyndall?
My main role this summer has been working with ESA Space Solutions Centre Ireland. As part of this role, I have collected and curated content for the new ESA SSCI website, which will be going live in the coming weeks. I have been in touch with the ESA BIC and ESA TTD companies regularly and have gathered data regarding their progress after joining the various ESA SSCI programmes.
As a postgraduate intern for the Commercial Team, I have been conducting Market Research for opportunities in which Tyndall’s Testing facilities can expand further into the Irish Space Industry. I also expanded this research out into Europe, to find potential clients for the Component Testing here in Tyndall.
What motivated you to apply for an internship with Tyndall?
I was unable to travel home throughout my first year of my masters in Sweden due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, I was excited to return to Cork for the summer. I applied to the ESA Space Solutions Centre and, Tyndall as I was eager to learn more about the work that ESA Space Solutions Ireland carried out here in Cork and further afield around the country. I had completed an internship in Tyndall previously (a scientific one) and was excited to learn more about different aspects of Tyndall.
What surprised you the most about your internship?
Due to the pandemic, I knew that my internship would be carried out remotely and so I wasn’t expecting to get to know anyone through the internship. I was surprised at how I still managed to get to know the team through weekly virtual coffee meetings and calls/meetings. The weekly coffee meetings were a lovely way to chat to members of the team I wasn’t directly working with and gave me the opportunity to get to know them a little bit. I thoroughly enjoyed the coffee meetings every week.
How did you develop personally and professionally during the internship?
Before this internship, I had no previous exposure to the business/marketing sector. I have very much enjoyed learning about this sector and hearing how business/marketing people conduct their meetings/business. I feel my exposure to the business sector during this internship will definitely stand to me in my future career.
Do you have any advice for future interns?
Write everything down so you can track what you’ve done, it’s easy to forget what you’ve achieved along the way. Give it your all!