Getting Career Ready: Interview with our Summer Intern, Jannat

We’re joined by Jannat, RoukenBio’s Summer Intern. During her internship, Jannat worked in our BioAnalytical team alongside one of our Senior Study Scientists, Rhiannon Williams. The four-week internship is part of the Career Ready program, aiming to develop Jannat’s skills, experience, and confidence for her future science career. We sat down with Jannat and Rhiannon to reflect on her time here at RoukenBio. 

Jannat spent most of her time in the lab shadowing, as her internship was split between our BioAnalytical and Scientific Support teams. She also did a variety of health and safety training, preparing her for working in a real-life industry lab.

“I have spent my last week here watching an ADCC reporter assay. If I’m not in the lab, I am at my desk working on my presentation and logbook, as well as my CV.”

Jannat’s multi-faceted internship has allowed her to take part in a variety of different tasks and projects here at RoukenBio, but her favourite part of the internship?

“I think my favourite part was actually working with the people at RoukenBio, everyone here was really sweet. Being in the lab, even if I was just shadowing people, it was fun. You could talk to everyone; everyone is really nice and it was fun and interesting getting to know them as both scientists and people.”

Developing Your Skill Set

Taking part in an internship allows young people to improve and expand their skill set, both in and out of the lab. We asked Jannat what skills she had developed over the course of her internship:

“Oh, definitely communication, I couldn't do that before. Also networking - I was so nervous that I wouldn’t be able to speak to anyone or find common ground, but everyone has a common interest in science, so that was a good starting off point. Then after this, speaking to so many different people there was so many things we had in common that weren’t science or work-related. Problem solving skills are also something that I’ve really improved, which is something I normally struggle with. I did that through independently finding stuff and learning stuff and trying to figure out what to do.”

A new skill Jannat has gained through her internship is skills within IT.

“I had to remake a graph in Excel so many times because it wouldn’t give me the correct output of information. I then went to someone else in the team who showed me what to do, and now I think I have a pretty good eye for it compared to before I started the internship.”

Internships are a valuable learning experience, especially for students and young people, as they are gaining real-world, hands-on experience that they would not gain in school. Internships also allow the interns to see the real-world impact that their contributions can have.

“I think in school, I wouldn’t be as challenged to really think about something for myself, because you can just ask a teacher. Here, of course you can still ask people, but you're more encouraged to find the answer independently.”

We asked Jannat what the biggest challenge was in the internship:

“The work itself was challenging, but in a good way. I had the correct level of work to push me, but I wouldn’t be asked to do something that was way beyond my skill set. I think the most challenging part was trying to remember all the required reading and everyone’s names! But once I got that, I got to do so many fun things!”

The practical experience of working life that internships provide often have a significant impact upon the interns, and can influence their career path. This can happen either by solidifying their future career choices through a positive similar experience, or by leading them to think about different career options they hadn’t previously considered. Jannat noted that after spending more time in the lab, the most interesting thing that she found was discussing the RoukenBio team’s choices of university subject and journeys to their current roles.

“Before I came here, I was so stuck on the idea that you just do one degree and that’s it, you don’t stem into anything else, but I think now that I've spent time here, I would prefer to go into a more research, lab-based role. Originally, I wanted to study medicine and now I know that there's a bunch more degree options, more applied science subjects I can do instead of just sticking to one. And after this internship I'm pretty sure I will probably go into a more applied science role.“

Becoming a Mentor

Rhiannon, how did you find mentoring?

“I really enjoyed it. I think for me, because I'm so used to the complex data-driven environment of being a scientist, it was a lot of learning for me and adapting my communication style to support Jannat who maybe didn't have the same level of STEM exposure. So is has been a good growth opportunity for me.”

What was the best part about the mentorship opportunity?

“It was rewarding to be able to show that side of science that people probably don't think about, the time management and the problem solving skills, because a lot of work in science is just sitting down with people, planning things, brainstorming and coming up with decisions for the next experiment. And that is the kind of transferable skills that I think Jannat will probably take away from the internship more than even the lab skills. It's been a really enjoyable experience, and I think that if we want to get more people into stem from different backgrounds, we have to make it more accessible and the mentoring programme is a good step into that.”

Now of course Jannat will have learned from her mentor Rhiannon, but we wanted to know what Rhiannon has learned from Jannat.

“I think again, it's the communication skills. I've learned it’s really important to prioritise actively listening to people, and not just assuming what kind of support they need. We don't give young people enough credit for how adaptable and determined they are if they are given that right environment, and so I think it's been a good reminder of how much potential young people have.  I also think for me this leadership experience will allow me to excel in my own career, both as a scientist and a line manager.”

Career Ready Programme

Jannat took part in her internship as a part of the Career Ready Internship Programme. The programme aims to support young people in their transition from education into the workforce through an 18-month mentoring programme, a paid internship and skills masterclasses.

Jannat - "I think the Career Ready Internship Programme was a good opportunity to take because it helped to clear up a lot of questions I had on things I wasn't sure of, and to define more clearly what I wanted to do. I think the master classes were quite helpful and having a mentor was quite helpful as well because I've never one before. It was good to have someone to go to if I had an issue, even if the issue was not related to the programme. So I would definitely recommend the experience, I really enjoyed it."

Rhiannon - "I think it’s a very well thought out, impactful programme. It's there to bridge that gap between education and the workplace for people that don't necessarily have industry or network connections and give them the opportunity to speak to people. I know when I was in school and thinking about going to university, I looked at STEM careers and they did seem really intimidating from the outside. So I think Career Ready is a really good programme that gives students that opportunity and the confidence and connections to make those decisions for the future. I think it's really fulfilling as a mentor, and the programme is a good investment for both young people in the future and businesses. The programme is creating a group of people that are a bit more confident in what they're going into and more sure of what they're doing."