Undergraduate Agricultural Coordinator Review

My day to day role included attending meetings with internal colleagues and external suppliers. Delivering projects on animal welfare, sourcing standards and sustainability across agriculture that aligned with Co-op's strategies. Organising Co-op's sponsorship of industry awards, agricultural shows and conferences, by liaising with external stakeholders. Going on farm to fork visits to learn more about Co-op's entire supply chain. Visiting Co-op farmers, attending farming group meetings and organising visits for the wider business.

Over my placement I have learnt and developed upon a wealth of skills. My presenting skills have strengthened through presenting projects to the wider business and chairing meetings. My organisational, project manaagement and time management skills have improved due to my need to balance different projects and meeting various deadlines. I have developed networking skills through attending and engaging in conversations at different industry events. Other skills I have further developed include teamwork, Office 365, research, decision making and marketing.

Yes, I was given lots of responsibility throughout the course of y placement, in both my typical day to day role and larger projects. I undertook multiple projects where I had full responsibility over the work and outcomes, including retailer benchmarking, colleague upskilling, website updates, sourcing standards, and an undergraduate project. Some day to day responsibilities included organising meetings, running the marketing side, providing industry updates and summarising legislation changes. This allowed me to improve my self-confidence, presenting skills, project management, teamwork and communication skills.

Throughout my placement I received a lot of support. My team were good at letting me take on my own projects and responsibilities, but would provide me with support whenever I asked, or when they thought I needed guidance. I was never too scared to ask for help and everyone was always willing to lend a hand or listen to my ideas. I very often asked for feedback on projects and work that I did, which everyone was always willing to do.

The atmosphere in Co-op was always very welcoming and friendly. Everyone was willing to lend a helping hand, tell you more about their roles and invite you along to visits.

I enjoyed my placement thoroughly during my time at Co-op. I was able to get involved with so much personally and professionally and never felt like a burden or just a placement student.

Yes

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