Strategic Evaluation and Policy Intern Review

I’ve had a fantastic time at Cancer Research UK and would wholeheartedly recommend this internship scheme to anyone looking to gain experience and make contacts – not just for people with a science background, as there’s such a wide range of internships available. This is a wonderful organisation, full of passionate, dedicated and inspirational people, all working for an incredibly worthwhile cause.

I was involved in team meetings, team-building events and was given a lot of responsibility with my project.

We had regular catch-ups about my project and they were always available for informal chats if I ran into any difficulties.

I was very busy, but I was happy with this as I tend to be most efficient when I'm working to a deadline. There were a couple of times when deadlines seemed to all be coming at once, but this was mostly unavoidable. My managers regularly checked in to see if I was happy with my workload and offered to take on more of the work if I was struggling.

My responsibilities increased during my internship and I was trusted to lead on some great tasks.

I'm sure that the skills I've developed over these three months will have a very wide-ranging impact. I've particularly noticed how my project management skills have increased as I've learned to prioritise my tasks and plan my workload; I can feel myself constantly becoming more efficient and I'm sure I'll take that skill forward during my Masters year and in any future roles.

My departments had a great balance: everyone worked very hard, but were so friendly and approachable. There were some departmental team-building events which the interns were invited to and were a great way of getting to know the team.

The internship was very well-organised, with defined timelines for personal development reviews and a clear management structure. It felt like this was a well-established programme and that a lot of time and effort had gone into its organisation.

We had a thorough induction at the start which was very helpful in getting to know how the organisation functions as a whole. The CV/applications workshop and the 1:1 CV appointment was a great opportunity too.

There is an intern alumni group on LinkedIn, where job vacancies are regularly posted. It seems like there are quite a few past interns with permanent jobs at CRUK.

Interns regularly met for lunch and for after-work drinks; there were also regular internal events organised by groups of interns.

London is obviously quite expensive, but having lived here as a student for three years I think I've got quite used to searching out the cheapest places - so don't let it put you off!

Angel isn't the cheapest area but it's very easy to get to other places in London. There really is something for everyone!

There are regular opportunities to get involved with other fundraising activities. As I have a part-time job I haven't been able to be involved with many activities, but I was an extra in a TV ad for CRUK which was really fun.