Welcome back to day two of our “Where Are They Now?” blog series, where we catch up with our former Population Data Science interns to see where their journeys have taken them since their time with us.
Today, we will be catching up with Kellie and Rowan. Join us as we explore how their time with us has shaped their career paths and personal growth.
Kellie Robinson
What year did you join us as an intern?
I joined in the Population Data Science internship programme the summer of 2023.
Could you share a little bit about your internship and time with us?
During my summer internship, I worked with the Secure e Research Platform (SERP) DevOps team. I was then offered a part-time role with the team. After graduation, I became a full-time developer of the team.
What are the main skills or lessons you picked up during your internship?
Most valuably, I learned that it’s okay not to know what to do. It’s important to learn from others and ask for help.
What is your current job, and how did your internship play a role in you selecting this and securing it?
I was grateful to have secured a full-time position at Swansea with the SERP team at Population Data Science; if I hadn’t gotten the job shortly after graduation, I would have had to move back to Ireland, so I am very happy to have had the opportunity to stay in Swansea!
How did your internship help you grow as a person?
I became ‘okay’ with not knowing what to do and making mistakes. Ultimately, if you’re not uncomfortable, then you’re not learning!
What are your career aspirations/dreams for the future?
I do hope to do a PhD in Computational Linguistics at some point, but I’m not sure if that is a goal that will stay there. My dream is to work within the field in some capacity, though.
What advice would you offer to someone considering applying for an internship based on your experience and impact following the internship?
If you’re scared – that’s more of a reason to do it. You won’t see what you’re capable of until you force yourself to do things that scare you.
Rowan Dash
What year did you join us as an intern?
I joined Population Data Science as an intern in 2023.
Could you share a little bit about your internship and time with us?
I worked on several internal technical and development projects, mainly focussing on updating the CI/CD pipelines (automated builds and deployments of software). It was a great experience, working on the technical side of things and making real contributions.
How did your internship help shape the next steps in your academic and/or career journey?
I was lucky to have the opportunity to continue working in the same role part-time following my internship during my final year of study for my Software Engineering degree. It provided a great transition from university to professional work.
What are the main skills or lessons you picked up during your internship?
I picked up lots of practical skills and experience, including in DevOps, Kubernetes and Docker. I learned that, while having a set way to work and keeping things organised in a large organisation, it’s also useful to be able to be flexible.
What is your current job, and how did your internship play a role in you selecting this and securing it?
Following the completion of my degree, I have progressed to working full-time in a role with the same team I did my internship with, continuing to build on the projects and relationships I started during my internship.
How did your internship help you grow as a person?
I learnt valuable skills and gained experience working with a wonderful team whilst getting a proper introduction to the world of work – helping me grow both personally and professionally.
Have you stayed in touch with anyone from your internship? How has that helped you?
Staying in touch with several people has been really useful as I can reach out to ask questions on something that I’m working on and get really helpful advice.
What are your career aspirations/dreams for the future?
I’m still figuring out my long-term career aspirations and what I would potentially like to specialise in moving forward, but in terms of general life goals, I’d love to eventually get a cat.
What advice would you offer to someone considering applying for an internship based on your experience and impact following the internship?
I would say go for it and go with the flow. Everyone is really nice and supportive and the experience is well worth it.
For more information on our internship program and the latest news, visit our webpage.