September 14, 2023, by Arts Placements

Lakeside Arts Creative Placement Programme

Written by Lauren Cawkwell Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature internship blog

Following my first year studying BA (Hons) Music at the University of Nottingham, I worked as a Communications Assistant Intern with Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature (NUCoL).   The five week placement, organised through the Lakeside Arts Creative Placement Programme ran during June and July 2023.  It is a programme aimed at students from underrepresented groups.

I was honoured to have been given this incredible opportunity and privilege working within the global organisation of UNESCO. This has honestly been an absolutely fantastic experience, working alongside very welcoming mentors.  I have gained so much knowledge, skills and work experience.

The first day of my placement included an induction to the role, the organisation, and the team.  I was introduced to the software used within the organisation, which included the apps on Google Workspace such as Drive, Docs, Sheets and Google Photos. As a student used to using Microsoft Office for my studies, it took me a few days to get used to Google Workspace.  It was great to learn how to use the software. The other software I used included Trello, Teamup, Slack, Canva and Meta Business Suite.

I undertook a number of different tasks during my time on placement including work on a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) spreadsheet, organising and transferring photos from Google Drive to Google Photos, attending meetings and assisting with video interviews.  I also worked on marketing plans, scheduled and posted content for social media, researched upcoming events, assisted with newsletter content and design and much more besides! In addition, I conducted an interview with the writer Neal Pike. This was a great experience to interview someone for an article as I felt like a journalist.

To celebrate the end of my 5-week placement, myself and the other interns from the other creative organisations that took part in the Lakeside Arts Creative Placement programme, were invited to a celebration event at Lakeside. It was a great chance to catch up in person with the other interns finding out what we all had done and achieved on placement and to reflect on the skills and experiences we had gained whilst on placement.  It was also an opportunity to talk to, liaise and network with other people from the different organisations.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time working on the internship over the five weeks. I have gained a range of skills and knowledge that will enable me to pursue a career within the arts organisations once I graduate university in two years’ time. Whilst working on the Internship, I have gained so many skills and new experiences that I don’t think would have been possible without doing this placement. This placement has also given me tremendous confidence and interpersonal skills, particularly effective communication skills. The staff are so very friendly, caring, welcoming, encouraging, and supportive.  I would certainly encourage anyone to apply for a summer Creative Arts Placement.

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