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Jade Manning, a second-year Microbes, Microbiomes and Bioinformatics PhD student based at UEA’s medical school, recently undertook a 12-week placement at the Government Office for Science as a communications intern within the Government Science and Engineering (GSE) Profession team.
The GSE Profession, led by Dame Angela McLean, is open to crown, public, and civil servants who have an interest or work in government science and engineering. The profession supports training, professional development and networking opportunities for its near 10,000 members.
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Throughout her time on placement, she contributed to many different communication channels, including writing and publishing blogs, producing the monthly newsletters and collating case studies for the Cabinet Office’s ‘Join a Profession’ campaign. Other responsibilities included attending meetings, taking minutes, and assisting at the Civil Service-wide annual conference on the GSE stand. Jade’s main project was to produce a report reviewing the analytics for the different communication channels with recommendations for improvement.
Based at 100 Parliament Street, Jade gained first-hand experience of being a civil servant and was fortunate to spend two weeks in Dame Angela McLean’s private office. An invaluable experience during which she gained a greater understanding of the structure and workings of Government. The role of a private secretary is fast-paced and involves managing many priorities, skills which will be beneficial for Jade’s PhD and future career.
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Jade said, ‘I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to undertake this placement. It gave me experience of working in a new sector, which opened my eyes to a career pathway I had not previously considered.’
To any students about to embark on their placement, Jade suggests making the most of every opportunity offered to you and taking the chance to network and meet many people across different job roles. The first weeks can be daunting, but once you settle, you will have an insightful experience.
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Jade is thankful to UKRI for organising the placement and the Government Office for Science for hosting her.