University of York announces Intern of the Year

Posted on 23 November 2017

A final year Chemistry student at the University of York has won Intern of the Year for her innovative work with North Yorkshire Police.

Tanya Bayley, winner of Intern of the Year. (Credit: Andrew Ferguson)

Tanya Bayley won the accolade following a 12-week internship working with police to look at ways the force could better utilise their current equipment; such as laptops, computers and mobile phones.

Tanya’s report produced 20 recommendations, nearly half of which have been assessed and agreed for implementation, with the rest currently being considered.

Tanya received her award at a special celebratory event at Heslington Hall which was attended by local businesses and University staff and students.

Benefit

Tanya said: “It is rewarding to know that my recommendations will have far-reaching effects, improving processes to benefit North Yorkshire Police and ultimately the public of North Yorkshire. I have thoroughly enjoyed this placement and it has allowed me to identify roles I would be suited to upon graduation.”

Tanya was one of 94 York student interns who worked with local businesses and organisations over the summer vacation, delivering projects in areas as diverse as environmental consultancy, social media marketing and product development.

Students worked for businesses ranging from start-ups of one or two people through to large organisations such as Network Rail and City of York Council.

The runners up were:

Christopher Haley, a History student who helped to implement a major public consultation on the Lowfield Green development for City of York Council
Jacob Sadler, from York’s Environment Department, who worked across a wide range of environmental projects with consultants Technical Solutions Partnership
Sophie Elmhirst, an Environment and Economics student who worked with specialists ADAS on the commercial aspects of a number of agricultural projects.

Andrew Ferguson, Assistant Director with the University’s Careers and Placements service, said: “All the projects were designed to provide significant business value to the host organisations as well as giving students invaluable experience of the workplace.

“Internships provide a win-win scenario, with students gaining high quality work experience which can help them stand out from the crowd, while businesses gain enthusiastic, motivated students keen to bring their skills to projects in the organisation.”

Rewarding

The Intern of the Year award was judged by Rachel Sellars, University Relationship Branch Manager, Santander UK and Mark Bates, Business Growth Executive, Make it York.

The Host of the Year award went to bespoke tailors Mullen and Mullen for providing challenging and rewarding projects which have allowed them to expand their online business with the help of University interns.

In recognition of the impact of York’s internship programme, Santander Bank has recently increased the number of subsidies it makes available to support the costs of engaging an intern through the University.

Over 50 subsidies are available for use over the next year and the University is now looking to engage employer hosts for summer 2018. Businesses can visit york.ac.uk/about/departments/support-and-admin/careers/employers/internships/ or email career-sib@york.ac.uk to find out more about internship opportunities.

Further information:

The University of York’s Student Internship Bureau offers business the opportunity to engage its students to tackle short to medium term projects of genuine value to them. In 2016/17, nearly 200 projects were delivered on a part-time basis during term time or on a full-time basis over the vacation periods. The Student Internship Bureau offers support in designing appropriate projects, advertising and selecting the best candidates and offers quick, easy and value for money systems to get the student working on the project with the minimum of delay.
Santander Universities provides a generous gift to the University of York to subsidise internships to work within independently owned small and medium sized enterprises (defined as fewer than 250 employees). Subsidies can be up to 50 per cent of the cost of the intern.