Learning from an intern sounds a bit backwards, does it not? Especially after always having thought it would be the other way round. Yet for some reason, it is not the case on this internship. Although it does not also mean that the intern does the ordering of the supervisor.
For one this in
ternship builds upon what it is about – it would be hypocritical if it did not. So in the sense of sustainability, it is good to build upon the social relationship between the intern and the supervisors. Having respect and working alongside each other has given rise to both parties learning from each other. In doing so, sustainable change can be brought forward faster and imagination of new ideas is always free flowing.
One large benefit of having an intern who has finished or is still at university, opens up insights to what university is really like for the student. This can aid staff in helping new and current students experience university to their maximum potential. Therefore communicating and translating what students want has been at the forefront of my role over this past week.
It means I have returned to the Collective Cloud Brain so that a wealth of different viewpoints can be expressed and ideas juggled. This week ideas were angled towards implementing sustainable action across the university but also merging them into the community. This seems logical as we, as a university, do not just want to be as one separate entirety in Southampton but truly as a part of the city’s community; all of which is very uplifting in a sense, as from here everyone is involved in a project bringing together many minds and even more ideas. However during the cloud brain, ideas can become large and spiral quickly or sometimes sound like they have been done before. So of course there is always time needed for verification. Whether that is through my supervisors, myself or the internet. E.g. good life lesson- always good to check hashtags before running a campaign around it!
Overall, when it comes down to developing ideas it is vital to have this strong student-staff relationship to produce something novel that will (hopefully) work at a whole community level.