Together with my other intern half, Karen Gordon, we reflect in parallel on our highlights and challenges within our internship roles in the Research Services Directorate.

I began as the PGR Communications Intern in Researcher Development in September 2022 and I finish my contract this week. Being part of the team and PGR-facing work has been an absolute pleasure. I’m so sad to be finishing up but it’s time for a new fresh-faced faced and bushy-tailed intern to take the reins.

Here’s some thoughts on the peaks and troughs of the role. Spoiler alert: you should take one on, even if it’s just for your CV, you’ll have fun along the way – I promise!

Peaks:

Working Within The Wider Team

The wider team has been my absolute highlight of the internship. Not only have I made friends for lunch and coffee but also informal mentors, proofreaders and cheerleaders. It has been the pleasure of a lifetime to be in this team and I can’t believe it’s time-limited. I was recently told that I ‘will always be RSD alumni’ which has warmed my heart and something I will cling onto!

After a tricky APR this year, my line managers and wider team offered me endless support and advice, not only within the framework of research culture but also through their own reflective experiences of doing a PhD.

Another example is working with Karen, my other intern half, neither of us could’ve done our roles without the other: we picked up work for each other and passed it along. She has provided me with endless support.

Besides all of this: how will I manage without the wider team setting boundaries? 9am-5pm (with flexible hours), encouraged to take annual leave and of course, ‘take breaks, make breakthroughs’. This is a huge aspect of research culture I have internalised, and it’s made me a better researcher and also a nice human being who has fun, goes on holiday and takes weekends. There is an adventure in every day and this wonderful team has really encouraged me to find it.

Photo: RSD Team at ‘back to school event’

Stability

What will I do without a Monday morning meeting to push me out of my bed? This has been a constant in my life for the past 14 months and has really set the tone for the week. It’s meant that I’ve scheduled my week and really taken the time to work out what’s achievable (even if I am still overly ambitious).

The regular work has been a huge bonus following a stable and regular contact. Like Karen, a lot of my life changed as I entered the internship: I moved away from campus back to my family home due to not receiving further PhD funding among other transitions. The stability of the role and the continuity of it has really been a constant, and one I think I’ll feel a bit lost without.

Fun Events!

Nobody knows teamwork and collegiality like the Research Services Directorate team. The ‘Back To School’ gathering absolutely healed my inner child. It was so soothing to know that the majority of my colleagues, like me, did not like school and the majority of them have PhDs – it clearly didn’t stop their pursuit of learning! We sat in the ‘common room’, played kerplunk and had a canteen lunch (university catering so better than school!) and it was wonderful! Not to mention the Away Days which have been excellent, informative and enjoyable. It has been an absolute dream to be so well integrated into the team and really feel like part of the puzzle.

Besides events not organised by us interns, we’ve also organised and hosted fun events like induction week (a series of very fun events), This PhD Life and competitions like 3 Minute Thesis and Visualise Your Thesis.

Troughs

Like in any role, there are challenges to overcome, mine is the notion of time management.

Time management

Being an actual part of the team and being counted on by the team to deliver has meant that saying no and really considering what I have time for and can deliver has been an aspect of this role.

This goes beyond having good timekeeping skills and scheduling tools (which I have) but actively choosing what to participate in and what to not. This is in part because the role is fast paced, and in part because there are many moving parts when being an intern: doing a PhD (in itself is a big one!), teaching and any other roles you take on for the money, the CV or both. There’s a lot of moving parts and it’s important to make time in both your calendar and your head for both.

While the role can be flexible, one method I found which worked was to choose two days a week to dedicate to intern time so that even if I went above hours it was capped within two days. The team provided me with a padlet on how and when to say no with a full directions map, like a ‘choose your own adventure’. I really felt supported as I developed strategies to manage the role and prioritise tasks.

Being RSD Alumni

As I come to the end of my contract and become RSD alumni, I look forward to having more time for my PhD (this is what got me here in the first place, after all) and it’s been 14 months, the point of interns is to get fresh ideas and enthusiasm: it’s time for a new intern.

Photo: PGR Bookshelf (found in the Gilchrist)

But it’s been 14 months – what will I do on a Monday morning? Who will embark on my crazy ideas with me? Over the past year and a bit, I have initiated and installed a PGR bookshelf, ran a Canva training session, developed and launched a communications strategy, ran two PGR social media accounts, edited the PGR blog, updated the website, built a whole website, made colourful and fun PGR newsletters, walked around Kelvingrove park; together with Karen, we’ve hosted events like 3MT, VYT, induction week and This PhD Life; I’ve chaired panels, presented at conferences, inducted new members of staff, sat on an interview panel, hosted writing retreats and wrote many a blog, to mention a few. It’s a varied role to say the least.

It's been 14 months. It’s been both the longest time and the shortest, all in one. As a measurement of this time period, Karen and I have been here longer than most of our colleagues! We welcomed them, worked with them and are now having to say goodbye.

Thank you team RSD. Thank you for the laughter, the challenges, the opportunities, the games of Kerplunk, the biscuits, the coffees, the lunches, the independence, the creative and development space and thank you for welcoming us into your team.

Rachel Eager is a second-year PhD Candidate in Comparative Literature and is the outgoing Communications Intern 22/23. You can contact her by email: Rachel.Eager@Glasgow.ac.uk or on Twitter @RachelEager2.