In a blink of an eye, four months flew by at my internship with the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship (BII+E). My time at BII+E was amazing and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience! From the start, I felt welcomed to the team and had the chance to get to know everyone through one-on-one coffee chats. What amazed me was the fact that everyone was so passionate about their work. This was refreshing to see and better yet, it motivated me to work even harder towards my own goals.
Looking back, I’ve accomplished a lot of goals that I set out at the beginning of my internship, and I’m proud that I was able to in such a short timeframe. I was able to learn about a topic so foreign to me – policy – while honing down on my existing communications and marketing skills. At the beginning of the internship, I sat down with Coralie, Director of Communications, Events, and Community Outreach, (my boss + the Communications Guru around here) to set S.M.A.R.T. goals for the summer. One of my goals was to build upon my technical skill set, specifically web management. I was able to acquire this skill by utilizing WordPress to assist with the web layout of the BII+E website. I also had the opportunity to attend FITC Presents Spotlight: UX/UI, an industry event where I gained first-hand knowledge on what it’s like working in UX and UI in addition to learning some key industry advice.
I was given the opportunity to work on my public speaking and networking skills through the events that I’ve attended through BII+E or co-hosted. The Policy ‘N Pub: Intern Edition events in particular were one of my highlights of the internship program. Myself along with two other interns (Stephanie + Julia) were responsible for organizing a networking event for interns in the policy space. This was the first event of its kind in Toronto so we were all nervous about the turnout. However, it turned out to be such a success that we were able to host a second Policy ‘N Pub event. I thoroughly enjoyed organizing these events since event planning is an area that interests me, and the fact that we were given the opportunity to take the lead on this was extremely exciting and rewarding.
(Stephanie and I speaking at Policy ‘N Pub: Intern Edition 2.0)
I am extremely grateful for the team, especially the Communications team, for giving me the opportunity to work at such an amazing Institute and making my summer a memorable one. From the start, the Communications team welcomed me into their close-knit family, showed me the ropes, and helped me with all things marketing and communications. The rest of the team made work life more bearable with plenty of laughs, bubble tea and beef patty breaks. I will truly miss working with such a smart and kind group of people! To BII+E’s future interns, your internship will go by very quickly so absorb everything that you can and enjoy the experience. At the beginning, set some goals that you would like to achieve and work with your team to see how you can take up opportunities to learn these new skills. As an intern, it is very rare to join an organization that cares about your personal and professional development. Shoutout to Michelle for designing a fantastic internship program! I was able to wear many hats during my internship and have the opportunity to learn new skills that I never imagined possible. I will definitely take everything I learned and experienced with me to my next journey – wherever that may be!
Leanna’s Communications Internship Blog
In a blink of an eye, four months flew by at my internship with the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship (BII+E). My time at BII+E was amazing and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience! From the start, I felt welcomed to the team and had the chance to get to know everyone through one-on-one coffee chats. What amazed me was the fact that everyone was so passionate about their work. This was refreshing to see and better yet, it motivated me to work even harder towards my own goals.
Looking back, I’ve accomplished a lot of goals that I set out at the beginning of my internship, and I’m proud that I was able to in such a short timeframe. I was able to learn about a topic so foreign to me – policy – while honing down on my existing communications and marketing skills. At the beginning of the internship, I sat down with Coralie, Director of Communications, Events, and Community Outreach, (my boss + the Communications Guru around here) to set S.M.A.R.T. goals for the summer. One of my goals was to build upon my technical skill set, specifically web management. I was able to acquire this skill by utilizing WordPress to assist with the web layout of the BII+E website. I also had the opportunity to attend FITC Presents Spotlight: UX/UI, an industry event where I gained first-hand knowledge on what it’s like working in UX and UI in addition to learning some key industry advice.
I was given the opportunity to work on my public speaking and networking skills through the events that I’ve attended through BII+E or co-hosted. The Policy ‘N Pub: Intern Edition events in particular were one of my highlights of the internship program. Myself along with two other interns (Stephanie + Julia) were responsible for organizing a networking event for interns in the policy space. This was the first event of its kind in Toronto so we were all nervous about the turnout. However, it turned out to be such a success that we were able to host a second Policy ‘N Pub event. I thoroughly enjoyed organizing these events since event planning is an area that interests me, and the fact that we were given the opportunity to take the lead on this was extremely exciting and rewarding.
(Stephanie and I speaking at Policy ‘N Pub: Intern Edition 2.0)
I am extremely grateful for the team, especially the Communications team, for giving me the opportunity to work at such an amazing Institute and making my summer a memorable one. From the start, the Communications team welcomed me into their close-knit family, showed me the ropes, and helped me with all things marketing and communications. The rest of the team made work life more bearable with plenty of laughs, bubble tea and beef patty breaks. I will truly miss working with such a smart and kind group of people! To BII+E’s future interns, your internship will go by very quickly so absorb everything that you can and enjoy the experience. At the beginning, set some goals that you would like to achieve and work with your team to see how you can take up opportunities to learn these new skills. As an intern, it is very rare to join an organization that cares about your personal and professional development. Shoutout to Michelle for designing a fantastic internship program! I was able to wear many hats during my internship and have the opportunity to learn new skills that I never imagined possible. I will definitely take everything I learned and experienced with me to my next journey – wherever that may be!
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Have additional questions? Email Michelle at michellepark@ryerson.ca.
Thank you for your interest, applications for Summer 2019 has closed. Please check our Careers page in January 2020 for the Summer 2020 internship application.
For media enquiries, please contact Nina Rafeek Dow, Marketing + Communications Specialist at the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship.
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