James Hillan
2026 Saltire Scholar, Finance Intern at the Faculty of Advocates, Edinburgh.
Studying Economics and Finance at Heriot-Watt University.
About Me
My name is James Hillan, and I recently graduated from Heriot-Watt University with a First-Class Honours degree in Economics and Finance. I am now studying for an MSc in International Financial Analysis at the University of Glasgow.
I applied to the Saltire Scholars Programme because I wanted to gain practical experience in a professional environment while developing skills that would complement my academic background. Having studied economics and finance, I was particularly interested in understanding how financial knowledge is applied within an organisation and how technology can be used to improve financial processes.
I hoped the internship would give me the opportunity to take responsibility for meaningful work, rather than simply observe how a professional organisation operates. I also wanted to improve my confidence, communication and technical skills while gaining a better understanding of the type of career I would like to pursue.
About my internship
For my Saltire Scholars internship, I joined the Finance Team at the Faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh as a Finance Intern.
My role involved supporting the team with financial systems and operational improvement projects. A significant part of my internship focused on workflow automation, where I looked at existing processes and considered how they could be made more efficient through better use of technology.
I worked with financial and organisational platforms including Sage and iMIS, gaining experience of how systems are used to manage information and support financial reporting. This gave me an opportunity to apply some of the analytical and technical skills I had developed throughout my degree in a real working environment.
One of the most interesting aspects of the role was seeing how relatively small improvements to a process can have a meaningful effect when they are used repeatedly. Rather than simply completing individual tasks, I was able to look at the underlying workflow and consider whether parts of it could be streamlined or automated.
The internship therefore provided a useful link between my academic studies and practical experience. My degree had taught me how to analyse data, work with financial information and use tools such as Excel and Python, but the internship showed me the importance of applying those skills within an organisation where accuracy, efficiency and reliability are critical.
Reflecting on my impact and experience
One of the main things I achieved during my internship was contributing to the improvement and automation of financial workflows within the Finance Team. My work helped to make processes more efficient and supported improvements in the accuracy and consistency of financial reporting.
What I found particularly rewarding was being trusted with responsibility for a project that had a practical purpose. It was satisfying to see that the work I was doing was not simply an academic exercise, but something that could make the team's day-to-day processes easier and more effective.
The experience also gave me a much better appreciation of the importance of understanding a process before attempting to improve it. It is easy to assume that automation is simply about making something faster, but I learned that effective process improvement requires understanding why a process exists, identifying where problems occur and considering how a change might affect the wider team.
Another important part of the internship was the opportunity to build professional relationships. Working alongside the Finance Team allowed me to learn from people with considerably more experience than me and to see how financial decisions and processes operate in a professional organisation. I became more comfortable asking questions, discussing ideas and explaining my work to others.
How I have changed
The internship has helped me develop both professionally and personally. Before starting, I had experience working with financial and analytical concepts through university, but applying them in a professional environment was a different challenge.
I became more confident in taking ownership of tasks and working independently. I also developed a greater understanding of the importance of attention to detail when working with financial information. Small errors in a financial process can have consequences beyond the individual task, which reinforced the importance of checking work carefully and understanding the wider context.
The experience also strengthened my interest in the intersection between finance, technology and data. My academic background has already given me an interest in financial analysis and working on workflow automation showed me another way that analytical and technical skills can be applied within finance.
Perhaps the biggest thing I am proud of is becoming more comfortable taking a problem that I had not encountered before, understanding how the existing process worked and then thinking about how it could be improved. That is something I would not have had the same opportunity to develop through university alone.
Paying it forward
I would strongly encourage students considering applying to the Saltire Scholars Programme to take the opportunity. An internship provides much more than something to add to your CV. It gives you the opportunity to test yourself in an unfamiliar environment, learn from experienced professionals and discover what aspects of working life interest you.
My advice to future Saltire Scholars would be to take ownership of the experience. Ask questions, volunteer for tasks and do not be afraid to suggest an alternative approach when you think something could be improved. You will get much more from the internship if you actively engage with the people around you and try to understand why things are done in a particular way.
For me, being a Saltire Scholar has meant having the opportunity to bridge the gap between university and professional life. My internship at the Faculty of Advocates allowed me to apply the skills I had developed during my Economics and Finance degree while developing new technical, professional and interpersonal skills.
Most importantly, it has given me greater confidence in my ability to contribute in a professional environment and has helped shape the direction I want to take as I continue my studies and begin my career in finance.
