I did my Saltire scholar 10-week summer internship with Network Rail at their Glasgow office. I worked as part of the Health and Safety team and engaged with a variety of ongoing projects within the company from written risk assessments to on-site inspection visits.
The first few weeks of the internship focused on getting to know the team as well as familiarising myself with the company’s policies, practices, and even abbreviated language. Afterwards, I focused on working on my main and side projects within the team. The main project each intern was assigned had a topic related to the team they worked within but allowed us to take a modern and creative approach we believed to be appropriate and efficient in collecting data and representing our findings.
Being able to use our acquired skillset through university and extracurriculars allowed everyone to make a unique and meaningful lasting contribution to the company. All professionals we met on a daily basis or at company events were very keen on sharing their experiences and offering advice which was commendable and made us all feel very welcomed. Through fresh eyes and open discussions, we felt like part of a big family and could confidently grow our entrepreneurial potential every day.
My time as an intern then concluded with presenting my project work as well as the overall Saltire experience within the company to the Network Rail executive board and all intern line managers. Receiving the positive feedback from everyone on my last day meant a great deal to myself and everyone else in terms of understanding not only our potential but also knowing we have made a difference already even though just 10 weeks ago we were new to the business.