Saltire Scholar Blog: The first half!

With a background in science meaning I had no solid grounding in the field of my internship, I have been impressed by how educationally enriching my experience has been.

It is structured into daily, weekly and placement-long projects. I start off every morning by combing through the news to be in loop with corporate news and trends. I never imagined reading the financial times as the first thing in the morning could be this rewarding. I have been assigned a list of companies, mainly in the minerals, energy, oil and gas sectors, to keep a close eye on to ensure my firm is aware of any developments and potential opportunities.

A sizeable part of my week is spent working on helping my company build and manage a database. This involves a good deal of research into specific firms and have gained a good understanding of the different players in the financial sector. From superannuation funds to upstream oil and gas companies, pension funds to private equity firms, sovereign wealth funds to venture capital firms.

At the start, I was concerned about how relevant my science background would be. This remained unresolved until two weeks ago when I started researching a potential client using alloys to design products for the healthcare, automotive, aeroplane and clean technology sectors. I was tasked to research the company, the technology’s underlying science and to present this to the team. I enjoyed this for two reasons. Firstly, I used my strengths to tangibly contribute to a potentially significant project for the company. Secondly, it was a real world project, one of very few presentations I have made outside the classroom.

Halfway through, I look back with a lot of pride to the experience I have had. I have applied myself to the role, been willing to make mistakes, ask where I don’t know and embraced the growth this brings.

Further, I have loved the working atmosphere in the company, which is a close-knit community with constant communication, synchronised and with a strong sense of people enjoying working together. I also get the privilege of regularly meeting and directly reporting to the CEO of the company.

Five weeks later, I have a practical understanding of the ins and outs of a multi-stage capital raising process and a good understanding of M & A transactions and what the different players are.

In the second half, I look forward to strengthening my relationships with the people I work with and to continue applying myself fully to make this experience a stepping-stone. I am grateful to the company who have been very supportive, understanding, present and have designed a well-structured virtual experience – making it significantly better than I imagined it would be. I am also very grateful for the Saltire Scholars Program team who work tirelessly to ensure every intern has a rich and memorable experience.

Written by: Geofrey Njovu, University of Edinburgh, Investment Analyst Intern, Alan Brown & Company, Canada, (virtual)
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