Month: August 2013

Week One at Royal Society Publishing

This week I started my Charity Insights internship at the publishing office of Royal Society. I’m sure that most of you will have at least heard of the Royal Society (if not, here’s the wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Society for a quick blurb) It’s the oldest scientific academy still in existence and I ended up there because I’m interested in the work they do in communicating science and emphasizing the cultural role that science has to play in society.  Oh and because I wanted to get a taste of academic publishing and their publishing division just happen to bring out some great journals! The editor that I’m working with is in charge of Philosophical Transactions B, which brings out theme issues, so it’s more like a review publication. It’s actually the first scientific journal that was ever published. I think that’s pretty cool…but that might just be me.

Another perk of working at the Royal Society is that they’re based in a beautiful location just behind the Mall and Regents Park:

I know Imperial’s campus has a pretty great location, but that’s the view from the toilets at RS.

 

Don’t judge me for taking photos from the toilets…or for their terrible quality…trust me, the view is GOOD.
I’ve started by taking over some of the junior editorial coordinator tasks for the journal: like checking over author submissions before they’re sent over to production and updating the website with information about the latest issues. I have to say, having access to the proofs of papers by some big names before they’re published (ie still under embargo!) feels pretty special. The editorial team is a small group and everyone’s really friendly, all in all it’s a really welcoming environment to have entered into.
So my feelings about the experience as the first week has drawn to an end are pretty positive! Hopefully it isn’t just the enthusiasm of a rookie…

Visit to Idea

Just some of the data Eleanor has been analysing!
Just some of the data Eleanor has been analysing!

 

Yesterday Eileen and I popped along to Shoreditch, East London to visit Eleanor who is hard at work at Idea (the international debate education association). Eleanor has been researching female participation at debating competitions which has meant analysing a huge amount of data!

Eleanor and Manos
Eleanor and Manos

Eleanor’s supervisor Manos told us a bit more about the charity. We were surprised by its size; the website receives up to 3 million unique visitors in a year and Idea has offices in several countries. Interns at Idea often later go on to be full time members of staff at the organisation so Eleanor is getting some great experience.

Manos told us that taking on Eleanor through Charity Insights has been a “fantastic opportunity”. He went on to say that “for many charities the ability to grow and take on extra staff is limited, therefore Charity Insights has given us the luxury of getting a project done that we normally wouldn’t have been able to do”. He also expressed how it was great to have an intern from a science background as the majority of interns and staff have studied humanities or law.

 

Hard at work!
Hard at work!

Eleanor will still be hard at work for a week or so but feels that so far she has grown in confidence and enjoyed the office dynamics of working for a charity. Food for thought for future career planning!