One of the aspects that had initially attracted me to the role was the importance of openly licensed, accessible resources and the impact of the University’s outreach, and my time working for the OER service as an intern has strongly reaffirmed this belief. It has been amazing to work within an environment that values this and contributes to this. Being able to work within the University and see the impact upon the local areas and across the UK as these resources (developed for local primary schools as part of outreach projects) are published digitally has been incredibly exciting.

Starting this role, I had felt a degree of uncertainty coming to work for ISG as a humanities student. I was worried that I wouldn’t fit in, that I would feel out of place, and in fact, that I had been hired by accident (yes, I had imposter syndrome). But I found the opposite: so many people in the department came from a variety of interesting backgrounds with an eclectic set of interests. I was surprised and excited to work with people who had studied English Literature or Journalism, revealed in meetings they gamed, or won some pretty intense LEGO competitions. Working with Charlie, my line manager, has given me far more confidence in myself and my own abilities. I learnt a lot about the types of people who worked there, how different everyone is and how, actually, many didn’t have a STEM background: it takes all kinds of people to make a workplace and this is a benefit. It has been fantastic to work with colleagues who share different skillsets and learn about different aspects behind the scenes of ISG

I went to the ISG book group; the Women in Red editathons; various Digital skills events about coding and digital safety, and various free lunches with surprisingly good sandwiches (no shade, I just wasn’t expecting it). I became increasingly interested in the intersection of people and technology and worked with colleagues to make an OER about it. We live in an increasingly digital world, and this isn’t something I think we should shy away from: I believe that this can be a positive tool. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Alyssa, and I am grateful to have also found a friend in her. Both myself and Alyssa have learnt not only from each other, but been able to collaborate with and learn from other interns and staff in ISG.

I’ve not only gained and developed many transferable skills, but I’ve also produced resources: a resource about insects, a resource about rewilding, psychology,  four (and a bit!) SatSchool resources, and two of my own OERs, one collaborating with the AS society and another on EDI in tech, looking at the role of women and minorities in the industry. The last resource was perhaps the most enjoyable to make, because Lilinaz and Vicki were just so amazing in their feedback. But if I did have to choose a favourite, it would probably be the Oceans module because of the depth of research, and knowledge, the resource gives. I have said that I would loved to have had and learnt this resource when I was younger, but in fact, this is a lie because it should be present tense: I learnt from it as I developed it.

These adaptions all involved liaising with clients, adaption, understanding of copyright legislation and the terms impacting education, problem solving and interpersonal skills. I have enjoyed learning all of these skills and the application of them to the work. The independence Charlie has given us allowed me to gain confidence in my own ability to handle situations and deal with problems. Because she had confidence in me, I wasn’t overthinking about making a mistake, which meant I was able to develop much more of a growth mindset. I knew that any mistakes that may have occurred were low-risk, and taught me different aspects which I could carry forward into my future projects. Charlie has been awesome! I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to develop and learn all of these skills, and work with such great people.

Header image: My desk, 2022 by Molly Wickett is licensed under CC BY 4.0