Our Social Media intern, Albira Khan shares her story from i-Teams to Intern
I was first introduced to Cognitas Global through the i-Teams Innovation Programme run by the Knowledge Exchange and Innovation Centre at the University of Kent, Canterbury. It is an extensive 8-week program where students have the opportunity to gain hands on experience in finding innovative solutions to real-world business challenges.
I participated in i-Team 2022 during my final year pursuing a BSc. Psychology (Hons.) degree. I was convinced to take on the opportunity to gain exceptional industry experience during my semester and gain employability skills that I could later transfer to my CV.
Prior to the i-Team programme, I did work experience in the field of market research, digital marketing, and social media marketing and management. However, I was very keen to build on my current skill set as a marketer and be ready to overcome any challenges of the corporate world post-graduation.
Once on the program I was thrilled to meet the 2022 business sponsors; Cummins, Cognitas Global, and Saga and learn in detail about their challenges
In line with my prior experiences, interest, and current study at the university, I was on the Cognitas Global Team. Cognitas Global is a growing learning and development consultancy business, that challenged our team to help identify new markets and recommend a sales strategy for their experiential learning platform, view360global.
I was so excited to work with my talented teammates and build a comprehensive and winning strategy. Focusing on new routes to market meant identifying new sectors in which the view360global platform could be used to add value to both new and existing training programmes. Using advocacy and digital marketing, our team were able to present detailed ideas on social listening, and curation of a strong B2B social media strategy.
During the program discussions and team meetings, I had the opportunity to meet with Lawrie Day, Founder & CEO of Cognitas Global, Nicola Argent, Head of Design and Marketing and Jim Burdett, Head of Learning & Development. This allowed me to have a deeper understanding of their product, business model, and how customer-centric their approach to marketing is. Their approach resonated with me as it provided me with an opportunity to express my passion for marketing and add value to the project and Cognitas Global using my previous experience.
I can say confidently that after the completion of the i-Teams program I am now much more confident, innovative, and have honed my commercial thinking skills. Such an experience has also allowed me to gain insight into the business sector and the essential qualities needed to contribute to business projects. It also allowed me to see the importance of investigating the scope of competition with the business and always relating it back to the customer. The i-Teams programme also provided me with an opportunity to establish invaluable connections with some of the most talented and like-minded students at the university.
“To all the recent and upcoming graduates, remember to believe in yourself and your skills, take the risks, grab opportunities, and most importantly, never stop learning!”
Following i-Teams, I continued my studies, focusing on the completion of my course, and I successfully graduated in July 2022.
It was not long after that I was approached by Lawrie Day with a fantastic offer of a summer internship at Cognitas Global in which to develop and implement some of the ideas I had suggested during the i-Teams programme. I was beyond elated at such a wonderful offer and joined Cognitas Global as their social media and marketing intern right after graduation in August.
I am extremely grateful to the team at Cognitas Global and Lawrie for recognising my potential and providing me with an opportunity to turn my knowledge into valuable experience. I would also like to express my gratitude to Nicola Argent for developing me and providing me with her valuable insights along the way! Cognitas Global is an extremely innovative learning and development training consultancy with an excellent corporate culture! I am enjoying the experience of working with the Cognitas team as a valued member and helping to build a strong B2B social media strategy and implementing various digital marketing tools.
Lastly, from an international student in the UK in 2018 to now a working individual, I understand the importance of finding valuable work experience following graduation. To all the recent or upcoming graduates, remember to believe in yourself and your skills, take the risks, grab opportunities, and most importantly, never stop learning!