14 | FOREVER Keele
75TH ANNIVERSARY
75 Years and 850 Internships
Over the last few years , 850 internships have been arranged for Keele students , with many going on to have successful and interesting careers .
The value of internships is clear – for a company it is a great chance to get a short piece of work done , or trial someone for a longer-term position , without having the usual costs and risks associated with other options .
For the students , regardless of what might happen at the end of the internship role , it is a fantastic chance to gain and develop skills and experience and bring confidence to career choice . Four companies who have seen this first hand are featured below :
“ The team at Keele suggested several roles to me and helped guide me through the process of applying . It ’ s hard to believe that this was almost ten years ago . After my internship , I was offered a full-time , permanent role at Stone Junction . Since then , I ’ ve seen the team grow from just five to over 30 employees based in three different countries . Today , I ’ m one fifth of the company ’ s management team and was recently gifted shares in the business . Without my internship , I wouldn ’ t have had the confidence to apply for a role in technical PR , and definitely wouldn ’ t be where I am today . I can ’ t thank the team at Keele and Santander enough .”
Stone Junction is an award-winning technical PR company . Keele graduate Jessica Philips ( Media , Communications and Culture & Psychology , Class of 2015 ) progressed from Santander intern as Account Executive in 2014 to Account Director as a shareholder in 2024 .
Jessica says : “ When I applied for my first role at Stone Junction through the Keele Santander internships scheme , I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in communications but wasn ’ t sure of the different routes .
Adam Fenton applied for an internship through the Keele University Santander scheme after completing a PGCE in 2016 . He says : “ I was keen to use the knowledge and skills I had acquired during my studies in a role that involved education and helping people to develop . I was offered a Learning and Development internship at the ( then ) Institution of Railway Operators nearly eight years ago and haven ’ t looked back .