The career and employability opportunities at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) have given two students the chance to have their work published in the Communication and Sport Journal.
Recent Accounting and Finance graduate James Southwood and final-year Health and Wellbeing in Society student Sue Litchfield are now recognised authors of a recently published article, after their involvement with DMU’s internship scheme Frontrunners.
The scheme allows current students to undertake a paid internship of 10 hours per week alongside their studies within an area of the university.
James said: “As an Accounting and Finance student, the internship in health and wellbeing gave me a great chance to experience a very different area to what I’m used to.”
As part of their internship, James and Sue worked with academics from the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences to contribute to the analysis and write-up of the journal. Their article, which was featured within the publication, explores initial mental health disclosure narratives in professional sport and the implications it can have on the wellbeing of players.
“It gave me an insight into what it’s like to work in academia by working with academics to complete research and write the journal article,” said James. “It has definitely improved my research and writing abilities beyond the standard essays that are set as uni coursework.”
Since completing the internship, James is thankful for the opportunities provided by the Frontrunners scheme and the advantages it will give him in future interviews.
He said: “Not many other 21-year-olds applying for jobs will have written journal articles. It will definitely help me stand out, as I’ll be able to draw from a wide variety of experiences to show my accomplishments.”
Sue is also grateful for the experience and the skills the internship has taught her. She said: “I have met researchers from all over the world, which has enabled me to learn from the best in the field.
“Within the internship role itself I gained experience using conversational analysis, transcription, and researching skills such as how to conduct a literature review and analyse data. I also learnt a lot about the write-up process, including writing case studies, reports, and editing a journal through the peer-review process, as well as team working skills, especially during remote working.
“The process of getting published and having our work peer-reviewed was an experience that can’t be taught, and it was great to go through that with the support and guidance of my Frontrunners mentor.”
The next round of Frontrunners internships is available to view on My Gateway until Wednesday 14 April, simply search ‘Frontrunners’ to see the list of current opportunities.
To be eligible you must be a student at DMU until the end of March 2022, attend an application workshop before applying (also available through My Gateway) and not have previously undertaken a Frontrunners internship or sandwich placement.
For more information on internship opportunities through the Frontrunners scheme please contact frontrunners@dmu.ac.uk.
Posted on Wednesday 7 April 2021