Carla Torres & Eleanor Oliver Communication & Research Internships

Carla Torres, an Applied Human Rights MA student from the Department of Politics, and Eleanor Oliver, an undergraduate History student from the Department of History, undertook an internship in research and communications at the IGDC over the summer. They had the chance to network with scholars and researchers in the field of global development by attending seminars and events and working alongside IGDC members. The internship gave them the opportunity to write articles featured on the IGDC’s website, conduct research and create content for the IGDC Twitter page.

The centre seeks to engage with the academic community at the University of York, both students and staff. Our social media channels are the gateway to communicating our work and research. Through innovations such as creating and sharing videos and developing new weekly Tweets such as #FundingFriday, Carla and Eleanor have helped raise the profile of the IGDC. Since they joined, the number of IGDC Twitter followers rose by over 160 percent and, at present, we have nearly 570 followers. The number of Tweet impressions also rose by nearly 70,000 per month, meaning that the IGDC’s Tweets are reaching a greater audience than ever before.

Furthermore, the internship also presented itself as the opportunity to be creative and innovative. Working with IGDC members, Carla and Eleanor created short videos for the new IGDC YouTube channel featuring interviews with IGDC Members and overviews of IGDC research projects. The videos offer an exciting alternative format for communicating the research and work of members of the IGDC to non-specialist audiences.

Carla and Eleanor were also integral to the planning of the Photography Competition, which runs in the autumn term. From sourcing prizes to working alongside the Marketing teams at YUSU and the University, they helped in all aspects of planning the competition. They also created a fantastic competition website and animated adverts which will be displayed across campus in the lead up to the competition and evening awards event.

The IGDC Centre team are really impressed with the quality and volume of the work that both Carla and Eleanor have produced over the last few months and we are looking forward to seeing how the photography competition and Twitter page develop following their hard work.

The IGDC hope to create more internship opportunities for students in the future. Keep an eye out on our website and on the University of York Careers Gateway over the coming months if you’re interested in interning with us.