The Power of Internships

Professor Jason Carroll

For the past few years, we have been contacting our alumni to ask for potential hosts for summer work experience placements for our undergraduate students. The response has been exceptional and we have been delighted with the generosity of our alumni. Owing to the pandemic, in the summer of 2020 many of our organised placements had to be cancelled, but despite this several Clare students were able to take part in a virtual internship at the Sizewell C project, which is a new proposed nuclear power-plant in the UK. One of our students, Alec Barton (2017), secured a role at Sizewell C as a result of this internship, attesting to the benefit of such programmes for both students and companies looking to recruit excellent young talent. We hope that you will be willing to contribute to this scheme in the future, to give our students the best chances of gaining the most

Alec barton (2017)

Adapting to the challenges of the virtual workplace became a reality in the summer of 2020. During that time, three peers from Clare and I undertook internships with Sizewell C, the proposed new nuclear power-plant on the Suffolk Coast. We took up places in different teams across the project, including Financing and Economic Regulation, Environment, Communications and Engineering. This defined our day-to-day work during the internship, with a focus on specific aspects of the project. We also had the chance to tackle independent tasks, including most notably the project to make Leiston, a local town, ‘net zero’ for carbon emissions. It was exciting to be included in the creative process and to explore specific measures to help the town reduce its carbon output. We had the opportunity to develop ideas and engage external stakeholders on topics including enhanced building insulation, vertical farming and a hydrogen bus network. A smart street lighting initiative for the town was also pitched, investigating the use of high efficiency LED bulbs, with
air pollution sensors and electric vehicle charging points.

To be able to work with different teams on such interesting projects meant for a truly rewarding experience, providing exposure to numerous aspects of the Sizewell C project, as well as the nuclear industry more generally.

One of the most prominent insights I gained from the experience was learning about how central the issue of climate change is to the nuclear industry. Looking at the different components of the energy mix, we learned how, alongside intermittent renewables such as offshore wind and solar, nuclear power holds great potential to help decarbonise the energy sector and enable the UK to reach its goal of net zero by 2050. Sizewell C itself would save 9 million tonnes of CO2 emissions every year, whilst also having positive effects on the local surroundings by helping to level up the local economy with jobs, training and education. It’s fair to say that my knowledge of nuclear power prior to the internship was thin, although I was keen to explore the topic in greater detail. Therefore, for me, the key takeaway from the work experience was gaining a greater knowledge and understanding of nuclear energy, including challenging my previous assumptions and realising the interesting career opportunities in the sector. This ultimately led to my current full-time position in the Financing and Economic Regulation team at Sizewell C, where I am able to engage with a variety of topical issues on a daily basis and further my understanding of the energy industry.