Santander internship leads to perfect placement

A Northumbria student has landed a dream placement with a leading events management company thanks to a highly successful internship programme funded by Santander Universities UK.

Tourism and Events Management student Rachel Dickinson has joined BeaconHouse Events on a year-long salaried position. The 21-year-old’s successful placement with BeaconHouse Events follows an earlier internship with the Newcastle-based company, funded as part of a long-standing partnership agreement between Northumbria and Santander to support small and growing businesses.

BeaconHouse Events is an award-winning business that specialises in running professional conferences, award ceremonies, outdoor events, exhibitions and festivals. It also helps organisations with their sales and marketing strategies, including developing membership networks. After helping out at a number of high-profile events with BeaconHouse Events last year, including the international Building Information Modelling (BIM) Conference, Rachel was keen to build further on this with a full-time internship. She says the offer of a year-long placement is an incredible opportunity.

“I’m over the moon with this role,” she explained. “Last year I worked on around 10 events and being on site where the action takes place was incredibly valuable and great fun. Having the opportunity to enhance our university learning with actual hands-on experience makes a huge difference and I would recommend it to anyone.”

Rachel added: “The team at BeaconHouse Events has been so helpful and brilliant to work with. I’m doing something I really enjoy and learning so much at the same time.”

Sharon Wilson, Senior Lecturer in Tourism and Events at Northumbria, said the Santander Internship scheme made it possible to work with innovative events companies in the region such as BeaconHouse, and was enriching the learning experience and career prospects for students. She explained: “This relationship with Beaconhouse Events is a very special one, in how it engages our students creatively in the world of work.”

Sophie Flanagan, from BeaconHouse Events, said:"We are delighted with our relationship with Northumbria University. Being able to recruit enthusiastic students with the energy, drive and skill-sets that Rachel has shown is a fantastic support for a rapidly growing SME such as ours. Rachel has become a key part of the team, providing assistance across a number of conferences and award ceremonies. I’m confident the experience and knowledge gained on the placement will be hugely rewarding and beneficial to her future career.’

The Santander Universities SME Internships Programme provides Northumbria students and graduates with the opportunity to secure paid summer internships with small to medium sized business – typically for between two and 10-weeks.  It is designed to boost enterprise, employability and innovation.