My DRD Summer School Experience
Luana Santa Rosa was one of eight students taking part in this year’s Summer School Programme hosted by DRD Partnership. In this blog, she shares her experience.
Over my 3-day work experience at DRD Partnership, I gained valuable insight into many industries. Just to list a few include public relations, politics, communications, and law. The experience was truly memorable and gave me the opportunity to meet professionals and visit organisations that I never imagined I had the chance to access.
Day 1
The first day focused on introducing public relations and public affairs which is what DRD Partnership specialise in. We were taught the difference between proactive and reactive PR, how DRD Partnership supports both large organisations and individuals, and who gets involved within the process of communications.
That same day we also visited Parliament where we learned about ‘Bills’ the legislative process to introduce new laws and how new laws are approved. We got to speak with a parliamentary assistant, who spoke about her day-to-day responsibilities, including managing emails, preparing briefings, and supporting conferences. Which lead to meeting MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy, who shared her journey from working as a parliamentary assistant to becoming an MP. She spoke about the importance of her role within Parliament as well as her experience in housing, equality, racism, and the qualities needed to work in politics. We also visited the House of Commons public gallery and watched a live debate, which gave us great insight into how Parliament operates and how it works with MPs.
Day 2
Day two was communications, media, news, and crisis focused. We had a newspaper workshop in which we discussed how the news shape public opinion, the differences between left-wing and right-wing perspectives, bias, fake news and how technology and social media have changed the way different generations consume news.
One of my favourite activities was the crisis scenario, as a team we had to respond to a fictional crisis by writing a holding statement. This showed me how crisis organisations must act very quickly whilst communicating with other departments and balance any legal and reputational risks to rebuild public trust during these situations.
This was then followed by a visit at law firm Mishcon de Reya. We learned about media law specifically privacy, freedom of expression, defamation and how these areas of law affect businesses and individuals. The example of real case studies supported our understanding between the difference of opinion and defamation, as well as the work done by legal teams to protect reputations and clients.
We also had an activity with DRD partnership analysing good and bad CVs, cover letters, and Interviews which helped us learn how to tailor applications to specific roles and present ourselves professionally.
Day 3
On the final day, we visited the Royal Courts of Justice where we observed a defamation case. It was incredibly interesting to see how formal the court process is, specifically the language used and the procedures within the courtroom.
We then visited the Post Office headquarters and were introduced to professionals from marketing, sustainability, and communications. They spoke about their roles within the company and the future for Post Office as they focus on rebuilding trust, keeping many local store locations, and plans to modernise its processes to compete with rivals. It was interesting to learn how big the organisation is, everything they do beyond parcel and mail services, the challenges they face and how different departments and local stores all work together to support the brand. Post Office also held a CV improvement session, explaining how to tailor them to job descriptions and understanding what employers are looking for.
Overall, the three days helped me developed my skills in teamwork, critical thinking, and networking. I became much more more confident asking questions and speaking with professionals about their careers by the end. Being given the opportunity to understand such industries and roles more deeply by speaking to professionals, has made me more interested in pursuing a career in business, politics, communications, or public affairs.
“My personal highlights were visiting the House of Commons, Royal Courts of Justice, speaking to the MP and the crisis scenario. Seeing a live debate in Parliament was something I have only watched on TV, so experiencing it in person was interesting. Same goes for the Royal Courts of Justice, watching a real case gave me a much better understanding of how the legal system works and how different it is compared to how it is shown on the media. Being able to speak and hear from MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy was inspiring and I also really enjoyed the crisis scenario because it showed how DRD Partnership responds to real situations and the importance of their role within a crisis.”
My advice to any students considering work experience at DRD Partnership is to make the most of every opportunity because you won’t get the same chance again, ask as many questions, be confident in yourself when comes to speaking to professionals and keep an open mind. All the activities offer so much insight and advice, and you will definitely leave with valuable knowledge, skills, and a better understanding of professional industries.
If you are interested in offering meaningful experiences of the world of work to young people like Luana, please contact us at employers@futurefirst.org.uk
