Daniel White, a Physical Geography Student from Nottingham Trent University has just completed an internship at Flood Protection Solutions. Daniel has been an asset to the team and we will be sad to see him go. Here’s what he had to say about his time at FPS:
“I have spent the last 16 weeks at Flood Protection Solutions in my role as Marketing and Development Intern. This role has enabled to work in an area I am passionate about, learn about the sector and work with a great team.
During my time at Flood Protection Solutions, I have been involved in many areas of the business. Early on, I wrote a series of articles on flooding within different sectors in the UK. These articles have been published in trade magazines to help raise awareness of flooding and its impacts in each sector. In my first week I attended a customer service course run by Alison Edgar in Bristol with a colleague. It was an informative, fun course that made me consider aspects of business and customer care I hadn’t done previously and set me up for my time with the company.
Other notable work included the creation of a documentary focusing on the impacts of flooding on the individual. I travelled to areas such as Hebden Bridge and Cumbria, to interview flood victims and hear their stories. The product was a moving, emotive video, showing the devastating impacts flooding can have. It was a great experience meeting with these people who provided a real insight into the impact flooding can have. It was also a good feeling to be able to broadcast their experiences and give them a platform to tell their stories, as they often felt left behind by the authorities at the time.
Initially, the internship was meant to last eight weeks. It was extended by another eight weeks to allow me to work on a project with Cranfield University on the effectiveness of Flood Groups in England. The project gave me great experience in project management, something that will benefit me greatly in later life. To bring the project to life, I had to identify flood groups, contact them, create a survey to meet our aims, arrange interviews, conduct interviews, then correlate and analyse the data. From this, I have written a report showing all the findings from the project which we hope can help Flood Groups in the future and influence policy makers.
In between the major pieces of work, I have conducted product and competitor comparisons, given a talk at a Santander event, managed social media accounts and been in contact with potential and existing customers. Additionally, I have become very familiar with the Water-Gate temporary barrier and the range of pumps we sell. Overall, it has been a fantastic experience that has progressed me professionally, but also personally, and I like to thank everyone at Flood Protection Solutions for allowing me this opportunity.”
Daniel White BSc (Hons)
