It is around this time last year that I was in the final stages of the application process for the Saltire Foundation. I remember thinking I had absolutely no chance of getting through. Why on earth would anyone want to send me off to the other side of the world for a summer internship? Now, almost a year on from my internship with IBM in China, I can start to appreciate just how much the experience has contributed to my development.  I am now a tremendously more confident person, and the experience has given me the drive and determination to succeed to my full potential. 

Since my return from China, I have been working hard towards achieving my honours degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Strathclyde.  This year has been particularly intense, but I strongly believe my Saltire experience gave me the motivation to get through it.  I have been working extremely hard, and achieving grades that I have never achieved before in my university career. My Saltire experience was a major help in helping me settle on my dissertation topic.  Having worked in China for two months, I wanted to give my dissertation a Chinese angle in order to allow me to do some research into the country. The topic I chose was Corporate Social Responsibility in China, and I done a lot of research into how cultural differences influenced CSR disclosures in the country.

In addition to my university commitments, I have been very actively involved in the Saltire Foundation Alumni Association.  I am part of the Alumni Relations Team, working alongside Chris Gordon, Lucy McIntyre and Daisy Radford.  Our task is to ensure the smooth integration of future Saltire interns into the alumni.  The project we are currently involved in is very exciting and we hope that the new 2010 interns will benefit from it.  Around 30 of the current alumni have offered to act as a mentor to this years interns.  The idea is that the mentors will get a chance to meet with their intern before they go off on their internship and then keep in contact with them while they are out on their placement.  This should be very successful in making the interns aware of alumni activities before they have even left, and as such we would expect that the transition from intern to alumni would be very smooth for the 2010 intake.  In addition to this, we are in the process of planning a number of fundraising events this year for the Saltire Foundation.  It has just been confirmed that we are planning to hold a Gala Dinner in October, and we are also investigating other fund raising options over the summer.  

In March, I attended the National Council for Work Experience Awards with Melissa Dickson and Irene Johnstone in London.  My nomination resulted in the Saltire Foundation being shortlisted for an award - Best Work Experience Provider as Nominated by a Student.  We were delighted to receive the Highly Commended Award in this category - essentially making Saltire second out of 120 nominations!  A fantastic result - and great to see the Saltire Foundation getting the recognition it deserves. 

On a final note, I have completed the final stage of the recruitment process with IBM for a position in their finance graduate programme, and I am awaiting information regarding a starting date.  I have also been successful in getting to the final stages of the selection process for another company, which can undoubtedly be put down to the skills and experience I have gained from my Saltire internship.