Undergraduates

DHL Singapore Intern Continued...

2011-10-19T15:37:00Z

Hi Everyone,

I haven't blogged for a long time so thought now would be as good a time as any to update you all on life after Saltire :-)

Since my internship working with DHL's Compensation & Benefits team in Singapore in 2010, I have completed my honours degree in Business Economics, relocated to Cambridge, and am currently in week 3 of my 2 year graduate scheme - it's been a busy final year! The Saltire internship has without a doubt been the most important resource in preparing me for working life, and the transition from the academic to corporate ways of working.

My new career begins in a rotational graduate scheme with the leading software engineering company 'AVEVA Solutions' - so I am proof that even though your internship was role specific, your career does not have to be related to reep the benefits of your experience! I am currently in the Product Strategy and Marketing team where I am learning a whole new way of thinking - having NEVER participated in any kind of marketing work before! Some projects I am involved with include producing marketing collateral for the Enterprise Solutions team, producing training video's on all of our software products and also will be contributing toward 'win' announcements while my colleague is off enjoying herself on her honeymoon! It's a fantastic department to be involved with in my first rotation and I couldn't have asked for a better manager or team.

I have been spreading the Saltire word through the building so hopefully when I am in a more appropriate rotation I can influence someone important to sign up as a host company for Saltire to get some more interns in to this rapidly growing company!

Natalie

Steve Jobs - innovative and inspiring entrepreneur

2011-10-09T14:47:00Z

I am now a few weeks into my last year of undergraduate studies at Stirling University and must say that I am very busy at the moment with academic and extracurricular committments. Still, I thought it would be a good idea to take just a little time to talk about a few things. Firstly, I am going to talk about Steve Jobs who recently passed away and examine his legacy. I remember the day when I was still working at National and Steve resigned from Apple where many people were already speculating about his health condition. Not many weeks later Silicon Valley has lost one of his most prominent, inspiring and innovative resident and entrepreneur. Many people where very shaken and sad when news broke about his death and I was a bit shocked myself when I woke up in the morning, turned on my laptop and read the news. However, I don’t want to go on too much about that as a lot has been covered by the media already. What I would rather like to talk about is what he did and what impact he had on our world. The Economist recently called him 'The magician' because he was able to put magic into his products. He had some very admirable qualities and although he has also been critisised for how he behaved towards some of his own employees, there is a lot to be learnt from Steve about how to persevere as an innovative entrepreneur and not to give up when life throws obstacles in your way. I had a look into his speech at Stanford University from 2005 where he talked about persevering in the face of what might seem insurmountable obstacles. I think it just shows that once you have an idea in your head that you think is worth investing in or working for than there is nothing that should stop you to pursue that idea. Clearly, in fourth year at university, there is a lot of work ahead of us but with the right attitude and optimism it is much easier to get through and see the rewards at the end. Steve Jobs has changed the world in an important sphere of life and even critics of Steve would agree with that statement. That being said, I think that we as Saltire Scholars can change the world as well back here in Scotland and can make our impact whichever route we take. The Saltire internship has enhanced this sort of 'can do' attitude and I am so amazed by the fact that if you are thrown into a new environment such as during the internship how well one can deal with the new situation and deal with the issues at hand. Thanks again Saltire Foundation for a truly brilliant summer.

Finally I would just like to talk about what has been happening since coming back from California. I returned on 12 September and I actually had quite a bumpy ride on the plane coming into Edinburgh with severe gales shaking the plane about. It was a rather scary experience but I am glad to say that I landed safely. I struggled quite badly with the jet lag which has never really happened to me before but eight hours time difference take their toll, I guess. University has been going well so far and it is nice to be back to see familiar faces. I have also attended a few Saltire events such as the Saltire Aluminate, helping out with the Information Session at Stirling University and meeting up for a Feedback session in Edinburgh where I enjoyed talking about my own experience and hearing others being excited about theirs. All in all, fourth year is set to be a very busy and challenging but overall enjoyable year. Good luck to everybody with their exams and assignments.

The summer is officially over!!

2011-09-21T08:25:00Z

On Tuesday I will be going back to university and beginning the fourth and final year of my degree before graduating and becoming a proper grown up!

However, after speaking to friends about their summer and what they have done I realise that I am going back to university having a massive advantage having been a part of the Saltire Alumini and have already been asked by people in the year below about how they can apply for the programme next year.

I finished my 8 week placement with Vets Now in the middle of August and took the opportunity to do a bit of travelling. The last place I visited was New York and while there I met up with 6 other Saltire interns who were also travelling now that their internships had finished. It was so good getting to hear first hand their own first experiences, what they had seen, learnt and how they also now see the business world in a different light. It was also weird because a part from Kirsty I hadn't met any of the other people I was with and yet I got on with them all so well. One of my personal highlights being singing the Proclaimers (500 Hundred Miles) in a packed karaoke bar just off Times Square and getting a room full of Americans to join in with us.

Tomorrow I will be attending the Saltire Alumini dinner and I am looking forward to being able to represent both the Saltire Foundation and the company that I did my placement with.

To anyone reading this and thinking about applying to the Saltire Foundation for placements in 2012 my only piece of advice is - GO FOR IT!!

And last but not least thank you to the Saltire Foundation for giving me an amazing experience, opportunity, summer and a host of new friends.

Tina x

Thank you Saltire Foundation!

2011-09-15T14:48:00Z

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In my last week here I have had a complete change of scene going to various meetings in a hotel here (and enjoying all the benefits that come with it – there is such a thing as a free lunch!). I have entered the world of finance and auditing, recording the benefits, next steps, issues and gaps for the finance team’s processes regarding the phase 3 deployment of the new operating model. Needless to say I have learned a lot!

To mark the end of my stay here in Krakow, my colleagues from the Corporate affairs Department took me on a surprise outing. We had a tour of the town, were sang to by buskers, went up to the Wawel castle, around their old university campuses, round to where Pope Jean Paul II used to live, had a ride in a golf caddy type car, and I took part in the recently founded tradition of leaving a padlock with your name on the bridge - all this with various vodka shots in between! We also had a lovely meal in the Jewish quarter we were also marking Ewelina moving to the Marketing Department. I was given a memento of my stay – a framed photo of me from out trip to Wisla as if on the front cover of our staff magazine! This magazine has recently been nominated for an award, which we were also celebrating. All in all a great send off, I can’t believe it’s been almost 8 weeks.

I would like to thank Iwona and the team for my experience here, and the Saltire Foundation for making this all possible. Thank you also to my blog readers! I’m looking forward to getting back to Scotland and hearing about everyone’s summer!

This Is Africa

2011-09-15T11:37:00Z

So I rocked up in Tanzania with no real clue what I was going to be doing or who I would be doing it with. I am no longer a Saltire intern and am now a temporary Aggreko employee so technically I shouldn't really be blogging but I'm sure Katie doesn't deal in technicalities.

Anyway I've been here for 3 weeks now and it turns out my job came with a whole lot more responsibility than I thought. Basically what I have to do is manage 9 guys for all the time I'm here and get them to install a fuel system for a 50 MW temporary power station. All of these guys have been doing this job for years so it was a bit strange that I was in charge of them. Not to worry we all get on really well and they are teaching me Swahili and I'm teaching them why everybody doesn't like Ashley Cole.

The work has been a brilliant experience and we are well ahead of our target so my team and the other three teams, all of 9 or more guys have a big barbeque coming up where some of the company big wigs can come and say well done I gather. Outside of work Tanzania has been brilliant, it is a real eye opener and couldn't be more different to Dubai. The beer being a 6th of the price goes a long way to making it a much cheaper place to live/work. I leave here on the 24th, have a couple of nights in Dubai then I'm back to Glasgow on the 26th to start uni on the 27th. It'll be ood to get back to uni to get a lie in, as we all know.

As it's my last blog I thought I'd sum up a few of the finer points of my time at Aggreko:

The discovery of brunch - like moths go to flames and sharks go to blood expats and Dubai all migrate to their 4 hour all you can eat all you can drink fests every Friday, this is totally not what I expected from Dubai and I must admit they are the best invention I have ever heard of, like the Millenium Platter/Scatter in Glasgow except, putting it nicely, your guts are a wee bit more settled after.
Beating the boys at golf - with Stewart being from the home of golf and Innes being a self-proclaimed 5 handicapper, it was a treat for me, "the retard" as they liked to refer to me on the golf course and at every other opportunity possible, to beat them both on the golf course designed by Ernie Els. Ok I had 15 shots on Innes and 10 on Stewart but is anybody really counting.
Activia's for like 20p a tub - enough said.

However there were a few points throughout the summer that will be slightly less well thought of when I look back at them:

Being sprawled out on a footbridge attempting to fish my driver out of the Dubai creek whilst Innes, Stewart and our mate Andrew got a good few laughs, photos and shouts of "look at the retard" at.
A night fuelled with Absinthe ended with one of our work colleagues having a pool of whisky and coke spilled all over here white suede couch. Polly if you or your cleaner ever read this I give you my upmost apologies for this mishap, if you look back through the chain of events somewhere I'm sure it is Stewart's fault.
Sitting in a packed expat bar before Hearts played Tottenham in the UEFA Cup telling anyone who would listen that we could well beat them and then sitting watching the 5th goal go in and hearing "your team really are bad aren't they".

I'd like to thank Katie and everyone else at Saltire for giving me the opportunity to go to Dubai for the best part of 3 months and being a big help anytime we needed it and msot of all I'd like to thank all the people at Aggreko for the experience, the time they put in with us and all of the valuable life lessons learned. I also learned a lesson fo my own - if you ever end up ina situation where you are in a supermarket with Stewart Mackenzie - Shaw do not, I repeat do not, let him convince you that buying 10 cans of chickpeas is a good idea. Buying 10 cans of chickpeas is never a good idea.

Hi guys, check out my new website: http://andrew.jarnuczak.com/

2011-09-13T10:02:00Z

It's been a while since my last post, so I thought some update would be in place.

Here's the link to my new website: http://andrew.jarnuczak.com/ and what i'm up to these days.

The Grand Finale

2011-09-12T12:51:00Z

The final week starts....I blink, and all of a sudden its Sunday and I'm packing my bags ready to head home.

Where do I begin with a week that can only be described as a blur?

Well, my project was nearing completion - and I was fairly confident I would be able to deliver on time before the final Friday goodbyes. But as is the way when you have everything planned out in your head, it never actually works out like that in reality. So the week started with a revelation that come Thursday, myself and Darren would be presenting our projects to our internship bosses, Alan and Jason; the Head of the Investment team - Anthony Thompson; the Director of the Technology Industries Division - Matt Carrick; and also nearly the entire investment team to boot.

So what had been a nicely planned out final week was now tasked with knocking up a 20 minute cohesive pitch about my time with the department, what work I had been conducting and what value I had created in the process. Honestly, I had been expecting something similar to this as the grand finale all along, but still, finding out I had just 4 days in which to create, learn and deliver this presentation on top of the already remaining project workload certainly made for a pretty intense last week to say the least.

Under normal circumstances (ie - at university) a 20 minute presentation like this wouldn't phase me at all, you would normally get several weeks to prepare for it, it would be written be as part of group of other students, and would usually only determine around 30 - 40% of the overall module grade anyway. However, in a real work environment, where it was not just our own necks on the line, but also the necks of our bosses (as ultimately our work reflected on their decision to put forward for internships in the first place) - the only two outcomes were to sink or swim.

Fortunately I'm a good swimmer, and despite a somewhat painful week of early starts and late nights (including a 5AM Friday morning) - when the deadline arrived - the presentation was ready. The delivery went down really well, everyone seemed to be impressed with my project work, the findings and also my presentation skills to boot! Most importantly though, my boss was very happy (complete with a few sighs of relief..!) so overall it was a fairly resounding success and a great way to cap off my internship.

So aside a few general housekeeping chores like organising all my saved files and documents, the work was out of the way - and all that remained was our final send-off celebration, which we organised and hosted in the form of a themed 'Scottish' night, complete with Irn-Bru, macaroons, shortbread, McCoy's salt and vinegar crisps, Rolo's, Cadburys chocolate, oatcakes, Nobby's Nut's, whiskey cocktails, tartan, a Scottish Quiz and of course, some bagpipe music!

Scottish ambassador's? Check!

Everyone seemed to really enjoy the little flavour of Scottish heritage, although the general Australian consensus is that Irn-Bru tastes like a cross between Lucozade and Calpol!

Here are a couple of photo's of the night...

Above - (Left to right) - Sonja Gibson, Me, Cheryl George.

Below - (Left to right) Us with the bosses - Jason, Alan, Me, Darren. Oh and Ray (The pink balloon).

We were also very generously graced with an incredible cut glass trophy to commemorate our time in the Victorian Government. This I'm sure felt not overly dissimilar to how it would feel to receive a Grammy - especially considering the short 'award winning' style speech that followed! Nonetheless, it was a really considerate gift which I am truly proud of owning and grateful to Jason for, who kindly who organised it.

So there we have it! Here I am packing for the trip home to Scotland (well actually Scotland on route to 2 weeks holiday in Madeira) - reporting back on the final week that came and went in a blur of last minute project work, presentations and send off goodbyes. I have had previous months that I have crammed less into than I did in the past week! Such is life I suppose.

I'll next blog when I'm back on Scottish soil in September so for now, Cheerio!

Edit - **(had to re-post this blog on 12th Sep whilst in Madeira as it didn't show first time around)**

Blog 6: The Circle of Life

2011-09-12T11:37:00Z

The Beginning of a new routine

After my exhausting week I had a very relaxing weekend and starting a bit of a weekend routine. On Saturday I had a long lie then got up and went shopping in the mall, very American I thought. I also looked into doing to the cinema that night but when I came home for dinner and getting changed I fell asleep. Such a busy week. I continued my weekend routine by with a trip to the farmers market on the Sunday. Getting dinner and bits and pieces for the week ahead.

Falling in Love

I have also discovered Delilah, due to my later times home, a soft rock chat radio program which has people phone up and tell their stories. The stories are normally about love, dating or reflection which has lead me to reflect on my time at with the Saltire foundation and GE so far. Below is my own unique story for Delilah.

I first met Gees [GE Wind Electrical Systems placements] through our mutual friend, Saltire [the Saltire Foundation]. I was invited by Saltire to an awesome party [ Saltire Foundation Website] where I would have the chance to meet lots of interesting people [read the profile of summer placements]. Talking to friends [past interns] before I went I couldn’t wait to see what the party would be like and when I got there I wasn’t disappointed. There were loads of exciting people from a variety of places although some of them were clearly not the one for me. Across the room I saw Gees, he looked exciting, interesting and stood out in the crowd; he seem a perfect match. As I spent more time at the party with him [researching GE online] and I grew more convinced he was the one for me and decided to make my feeling obvious [applying of the placement]. We spent the most of the party talking to each other getting to know each other better, finding out things we had done and things we liked doing. [Further researching the placement and going through the application, speed interviews, and phone interviews]. By the end of the party I was smitten; I was even more thrilled when we had a date set up [got the placement] for the following week [to start in a few weeks].

As the date grew closer the excitement grew and grew. I had soon chosen what I was going to wear [flights book]; had then decided how I would do my hair [started packing]; the time and place confirmed [accommodation confirmed]. I had even met up our mutual friend Saltire to get more gossip and stories on Gees [information on the placement]. I also got the chance to speak to some others, equally excited, going on dates they had met through Saltire too, a brilliant match maker.

Before I knew it the day was fast approaching, and the excitement started to turn to nervous. At a few hours before [night before flight], it was all of a sudden it was here and the nervousness really started to overtake the excitement. I was going on a date Gees, it was now starting to feel real. In the taxi there [flight] I tried to concentrate on the positives to overcome the nervous and settle the butterflies in my tummy. Although, they soon spiked again when I first saw Gees [started my first day] although it wasn’t long before I was relaxed and enjoying myself, forgetting about the silly nervous in the last few days.

I can happily say this was just the first date in exciting relationship with Gees which is continuing strongly. It’s surprising to think that so long in [5 weeks] and that I still feel that excitement when I see Gees [go into work]. Maybe it’s true love.

The attempt on my life

This Friday there was an attempt on my life. I was sitting quiet happily on Friday afternoon with a wee bit of Poalo Nuntini in one ear while I wrapped up my work for the week, when Matthew Richwine had the audacity to wish me a happy weekend over the top of my cubical wall. Well I got such a fright that I jumped, screamed out loud and pretty sure my heart skipped a beat before I bust out laughing at thought of how ridicules I must have looked. I’m pretty sure my response to Matt’s “Have a nice weekend” gave him a fright too so maybe I wasn’t the only one laughing to cover my fear. I’m not going to lie I get small frights quiet easily but this was the biggest fright I had since I can remember. Thanks Matt, and sorry for my odd reply.

So there we have it, in one week the beginning of something new, a love story and a near death experience. Just another exciting week with GE, thanks to Saltire.

Flora xxx

IBM – Incredibly Brilliant Months

2011-09-10T21:30:00Z

Looking back on our 2 months in Charlotte it exceeded all expectations. I have learnt so much from the experience and can’t thank IBM and Saltire Foundation enough. The people we were working with at IBM devoted so much time to teaching us that it meant we became capable of doing far more than I would have thought possible in the time we had. Without their generous support in time and skills we would not have been able to build up the confidence we gained in what we were doing. This is not...(read more)

Charlotte Days & Knights!

2011-09-10T21:19:00Z

As hurricane Irene was approaching the East Coast we were lucky to be safely 400 miles in land. We continued to work on our upcoming deadlines. The goal of my project was to have as many suppliers compliant on S&EMS (Social & Environmental management) requirements by the end of my time at IBM. I also had to produce a handbook that I could leave for supplier relation managers to use to help them obtain compliance with their companies in the next phase. This document contained the 8 questions on which each of the companies would have to become compliant if they were to continue to do business with IBM. We provided all of the information that the supply relation manager would need to have to help them obtain compliance for phase 3 on our departure. Writing the handbook was actually really fun and it gave me the chance to go through everything I had learnt in the past 8 weeks.

We had a final conference meeting to brief our bosses, vice presidents of procurement, managers and staff across the world. We went through each of our projects systematically with a PowerPoint presentation explaining exactly what we had done and the results we had achieved. It was a weird feeling knowing it would be the last time I dialled into a conference call after 8 weeks of days filled with conducting conference call meeting with IBM suppliers. As we took people through the projects I could see clearly and appreciate just how much we had been able to learn from everyone in our time at the company (so thanks everyone). By the end of our 2 months we had held around 70% of the supplier calls for phase 2 US and Canada and analysed large amounts of video conferencing information.

No trip to America is complete without a ball game! As part our last weekend in Charlotte our boss Steve and his wife Julie took us to see the Charlotte Knights at the local stadium. We had a great night with under the floodlights watching the great American match take place. We went for a final meal with Steve and Julie and exchanged Scottish and American gifts. They gave Nadia and I lovely print of the Charlotte skyline a sight I will really miss.

Week 7 and 8: Black and Yellow

2011-09-09T14:13:00Z

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I wrote this last week but didn’t get the chance to upload it till now. Sorry.

I am sitting at the airport writing this, my last blog in the US, I cannot believe that has been 8 weeks. It has been such a great experience and I know that it is going to have changed my life forever.

These last two weeks have been jam packed with activities and work. I was desperately trying to complete all my assignments at work and make sure I didn’t leave any loose ends. To ensure I did this, I had to phone suppliers to encourage them to get back to me promptly and to negotiate prices, this is something my boss always joked with me about as he knew I was nervous about speak with them, however, after a few calls my confidence grew, now I don’t even know why I was nervous. After 8 weeks of working with my team we went for a farewell lunch, it was extremely hard to say bye but I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to work with such wonderful people and I am definitely going to keep in touch with them. My networking opportunities weren’t limited to the GE plant as even within my hotel in Erie I met a man who was really interested in what I was doing and keen to give me his business card as he was working for a petrochemical company. It is amazing the people you meet when you’re not looking.

My last two weekends in the US I spent in the city of Pittsburgh. I arrived with friends to the buzzing city, packed with thousands of students returning to university after their summer. It was a brilliant atmosphere and the weather was spot on, I knew after the first 5 minutes of being there that I would really like this city, it is definitely a place I can see myself living in the future. The weekends consisted of site seeing, bars, food and American football. It was my first time ever watching football so it was very strange, a mix between rugby and some other sport. I was lucky there were lots of entertainment surrounding the field from cheerleaders to bands, as I had no clue what was going on and preferred to watch them. Although I did join in with all the chants and the celebration when we scored, every time we scored the guys would lift the girls up and throw them in the air 10 times.

Just in case nobody made the connection, my blog title is a reference to the colors of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania which is the title of a song by Wiz Khalifa.

I hope everyone has a safe journey home and enjoyed their summer as much as I did.

From Caledonia to California

2011-09-08T03:43:00Z

Nine weeks ago I departed from rainy Edinburgh and landed more than half a day later in sunny San Jose. Now, I would like to reflect on this time and my experience. The weather here has been just amazing and it often took me by surprise, when I walked out of Building G of the National Campus where I work, and the sun was shining. I do miss to have some rain once in a while. I know that this might seem strange but if it is sunny every day you kind of wish for rain sometimes. It is just unusual to have the sun shining all the time. Most employees actually get tired of the sun and don’t sit outside to enjoy the sun during their lunch.

I have written most of this blog on my trip to San Diego and L.A. and have continued to finish it off in the last couple of days. Travelling and seeing new places as always been a passion of mine and it helps me to stay creative and gives me inspiration. When I go back to Scotland I will be more refreshed with new ideas in my head and with more opportunities to grasp. When travelling on a plane or train I find time to think of new ideas or I reflect on the places I have just been to or will be going to and the experience or the insight I have gained after visiting a place and its people.

Thus, I was planning to start writing on the flight to San Diego but the flight was very early in the morning so I decided to take a nap instead. Later on, in San Diego, I found a nice spot in the San Diego Old Town State Park which comprises of houses and shops from the 17^th century. This is what is called the birthplace of California. European settlers arrived here first to inhabit this area and make it their home. It was fortunate that the light rail is stopping at Old Town and nearby there is actually a transit center if you want to travel to Mission Beach or Pacific Beach which I did after visiting Old Town. San Diego has a lovely climate as well and it is just ideal that beaches and the sea are not far away. In two days I stayed here, I really appreciated this city. It would have been nice to stay a bit longer.

Taking a short break from reporting about my trip, I would like to mention that it has been an enormous privilege coming to California and to be able to work in Silicon Valley. I have now just two working days left and I have planned to visit San Francisco one last time this Saturday. The next days I am going out for lunch with some of my co-workers and I have already thanked them by giving them some small souvenirs from Scotland. Now that a lot of my previous co-workers have left the company to work elsewhere, it is soon my turn to say goodbye. I would like to add here that most of the remaining employees have been offered other or similar positions within TI and I am glad for those co-workers concerned. I have had a wonderful time and it has been a very interesting and useful experience to work in corporate finance. I definitely learned a lot and was given an opportunity to make a valued contribution to the WMS Finance group. Once I am back in Scotland, University starts almost immediately so it will be just getting back to being a regular student but with a whole lot more of experience and ambition added. There is something that is noticeable and that is that a degree from Scotland and or other Scottish vocational qualifications are highly in demand in the world and also here in California. Many people from Scotland have come here to work in Silicon Valley and there is a demand for certain skills and qualifications, for instance engineering graduates and professionals with a CA qualification such as my manager and National’s CEO Don McLeod.

At work now, I will be handing over the work I have done in the last weeks to my colleagues. It feels really strange to leave now that I have become used to National and the work I am doing here. I will just have missed the transition to TI and there could have been a slight chance that the deal would have closed but the regulatory procedures in some of the countries National and TI operate have taken longer than expected. Nevertheless it feels good to instruct the other co-workers showing them how certain reports should be done and what work they will have to do when I am gone.

Let me now get back to my weekend trip. As I already mentioned, I really liked San Diego and I was impressed that the price level there is also quite high despite the proximity to Mexico. But I was told that many people want to live in this area because of the weather and the nearby Pacific Ocean which automatically drives up prices. This is similar to Silicon Valley where the factors are the strong local labour market with all the IT companies and also the favourable weather.

I managed to visit most of the sights in San Diego such as the aircraft carrier USS Midway. This was definitely worth the money and I can’t think of any place in the world where you could visit a full size aircraft carrier. Although the USS Midway is an ‘old’ model, it is still like a big village with all the facilities on board that were needed for the crew such as a post office, a barber, a huge galley and medical facilities including dental department, an operating theatre and an intensive care unit. Walking about on the runway you had a wonderful view of San Diego and the Bay. A Sail Festival was also taking place nearby and many old sailing boats could be seen out on the water with two bigger ones firing cannons every hour. Apart from the USS Midway, the Old Town and the beaches, I examined the Gas lamp Quarter, the historic heart of San Diego, which was founded in the late 19^th century and now accommodates mostly restaurants and the city’s night life. On Sunday, I went further afield to the Balboa Park where one can find many museums and the San Diego Zoo. The park itself is already worth seeing and, by accident, I came across a little village of 1935 exposition cottages. Here, every Sunday, these houses are open to the public and they each represent and showcase a country and its culture. The first house I noticed when I saw the village was Hungary and a bit further down Scotland (see photo) was represented as well as England and the rest of the UK, Germany and a few other countries. In every house, descendants of the respective country that lived in the US would serve coffee and snacks and talk about their country. It was a really unique experience and well worth visiting. Later on in the afternoon, I met up for some ice cream with the other interns that worked for Envision Solar in San Diego. We went for a stroll along the coast and talked about our experience over a coffee near the seaside.

The next morning, I took the train from San Diego to Los Angeles. I was waiting to board for the train when it started to rain. This was in fact the first time I experienced some rain in the entire nine weeks I had been here. The train ride itself is very scenic with the train running near the Pacific Ocean. When I finally arrived in L.A., the first thing I did, was to get a map of the city. Los Angeles is huge and I soon decided that I would only have time to see Hollywood, The Walk of Fame and Universal City. I did stop in Downtown but there is hardly anything to see or visit apart from the City Hall and the Church of the Angels. Also, at that time it was just awfully hot and I did not want to spend more time there. The Hollywood Walk of Fame was cool to see but there were loads of tourists and the heat didn’t help either. It was interesting though to notice where people would stop take a picture of their ‘star’. After having some lunch and visiting Universal City it was time to go to the airport. This took nearly one and a half hours but it just gave you an idea how large the Greater Los Angeles Area is. It kind of reminded me of my experience of Sao Paulo in Brazil which is also huge but when I visited, friends there showed me around and this made my experience of Sao Paulo rather positive. I think that it would be the same for Los Angeles, if I knew somebody who could show me around and would know how to get around in L.A. as it is essential to drive here because it takes ages to get to places. I had to rely on public transportation which is, when you compare it to the extensive tube system in London, appalling. There are only really three or four metro lines which are supported by a bus network. The one advice I can give people that want to visit L.A. is that hiring a car is a must in order to check out all the sights and activities in the area. You then also have to stay a few days to do that. However, you have to be rather adventurous to drive in L.A. and I don’t think it will be quite a pleasure to that either. Finally, if you don’t really like big cities anyway you should avoid L.A. and rather go for San Diego where you’ll have a lot to see too and you will be able to relax and not stress out trying to get around. I did not really dislike L.A. but I must honestly say that, should I ever come back to California, this is not the first place I would visit. In that matter, of the three major ‘San’ cities plus Los Angeles, my personal ranking would be

1. 1. San Francisco

2. 2. San Diego

3. 3. San Jose

4. 4. Los Angeles

San Jose and the surrounding areas are also rather worth visiting than L.A. So if you are around in San Francisco, do take the trip to San Jose and some of the towns in between such as Palo Alto and Mountain View.

So, this is me giving you some travel advice, the next time you visit California. This one day in L.A. made me really tired and I was sleeping back on the plane to San Jose. After arriving back in the San Jose area, I was glad to have returned back ‘home’ to Santa Clara. I would like to end here and give a big thanks to the Saltire Foundation for this amazing experience and everybody who has followed my blogs.

8 weeks, 56 days or 1,344 hours

2011-09-06T21:51:00Z

8 weeks, 56 days or 1,344 hours spent in Melbourne with the State Government of Victoria. I have left Melbourne with a plethora of different experiences and memories so firstly it seems fitting to thank the Saltire Foundation for sending me to Melbourne. Next I would like to thank Alan Gibb and Jason Mullen for introducing a naïve Scottish undergraduate to the world of public service and nitty gritty government policy.

No doubt all of my fellow Scholars will have copious amounts of different experiences that will benefit them in the long run and aid them in their future careers. Personally for me my time in Australia with the State Government was illuminating beyond belief: I learned the importance of public service and the good things that government does and the essential functions that it serves.

I also had a chance to write speeches for the Minister, make recommendations to the Minister on his body language and show the government how to make itself more competitive.

Lastly, anyone who is reading this blog and is thinking about applying for a Saltire Foundation placement next year I strongly encourage you to do it. My Saltire Foundation Internship was challenging and demanding, but the experience and business lessons gleaned from my placement are invaluable. I now know that I can walk into most interview situations and have a list of different experiences and skills that the other interviewees can only dream about – this is the all down to the Saltire Foundation.

I’ll sign off with a quote that sums up what I learned during my 1,344 hours spent in Melbourne:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?”

Lastly, thank you the blog readers for following my adventures in Melbourne. I hope they have proved to be funny and interesting and I haven’t bored you too much...

A Saltire Foundation billboard in Times Square!

2011-09-06T14:36:00Z

It has been said that ‘the most valuable billboard real estate space in New York City is in Times Square." Times Square is one of the world's busiest intersections with an average of 500,000 people passing through it every day. Many say a billboard there is comparable to the effectiveness of a TV ad during the Superbowl. The Saltire Foundation image repeatedly rolled down on 15,000 square feet of bright LED exterior signage for all of Times Square to see. People were even trying to take photos of me having my photo taken in front of the photo on the billboard – definitely spreading the Saltire word!

This was thanks to The American Eagle flagship store’s innovative digital experience. It gives shoppers their “15 Seconds of Fame” on 25 storeys of advertising space in the middle of Times Square – a clever ploy by the brand to differentiate the store from its brightly-lit competitors which is so successful that it has become a social-media icon. The Saltire Foundation got far more than 15 seconds of fame as the photo billboard was shown over and over again.

Bidding a fond farewell to Hong Kong and looking forward to the future!

2011-09-06T14:25:00Z

My last week in Hong Kong was the quickest of the eight that I spent there, arriving at Glasgow Airport yesterday (Sunday), I really couldn’t believe that I was home and just how quickly the entire experience passed by. Having said that, I managed to fit in a lot in the eight very quick weeks that I was there. I visited some incredible places, with spectacular views. I worked with a fantastic group of people who were incredibly friendly and welcoming. My last week was filled with long farewell business lunches and several nights out, including a team trip to the bowling on Friday, my last night in Hong Kong. Whilst working at Citi I also met colleagues who were over from other Asia Pacific countries and in my final week, I’ve now got some contacts in Japan, Singapore, Australia, the Philippines , New York and, of course, Hong Kong – hopefully I chance to get to visit them all at some point in the future! I also received extremely valuable feedback and advice from several of my colleagues, advice that I’m certain will come in handy when applying for graduate jobs in the coming months. The experience itself, as I’m sure all Saltire interns will agree, is much more than just an internship – it’s a chance to immerse yourself in a totally different culture, make fantastic friends and grow so much both personally and professionally. And it’s the personal development aspect which is particularly hard to properly articulate! I’ve had a fantastic journey so far and I’m looking forward to giving something back through supporting the Saltire Foundation’s recruitment drive for 2012.

To anyone thinking of applying for 2012, I cannot recommend the experience highly enough – it really is so much more than just an excellent asset on your CV.

Thank you Saltire Foundation for an incredible, unforgettable eight weeks!

David