The summer, before my third year as a Cambridge mathematician, I was fortunate enough to gain an internship with the UK’s Office of Communications (Ofcom).
Before I talk about the internship, I’d like to talk about my experience with the LEAP program prior to starting my internship. In a way, each LEAP event helped prepare me for what to expect for my internship. I would learn about conducting myself for presentations (which particularly helped at the end of the internship), career advice and even a trip to BT Labs where I was able to discuss telecommunications with a background in quantum computing (a particular area of interest of mine) with researchers at the forefront of these technologies. This made an internship with Ofcom an ideal working environment for me and my interests.
With the help of the LEAP team (Kate & Hannah) I got in touch with my internship supervisor to discuss the possibility of an internship of Ofcom and what it would entail. After a long preparation, I officially started my internship in mid-July.
The general topic of the internship was about computer networking and time keeping down to the nanosecond (and later picosecond). After a brief introduction to the topic, I delved into academic and associated papers to deepen my understanding, in the hope I could start to simulate the clock networks I was investigating.
The job was relatively flexible when it came to my times, as long as the work was done at a steady pace. This led to a lot of free time, and with the use of the internship grant to cover my Pembroke accommodation, I used my free time to spend with my friends or walk around the idyllic Grantchester field (during the long weekend in August I even managed to go LARPing). A caveat with flexibility is that even after you are done for the day, there’s this feeling that there is always something else to do. This helped me appreciate being more disciplined with my time and striking that work-life balance.
After the initial stage of familiarising myself with the topic, I went straight to developing mathematical models and simulations for the networks infrastructure and architecture we were aspiring to create. My supervisors and I had a biweekly meeting where we would discuss the current state of the project and any difficulties I was facing, whether that be understanding the topic or difficulty creating a model of a particular system architecture. As the internship progressed, I started to get stuck more often and spend more time trying solutions that didn’t seem to work. Asking for help, advice and academic references from my supervisors helped me appreciate the use of collaborative work in a workplace setting. Eventually this would lead to a breakthrough (and relief on my part) which allowed me to enthusiastically share my results and findings.
By the end of the internship, my supervisors managed to organise a meeting with Ofcom where I could present my research. I’m not particularly confident in my presenting skills, but one of my supervisors suggested a rehearsal meeting to gain confidence and feedback on my presentation. By the time I went to present my work, although nervous, I gained more confidence, and it went as well as I could have hoped for. I felt confident in my knowledge and everything I had learnt throughout the internship.
Reflection
Looking back on my internship, I feel I’ve learnt more about the career-pathways I can take. I’ve learnt new technical (hard) skills such as academic reading, improving my coding capabilities, learning to version control my work so I can collaborate with my colleagues, and the ability to innovate and create new mathematical models. I’ve also learnt softer skills such as discussing ideas with my supervisors, being resilient in the face of difficult problems and my ability to present my findings to a large audience. My supervisors also gave career advice, about future pathways I could consider whether they be post-graduate academics or a graduate job as well as skills I should focus on to improve my career prospects. With the new skills I have developed and the advice I’ve received it has made me aware of the opportunities I have laid-ahead of me.
I’m still unsure what I see myself doing post-graduation, but my internship helped me appreciate what a career could provide for my own development and personal growth. I enjoyed:
- learning about mathematical models
- learning the physics about atomic clocks
- coding working simulations
- being able to push past any difficult problems I faced
- discussing these ideas to my colleagues
By the end of my internship, I gained a new appreciation for telecom systems, the world of work and my own abilities.
The simulations and presentation I’ve developed can be found on https://github.com/D-Yunnus/Clock_Simulation.git
