RGU offers many opportunities for students to enhance their employability by encouraging industry placements. Remy Heslop, a third-year International Business Management student, spent one year on placement with Enterprise as part of her course. After months of dedication and hard work, she won Intern of the Year for Scotland and Northern Ireland! She also competed in the final of the competition in London on the 27th of April.

Starting my RGU journey

My time at RGU started back in 2019 when I received an offer for the BA (Hons) International Business Management course. I chose this course as I was not sure what area I wanted to pursue within business. The International Business Management course has allowed me to explore all avenues of business through my different modules. It taught me what areas I am not so keen on, but also the areas I have a passion for. This has given me more clarity regarding what I want to do after graduation.

What attracted me to my course at RGU in the first place was their unique study abroad and placement year opportunity. Not a lot of students can graduate having these sorts of experiences. That was when I knew RGU was the university for me. Securing a placement in my third year was very important to me. But I knew it was going to be a challenge due to the pandemic having such financial impacts on many businesses. However, I saw a 12-month industrial placement opportunity for Enterprise-Rent-A-car advertised on LinkedIn and decided to go for it!

My placement experience with Enterprise

Enterprise didn’t want to see my C.V. They were more interested in getting to know me as a person, which I admired. And, lo and behold, I got the job! I always feared going into a placement where I would be treated as someone who does not play an important role in a company and just fetched the teas and coffees. But my experience at Enterprise couldn’t have been more different. I get treated the exact same way as everybody else, and I regularly get the opportunity to perform in a managing role. I get the chance to physically see how the decisions I made that day positively impacted the business. This has been so rewarding and has given me so much experience for future managerial roles.

My time within the company has been a rollercoaster. I’ve had some amazing highs, such as being part of a great team, getting first-hand experience of being a manager at a young age, and making my own decisions. There have also been some struggles along the way, with the long hours and the late nights. Making mistakes has proven difficult, however, there is never a great success story without failure and setbacks. I proved this to be right as I have just won Intern of the Year for Scotland and Northern Ireland!

Winning the award was such a proud moment as it felt like all my hard work really paid off. I urge every student to take the opportunity and undertake a placement year. I have achieved a lot of things during my time at Enterprise that I did not think would be possible whilst still being at university. My top tip for students applying this year is to do your research. Also make sure you are going into interviews prepared to answer any question the employer might ask you about the company. This is your chance to wow them with your knowledge!

Winning Intern of the Year in Scotland and Northern Ireland

On Monday 11th of April, myself and 5 other intern students from Scotland and Northern Ireland made our way down to the Enterprise head office in Stirling. We had to present a 10-minute presentation and a 5 min Q&A about our time with the company. We hosted these presentations in front of two directors, the area manager for the central belt of Scotland, and a member from the Enterprise talent acquisition team. The interns were all from different universities and it was great to see all the different experiences we’ve had!

My presentation included my achievements and milestones. For example, the part I have played regarding diversity, inclusion and equity, a business improvement idea, and my engagement with the social channels at Enterprise.

After the presentations, we were taken for a lovely lunch in Stirling where the directors announced the winner. When they said Remy Heslop, I could hardly believe it. I had just been announced Intern of the Year for Scotland and Northern Ireland! I was absolutely honoured.

Competing for UK Intern of the Year

On the 27th of April, I will be heading down to London with the area manager of the North East to the Enterprise’s UK head office. There, I will be competing for UK Intern of the Year against four other interns! The winner of the event will receive a cash prize of £5,000. Meanwhile, the intern in second place will get a prize of £2,500, and the person in third place will receive £1,000.

As well as a cash prize, all three interns will attend a networking lunch and spend a day within a department of their choice. This would be such an amazing opportunity for me as I am planning on pursuing a master’s degree with RGU in Risk Management. As such, having the chance to learn more about the risk department within Enterprise would be incredible.

Remy Heslop

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