This blog has been written by Joe Thompson, a first year Economics student at the University of Nottingham. Joe joined the ADS Economics Team for a 5-week summer internship.

About Me

As a first-year economics student at the University of Nottingham, everything I’d learnt about economics and business was quickly overshadowed by the extent of the hands on learning I did in my summer working for ADS. It has been fantastic at allowing me to zoom in on specific markets and see what economics is like in the real world. Through my 5 weeks, so many staff were kind enough to take the time to have a 1:1 with me, which helped to show me exactly where a career in economics can take me, as well as to make connections for the future.

Summer Internship

I spent my 5 weeks working with the economics team: Aimie and George. Everybody at the office was lovely and took time to say hello and introduce themselves. Aimie and George included me in high level meetings and gave me the opportunity to take on my own assignments, including leading on data analysis pieces and writing economic research briefs on topics I found interesting. The highlight of my work contribution was a piece of analysis on the global commercial aircraft figures which was picked up by Sunday Times. Through these assignments, I learnt so many skills that I wouldn’t learn from university, and this will allow me to go into the workplace confident in my base level abilities.

ADS took me to several events throughout my internship, such as the Advanced Manufacturing Conference in Birmingham and the joint ADS – British Business Bank roundtable. I had the chance to hear from and network with industry leaders and CEOs which was unbelievably valuable. Towards the end of my internship, the economics team took me for a leaving lunch. It was great to spend some time with colleagues on a social basis, and it made me appreciate how lovely the team at ADS is.

 

Overview

Working for ADS has been fantastic and has given me great insight into what I might do next. There is no doubt that the knowledge I have gained will improve the quality of my work through university as well as help me when I enter the world of work. Thank you to the ADS team for being so welcoming!