Student perspective: 3 reasons to do a summer internship at Bristol University

Photo of Eliana, the author of this blog postby Eliana Garcia, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering student and Bristol Futures Advocate

I am Eliana Garcia, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering student (BEng). I did a summer internship at Bristol Robotics Laboratory in 2023. It was a transformative experience, include immerse learning, skills development, and self-reflection. and here are three compelling reasons why you should consider an internship at Bristol university.

  1. Putting Learning into Practice

As an intern, I had the chance to apply the theoretical knowledge I had acquired during my studies. Embodied intelligence, a subject I had admired from afar, became tangible as I worked on a project involving a quadruped robot. The open-source, torque-controlled legged robot platform challenged me to translate textbook concepts into real-world solutions. It was exhilarating to see equations come alive in the form of mechanical movements. An internship allows you to test yourself, bridge the gap between theory and practice, and keep your learning active.

  1. Rapidly Acquiring New Information

Internships are like accelerated learning labs. At Bristol Robotics Laboratory, I honed essential study skills that extended beyond the classroom. Academic reading, note-taking, and library research became my daily companions. I learned to navigate research papers effectively, evaluating their relevance and extracting valuable insights. Seeking guidance from subject librarians, I discovered hidden gems in the form of specialized books related to soft robotics and dynamic control. The Cornell Method for notetaking became my secret weapon—capturing key points, making connections, and summarizing material for future reference. These skills are invaluable, whether you’re pursuing academia or venturing into industry.

Photo of robotics equipment

  1. Visualizing My Future Path

Internships offer a glimpse into your professional destiny. As I immersed myself in the world of robotics, I reflected on my strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes. Beyond the lab, I pondered my post-university options. Would I thrive in industry, pushing the boundaries of innovation? Or should I continue my academic journey, pursuing a master’s degree? Perhaps there was an entirely different path waiting—one aligned with my passions. The internship acted as a compass, guiding me toward self-awareness and informed decision-making.

Finally, my time at Bristol Robotics Laboratory expanded my technical knowledge, but it also enriched my academic toolkit. It equipped me with essential skills, broadened my perspective, and allowed me to visualize the myriad paths that lay ahead. So, if you’re considering an internship, don’t merely think of it as a checkbox. Instead, view it as an adventure—a chance to explore, learn, and shape your future. Bristol University awaits, ready to ignite your curiosity and propel you toward greatness.

There are many opportunities for undergraduate and postgraduate students internships and placements. For more information about internships open the following link: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/students/life-in-bristol/careers/internships-and-placements/

How I make notes: A law student’s guide to making revision notes

Photo of Tala, the author of the blog postby Tala Youhana, Law student and Bristol Futures Advocate

If you’re a law student, you’re probably familiar with the ‘IRAC’ method, which is traditionally used to solve legal problem questions, so you’re probably wondering why I’m mentioning it in a post about making revision notes. Surprisingly, IRAC (Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion) can provide a very effective guide beyond the remits we’re familiar with, and this post will seek to walk you through the process of using IRAC to make your revision notes.

Firstly, it’s important to emphasize the individualised nature of making notes, whereby there is no single right or wrong approach, so this post should only be used as a guide to help you find a unique approach which works well for you.

 I- Identify the issues

This is where you ask yourself what has worked well for you in the past and what hasn’t. In this stage, keeping an open mind is essential, and can be your most powerful tool. For instance, do you have a preference between digital and hand-written notes? If so, have you tested out both before coming to your conclusion? You may ask yourself questions like, which is easier to refer to when writing essays, which is easier to store, how easy is it to find what you’re looking for, would a hybrid approach be more effective, etc. Seek to identify obstacles you experienced in previous revision sessions and intervene with an effective solution. For me, I used to have difficulty with revisiting incomplete work, so I created a checklist before each lesson in my notes detailing all the work that I need to get done, so that when I was revising, I could immediately find incomplete work which needed revisiting.

R- Make the rules

Law students are expected to navigate numerous types of sources including cases, statutes, lectures, textbooks and articles, so finding a consistent technique that simplifies this is important. For instance, I generally colour code my notes following the same rules in every module: making case names purple, statutes pink, and articles emboldened, to distinguish them. For digital notes, also aim to familiarise yourself with keyboard functions such as “ctrl + f” to help you locate keywords when browsing a long document. Furthermore, incorporating a system of subheadings can be really effective for revision.

Handwritten notes using colour coding and a checklist of outcomes
Some of the rules in action – Notes on law, equity and trusts of land

A- Apply the rules

Once you have found the technique which works for you, your next hurdle would be to stay consistent in applying it, as this will remove the burden of you having to remember each modification you made over time, unless you feel that your previous approach is no longer working for you.

 C- Conclude

Finally, if you have spare time, formulate summaries for each section of your work or leave some room for this, to make it easier for your future self to remember the key elements in each section.

This was a whistle-stop tour to making revision notes for law, and now the rest is over to you to find what works best for you. Good luck!