Diversity in the Workplace
The 10,000 interns foundation was set up by a group of 4 people, ‘acutely aware of the lack of representation in their sector’. They offered 100 black students internship opportunities in investment management.
In just 3 years, this has grown to 25,000 opportunities, with 220 firms offering internships in the summer just gone. Geolytix were excited to be one of these firms.
We got to review 100s of applications and speak to many great candidates. We were planning on offering to 1 student, but couldn’t decide between Alysha and Mohamed so offered to both. Alysha asked why she was picked - both showed passion, interest in what we do and a personable warmth that we knew would fit in well with our culture.
As usual we threw them in at the deep end with 2 projects. One to help review the names of some of our global places, to ensure our automated algorithms were getting it right. This opened up our world of maps to them, in some far off places across the world.
The second project used our open bank and building society data - we asked them to integrate this dataset with our other geodata to understand trends and themes in bank openings and closures across the years. This project ended with a presentation. We were really impressed by their story telling, presentation skills, working together and analytical output.
The 10,000 interns programme is a fantastic initiative to help businesses tackle how to improve diversity and inclusion in their workplace. We loved that both Alysha and Mohamed shared with us that they had learnt real world skills that would benefit them in future roles, above and beyond what academia can provide:
“Working at Geolytix was a brief but interesting journey. From the offset we were met with the opportunity to learn about new software and new analytical techniques and with the guidance and support of our team. Another intern and I were able to assist in the progress of a real project and provide some analytical insights into data we’d been given for our project. It wasn’t a straightforward task; we did experience some challenges. But with the support of the wider team and a little problem solving we were able to deliver a good end product for our manager and the team. I’ve learnt a lot from this experience. Special thanks to Lucy for allaying my worries before internship and supporting me throughout and also Sarah for valuing my potential and accepting me for this opportunity.
Thanks for believing in me Geolytix! : )”
Alysha
“During my internship at Geolytix, I had the privilege of immersing myself in the world of data analysis and geospatial insights. My time with the company allowed me to apply and enhance my skills, collaborate with a talented team, and contribute to meaningful projects that bridge the gap between data and real-world decision making. It was a valuable and enjoyable experience that deepened my passion for data driven solutions. I would like to thank Lucy & the team for supporting me throughout my time there and special thanks to Geolytix for the opportunity given to me.”
Mohamed
Thank you Alysha and Mohamed and the best of luck in the next year ahead!