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Katie Edwards is studying History and Politics of the Americas at UCL. Katie completed a UCL Social Data Institute internship with Dods Political Intelligence in 2024 and reflects on her experience.
What were your day-to-day responsibilities during your internship?
As I started the internship, Dods was preparing for the upcoming election and so I was tasked with creating MP biographies and inputting the data onto the Dods People website. Post-election, I was inputting local election results into excel spreadsheets. I also worked on updating the MEP biographies and data set, as well as helping create the Movers and Shakers weekly newsletter. For the remainder of the internship I was inputting data to update the Dods People database. At the end of my internship, I was given 2 days to focus on a project of my choosing, where I presented my research to the team at the end.
What project(s) were you involved in? What outcomes or deliverables were generated e.g. reports, articles, insight generated for the rest of the organisation etc.?
I was involved in the Dod's election coverage, I helped to deliver a comprehensive report on the election to the Dods website by the following day. I also authored 2 weeks worth of the Movers and Shakers newsletters, which updates clients about the key changes in the European Parliament over the last week.
What was your favourite task/responsibility during your internship? Which piece of work are you most proud of?
My favourite task was my research project at the end of the internship. I created a data visualisation document of the ministers who have had previous departmental experience, comparing their level to the previous governments. I presented this to the team when it was finished.
What did you find challenging during your internship?
I found the monotony of data entry quite challenging, however the team did their best to provide me with varied jobs so I could work on different things throughout the day to break it up a bit.
What software and data analysis techniques did you have the opportunity to use?
I used excel, the dods people admin site and SQL.
What was it like working for your provider?
It was a fantastic experience, they are so welcoming and supportive. They put a lot of trust in me and delegated more responsibilities than I originally thought I would receive. They were always keen to ensure we were having a good experience, looking to improve it any way they can.