I applied to Scott & Fyfe through the Saltire Foundation, an organization who provide internships across the world for penultimate undergraduate Scottish University students. When the internship options were posted I was studying at the University of North Texas as a part of my degree. I focused solely on Scottish based internships as after being away for five months I wanted to be able to catch up with friends and family on weekends!
I applied to Scott & Fyfe as I am studying the International Business Management course at Edinburgh Napier University and was interested in the variety of different markets that they manufacture technical textiles for. It was my intent to gain valuable experience through applying my university knowledge directly into the workplace.
My internship focused on the knitted hose reinforcement fabric, Polyknit Easyform , for use in automotive silicone hoses. I was tasked with analyzing the current market in order to determine how Scott & Fyfe should proceed with the textile product.
Through my degree so far I have studied numerous topics relating to business such as accounting, marketing, management and logistics; this knowledge proved extremely useful when launching the product and completing my final report. Alongside this I carried out marketing communication work and completed a market analysis and sales forecast using a variety of business framework tools. My internship culminated with a presentation to the board outlining my key findings and recommendations for the product.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Scott & Fyfe. By being part of this technical textile business I benefited through being able to apply the theory from University into practice. The internship gave me a great amount of freedom regarding my approach to the task and this improved my time management and organizational skills.
The environment at Scott & Fyfe is extremely friendly, with the open plan Innovation Space it was easy for me to ask for advice whenever I needed it. The project was important and provided value to Scott & Fyfe; it defied the stereotypical image of internships being all about making coffee! The responsibility I was given made me much more motivated, as I felt valued by the company. I would highly recommend working for Scott & Fyfe; this internship has given me skills and experience that will greatly benefit my future career prospects!
Robert Gathergood
