Hear from Cara Byrne, an aspiring CEO and student Innovation Consultant for King Street Studios as part of Innovation and Productivity Pathfinder.
About Cara
Cara Byrne, a Staffordshire University Student Innovation Consultant Intern for King Street Studios, explains how she accessed the Innovation and Productivity Pathfinder project to gain the knowledge to help set up her own business one day.
Cara is working on completing her masters (by negotiated study) in Fine Art Professional Practice. During Open Day, Cara picked up a leaflet offering different routes to professionally develop during and after university. She found Innovation and Productivity Pathfinder to be the most suitable and interesting venture and registered to apply.
About King Street Studios
King Street Studios is a Newcastle-under-Lyme-based business that works as a creative and business hub in areas, such as film and video, Art Organisations and Community Groups.
Cara joined the team as a Student Innovation Consultant Intern and was able to manage her time flexibly, working 16 hours a week.
Support Received
Working flexibly (16 hours a week on average), Cara thoroughly enjoyed the experience and found the support of her Innovation Advisor, Allen Jones, to help with any challenges that came her way.
If Cara had any other concerns, she could also turn to Unitemps Staffordshire University, which is based at the brand new Catalyst building on Leek Road.
Benefits Gained
As an aspiring business owner, creating a bespoke business plan to help innovate a local business was an exciting experience for Cara, as it gave her the experience of how a business operates.
The support from Allen Jones was very useful in helping bridge any knowledge gaps about how a business operates. Allen was a mentor and encouraged Cara to keep going and overcome any hurdles.
Not only did Cara learn more about how businesses, but she also developed important soft skills such as communication and teamwork.
*The Innovation and Productivity Pathfinder project has been fully funded by the UK Community Renewal Fund. The UK Community Renewal Fund is a UK Government programme for 2021/22. This aims to support people and communities most in need across the UK to pilot programmes and new approaches to prepare for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It invests in skills, community and place, local business, and supporting people in employment.
Even if you do not want to get business experience, it gives you other skills such as communication skills and working with people. I would definitely recommend it. I really enjoyed it!