6th Oct 2026
What's it like to be an intern at the Institute of Making?
Each year, the Institute of Making invites a cohort of paid interns to work with us, supporting our daily activities by providing valuable support and insight.
Since 2025, we've welcomed four communications interns and four events interns into the Institute to assist our team. When our 2025-26 cohort came to a close earlier this year, we asked our communications interns to reflect on their time with us. Here's what Ruth and Grace had to say…
Alexa (events intern) and Ruth during the Festival of Stuff masterclass week 2025.
Ruth Hana De Guzman, Dept of Med Phys & Biomedical Eng - Communications Intern 2025-26
"I first heard of the Institute of Making on my first day at UCL as a Medical Physics Undergraduate – my department head was singing its praises as an incredible UCL resource and encouraging us all to become members. Soon after, I attended the induction at Bloomsbury and was instantly amazed by the friendly, welcoming spirit that permeated everyone within the workshop – the almost childlike curiosity was so contagious. When applications for the Communications Internships opened, I immediately signed up – and was successful!
Throughout my internship, I was exposed to a wide range of experiences. One thing I was especially curious about, dry though it might seem, was the administrative aspect. I wanted to understand fundamentally what a Communications role involved, and thought that would be best reflected in the underlying organisational operations. For example, some tasks involved manually sorting resources before logging them on Excel, or examining the website for irregularities under ‘Management View’. These activities were carried out in the office, with occasional trips to the workshop. While working, I was able to listen in and contribute to conversations with the staff around me. Since they came from all walks of life, but the majority held arts/humanities backgrounds, I was immersed in an environment very different from my usual. It was eye-opening to see such novel perspectives regarding life, society, etc, and I feel my own views expanded considerably.
Having absorbed the essential characteristics of the Institute from this exposure, I was also better able to present myself accordingly during outreach. For example, when advertising for the 2025 Festival of Stuff, our manager, Becca, advised us Communications Interns to think carefully about the local places we would flyer at to draw in curious, open minds with a heart for communities, maximising appropriate audience reach. Thus, we researched places such as community centres, trade schools, theatres, etc, and indeed found the people there highly receptive to the invites. Moreover, she patiently led us in ‘writing workshops’ for persuasive social media posts, which I was very grateful for given how disuse had atrophied my literary skills. The practice surprisingly aided my degree too, since two of my modules were education-based and required engaging stakeholders who preferred such writing styles.
This creative exposure also presented itself during idea generation tasks. Whilst I tend towards shyly learning from quiet observation, I never felt pressured to conform and be more ‘outgoing’ – which actually grew my confidence faster. Despite still being shy and quiet, I am now comfortable interacting with makers and staff during events, and putting my ideas forward in group discussions behind the scenes. A memorable example of this was during the joint creation of the 2025 Festival of Stuff map, where most of my suggested designs made it to the final piece – a copy of which hangs proudly in my room as a souvenir.
During masterclasses, I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to interact with makers from behind a professional camera, all whilst learning and practising framing and compositional techniques. Photography was a new hobby of mine that I am passionate about, but lacked experience in. Through this, I learned to intentionally compose photos that relayed the Institute’s spirit, and how to effectively do event photography that puts people at ease despite a camera in their face. Moreover, I was able to actually participate in the masterclasses, which was amazing considering I had never won a ballot for them before! For example, during a wax masterclass, I was able to bond with the other interns, staff and makers over the shared making activity. We all found increasingly outrageous (but safe!) experiments to test the wax with, including dipping paper frogs/airplanes in hot wax – this led to a lot of gleeful giggles when we tested the planes’ flying capabilities, or lack thereof! A lot of these photos were uploaded to the Institute’s Flickr, and I often scroll through them to figure out which were mine.
Overall, I have nothing but fond memories of my time as a Communications intern. New experiences led to new learning opportunities – all of which were transferable and helped me grow as a student and as a person. I hope the next set of interns find the role just as fun as I did, and I am excited to hear their stories soon!"
The Festival of Stuff 2025 map that Ruth & Grace helped to design.
Grace Lee Sue Ern, Dept of Computer Science - Communications Intern 2025-26
"I have always been drawn towards making and the intricacies of creating with your hands. Whether my fingers are shaping unique vessels out of lumps of clay, or flying across a keyboard, materialising working software out of thin air, the entire process, from start to finish, has always cloaked me with a blanket of fulfilment. As such, the Institute of Making—a place that serves makers and supports discovery—caught my attention, even as a first-year undergraduate student at UCL. When an internship opening was offered to members, I jumped at the opportunity to apply. After a series of assessments, I got the job — and what a journey it has been!
Looking back, the exposure and experience of being a Communications Intern was unparalleled. I’ve had the chance to talk to people from all walks of life, from BBC radio hosts to industry experts with decades of experience. What struck me the most was how the Institute of Making became a unifying hub for individuals of varied backgrounds and specialities, a place where people convened together because of their mutual love for making. The passion of these participating makers was infectious—I found myself attentively listening into the workshops I was photographing for, hooked by the enthusiasm of the class. Watching everyone play and have fun with all sorts of mediums, I was reminded of why I started making in the first place.
Working at the Institute of Making has also challenged me creatively in all aspects of communications—photography, writing and even asset creation. I’ve had to think outside of the box and find new ways to convey the beauty of what we do through a single snapshot of an image or lines of prose. One memorable task was redesigning a map of UCL East’s Marshgate campus for the Festival of Stuff. It had to be simple and fun, capturing the essence of the Festival, while also being distinct enough so that attendees could seamlessly navigate the grounds. While daunting at first, a version of the redesigned map ended up being printed and distributed to attendees of the Festival. I remember holding the map in my hands and realising how big of an impact I could create, even as an intern.
While the work was fun, I would have felt out of place if not for the kindness of everyone working at the Institute of Making. The warmth that the team brought in every day could not be understated—employees and technicians alike made me feel welcome ever since my first day. Our ideas as interns would be invited, seen and heard, and tasks would pivot throughout the year to build up the transferable skills we wanted. Whether it was to write a piece, collaborate with my fellow interns, or photograph for a masterclass, going to work became something I looked forward to.
Overall, applying to the Institute of Making was the best leap of faith I could have ever taken. I was able to witness experimental creativity, make connections with employees, technicians and interns alike, and most of all, find true value in being a maker. If you’re looking to work at the Institute of Making, I wholeheartedly recommend it."