Cambridge's Development and Alumni Relations Summer Internship Programme
Fostering the fundraising and alumni relations professionals of the future
This summer, Development and Alumni Relations Offices across Collegiate Cambridge welcomed a small cohort of eleven interns into the University’s second annual Go Far! Cambridge Fundraising and Alumni Relations Internship Programme.
Although still in its infancy, the programme has already been awarded a Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Best in Europe award in 2024 in the Talent Management category.
And the accolade is well-deserved.
As the first Development and Alumni Relations internship aimed at current students in the UK and Europe, the programme provides an intensive, hands-on professional experience for Cambridge students. The interns get the chance to work alongside sector leaders from across the Collegiate community, gaining work experience and valuable skills, learning about philanthropy, and developing an understanding of the profession through a rigorous curriculum.
The University and Colleges created the programme to foster a diverse future talent pipeline of fundraising and alumni relations professionals in the UK and to offer Cambridge students insights into career options in higher education fundraising and alumni engagement. In return, Development Offices have the rare opportunity to work with the interns on specific real-world projects and gain important perspectives from them.
Experts from across Cambridge’s Colleges and University share lessons and guidance with the interns through a weekly curriculum of talks and activities. Sessions in 2024 included the history of philanthropy, ethics in fundraising, campaign management, relationships with alumni, and mock interviews for advancement-related careers.
The eleven interns, six of whom were embedded in the University’s Development and Alumni Relations Office (CUDAR) and five in College Development Offices, each worked on distinct projects.
Across the University office, these included: a plan for strengthening student and recent alumni engagement by increasing engagement opportunities before graduating; research into the variety of College bursaries available, to create a wellspring of information for ‘impact of giving’ stories that highlight the transformative power of smaller philanthropic gifts; exploration of legacy trends in HE in the UK; philanthropic opportunities in AI; ‘grateful patient’ programmes within Cambridge University hospitals; and an engagement strategy for transitioning current students into alumni.
At the five Colleges — Jesus, Wolfson, Trinity, Pembroke, and Christ’s — interns worked on issues such as increasing student participation in entrepreneurship and enterprise; better connecting current students with alumni; a strategy for supporting exchange students and shorter-term postgraduate students; and investigating the best ways to secure regular, low-level, first-time giving among alumni.
The internships culminated in a project showcase that allowed all the interns to proudly exhibit their work, contributions, and achievements across the ten-week period.
The programme’s outcomes are already speaking for themselves. 2024 delivered an impressive conversion rate into roles within the development community. Six interns from this year's cohort were successfully placed within Cambridge: one at Hughes Hall, one at Wolfson, one at Trinity, one as CUDAR fundraising assistant, and two in temporary roles in CUDAR with the Culture and Collections team and the Donor Relations team.
Meanwhile, one of 2023’s interns returned to CUDAR Learning & Professional Development to assist with the internship programme over the summer between courses of study, while another was accepted onto the CASE Graduate Scheme and is now placed at Warwick University in the advancement sector.
The participating Cambridge Development and Alumni Relations teams are thrilled with the success of the programme and can’t wait for the next cohort to arrive — and the interns are just as enthusiastic:
“It was so fulfilling; it taught me so much, both professionally and personally. The work was challenging, but in a good way. It was so helpful, practically, to spend the summer in Cambridge.
I could not have done this without good pay, accommodation and the lunches. Thank you for setting it up in such an inclusive way.”
“It's made me see the possibilities of a career in development. I didn't really understand it as a sector before, but I now have quite a clear notion of which aspects of a development office I would be drawn to in a role.
In a more general sense, it's provided me with information that has helped me to reflect upon and direct my career aspirations - I have a clearer idea of what I think I'll enjoy in a job which is really valuable as a new graduate.”
“My experience in a Higher Education development office has been a game changer. The skills I gained in prospect research through my project, along with the day-to-day operations in the office, have laid a strong foundation for my next steps.”
Now, this select group of talented Cambridge students are better prepared for their first steps onto whatever professional path they choose. And, with their special perspective on philanthropy and alumni relations and its critical role in higher education, they will make fantastic alumni ambassadors for Collegiate Cambridge in its quest to be the best University in the world.
"This unique experience has been exceptionally rewarding for every one of us who participated.
Our second cohort of summer interns contributed so much: hard work, personality, enthusiasm, skill and curiosity. They made new projects and research possible and allowed us to explore exciting areas that will inform our direction of travel in the coming months.
These young people also played a big role in helping us shape the internship programme going forward—as they learned and gained insight, so did we."
Contact
If you would like to find out more visit www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/careers/go-far-internship or contact:
Laura Whitehead
Learning and Professional Development Manager
Laura.whitehead@admin.cam.ac.uk
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