Almost every summer for the last 20 years, Innovia has welcomed interns. Though they’re with us for about three months, they have an outsize impact on us and we like to think we do the same for them. Many of our permanent staff first met us as interns, found it was a fit for them and stayed. It clearly worked for them – but would it be right for you?

Our 2024 intern team includes Isabella Burn (biological natural sciences, University of Cambridge), Hannah Cox (material sciences, University of Cambridge), Ahmed Ibrahim (medicine, University of Cambridge) and Karlijn Vanoppen (Psychological & Behavioural Science, LSE). Read on for what they found surprising about their internships, how they would describe Innovia lunches, and their top tips for interviewing at Innovia as interns.

How did you discover Innovia?

Ahmed: At a careers fair… I had the preconceived idea that consulting was all about business strategy – cutting costs, increasing revenues, entering new markets, etc. All of these things interested me but didn’t fully utilise my technical background. Coming across the Innovia stall, I was excited to find that I could get the best of both worlds by working on projects that required sound technical reasoning, as well as a consideration of business strategy, behavioural science and design. As someone with a lot of interests, this was the perfect fit for me.

What’s it like working in the office 9-to-5?

Isabella: It’s not at all what I expected it to be. The day-to-day work is incredibly varied, no day is the same. The team has been incredibly welcoming to all the interns and we’ve met up outside of the office several times now, often to have a game of frisbee but also a few pub and pizza trips which have been great fun and made us all feel very welcome.

Ahmed: It’s definitely a lot more chill than being on the wards. Although Medicine requires a lot of problem-solving, the answers are often clear-cut (someone is either having a heart attack or not). At Innovia, the problems we work on are much broader and fuzzy, which has pushed me out of my comfort zone.

What would you encourage others to do to help themselves in recruitment process?

All our interns encouraged applicants to think openly and share their thoughts.

Isabella: I would advise to think openly about the problems you are given; no idea is too wacky in the initial thinking stage, so don’t be afraid to suggest something unusual!

Ahmed: Don’t be afraid to share “bad” ideas – coming up with solutions is often an iterative process.

Karlijn: During the recruitment process, try and think as outside of the box as possible, and share those ideas that popped up in your head while preparing (even if you weren’t planning on sharing them in the first place). Those ideas might be the ones that will get you an offer!

Hannah: Put your ideas out there – no-one’s expecting that you know everything – everyone has different backgrounds, that’s the point of holistic innovation! Just show you’re willing to learn, and able to apply that to come up and convey ideas. Don’t be afraid your ideas aren’t “good enough”, new perspectives are always useful, and even if the idea can’t be turned into a practical solution, it can inspire new, useful ideas, from both yourself and others.

They also recommended doing your research…

Ahmed says: Read up on one or two projects that Innovia has worked on that you find interesting, and have a think about how you would approach the problem.

Karlijn: Understand why you want to work at Innovia and not any other innovation consultancy firm. Think about how Innovia is different and how that aligns with your career aspirations.

And finally, a reminder to take your time and share the process as well as the results (good advice for any interview, and indeed for life):

Hannah: Technical questions in interview can be challenging, but talking through your thinking will help you work out the problem, as well as allowing others to understand how you think

Karlijn: I would encourage everyone to grant yourself enough time before answering a question posed during the interview. Innovia is known to solve the hard and challenging problems that some firms don’t even start working on. These problems take time and often don’t have a direct answer. With every answer you give, even when ultimately it seems to be wrong, the thought process behind it is what matters. So, share that.

Our interns had a lot more to say than we could fit in here! For more from them, including their comparisons to other internships, and from us on what interns bring to us as a company, check out the sister article on the Cambridge Network website here.