During Summer 2026, Sampad supported two University of Birmingham interns. It was a great pleasure to have Noor and Mahima on board to help with the Summer School and Midsummer Masti.
Noor:
I remember the phone call like it was yesterday. At the end of the week, I was tired and just finished tutoring when I received the phone call. I was hired.
The positive news filled me with enthusiasm. I was going to be a Sampad Events and Participation Intern. As a First-Year Philosophy Student at the University of Birmingham, I strived to gain experience in the creative sector. When this phenomenal opportunity was presented to me, I knew I was going to make the most of it.
On my first few days, I was entrusted with a lot of responsibilities: planning the summer school activities, designing material on Canva, and plotting a scavenger hunt. This level of contribution truly made the lead up to the summer school thrilling, since I watched my ideas come to life. It was really fun to lead games with the kids, and I learnt to explain concepts in accessible and simple terms.
The week of the summer school, I saw the reward of my hard work. Each child was truly invested; they were incredibly eager to read out our carefully curated suspect profiles. Additionally, immersing myself into this storyline was a pleasure, I did both the behind-the-scenes work and got the chance to play a character. As an intern, I set up clues and riddles for them, and as the ‘Senior Detective’, I motivated them to be wary.
Finally, I watched the rehearsals for the Midsummer Masti show. It was exactly where I wanted to be. Being able to shadow the Artistic and Executive Directors was a privilege, Bhavik’s words of wisdom will stay with me “I treat both the kids and adults with the same respect”. They balanced professionalism with rapport. While working in stage management, I myself comforted actors offstage and then I saw glimpses of their extraordinary performances.
For the after party, me and my fellow intern decorated the space with embroidered fabric and garlands. We noticed the environment transform into a vibrant space where everyone wanted to dance. Then, I documented the memories for our social media with the lively DJ and the engaged audience.
Naomi and Gillian have been great supervisors, and I am grateful for their guidance. Overall, working for Sampad has been reflective, inspiring, and stimulating.
Mahima:
I absolutely loved my summer, and it had the perfect ending as I was able to take part in a very fun and exciting internship at Sampad! Hello, My name is Mahima and I am a second year Human Neuroscience Student at the University of Birmingham and I’ve spent the last few weeks interning at Sampad. While an unconventional area of study for this line of work, I still very much had an incredibly valuable experience and learnt a lot more than I’d expected!
To say its been an absolute whirlwind would be an understatement!! I have been immensely lucky to have been able to take part and help out in multiple different events that Sampad have organised, including: the Sampad summer school, Midsummer Masti, Create and Change, and Midday Mantra. Not to mention all the other tasks that I’ve been able to help out with, allowing me to gain both hands-on and office experiences!
I’ve helped to create multiple resources for the summer school, including but not limited to detective ID cards for the children, maps for scavenger hunts and props/games to engage with the children. I even got the chance to take part in the storyline and act as an “evil intern” which I absolutely loved!! It felt incredibly rewarding to be part of such a nice experience for the kids and I had such a good time. In addition, I also helped out in the organisation and execution of the Midsummer Masti show which was such a unique experience for me! We helped to decorate some of the venue for the show and even helped in ensuring all the performers got to the stage at their allocated time. I learnt a lot about how much effort is actually required backstage in a show, and it was really intriguing to see it all play out in person. Not to mention the chance to see so many talented actors and performers up close, it was truly so interesting and enjoyable.
I’ve also really enjoyed working with the Sampad staff and team, everyone here is so welcoming and lovely! I never once felt intimidated by anyone or anything, everyone was so approachable, and it has been so delightful for me to work with everyone here.
I’ve learnt so much from my experience, I don’t even know where to start! Although short, this internship has equipped me with many new skills from being able to produce and edit creative resources for events, sorting and organising through data, and being able to interact with both children and performers to put on an enjoyable event. Overall, I think its just also increased my confidence and equipped me with a better idea of things I’d like to do within my future career. I am so grateful for this whole experience, and these are honestly memories that I will look back on forever.
Hear from previous Sampad interns
