SCHOOL OF COMPUTING, ENGINEERING AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

Course Tittle: MSc Data science

Module Title: ADVANCED PRACTICE (Reflective Report)

STUDENT NAME: SHOLA HABIB AKINLOYE

STUDENT NUMBER: A0207917

SUBMISSION DATE: 17/12/2021

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3

Description of activities undertaken ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 4

A description and analysis of my contribution to the host organisation or research field ….. 6

A reflection on how your internship has contributed to your knowledge and understanding of the
subject area …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 10

A summary of the personal benefits of the internship ……………………………………….…………………. 11

A demonstration of professional values and behaviour ………………………………………………………… 12

References ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………… 13

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 INTRODUCTION
The concept on any internship is to get hands-on knowledge experience in your career field.
In today’s labour market, employers rely heavily on resumes that demonstrate relevant work
history, whether it is from actual job experience, volunteer work, or interning at a company.

An internship is an official program offered by organisations to help train and provide work
experience to students. The concept of working as an intern began a long time ago but has
drastically evolved over the years.

The aim of the report is to show a reflective analysis of my Twelve weeks internship program
with Think Pacific who works in conjunction with Fiji Island. The report detailed a work
through of the activities undertaken; the project worked for a chosen organisation, the
personal benefit derived from the undergone internship and the professional values &
behaviours exhibited.

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 DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN
I started my internship program on the 27th September 2021 with a company called Think
Pacific. The company works in conjunction with a country called Fiji Island. On the first week
of my internship, they was a meeting organised to introduce myself and other students who
are also with the Think pacific. We were briefed on the list of activities to be undertaken
during my 12 weeks internship program. The activities were in four phases which ranges from
the discovery, decide, design and the delivery phase. Each of the phases has a timeline of
four weeks in regards to executing the task associated with the phase.

The first phase which is the discovery phase, I was tasked with the responsibility of getting to
know Think Pacific and Fiji island. Also getting to know how they work in conjunction with
each other. This is from week 1 to 3. It was a pleasant opportunity for me to read about the
history of the country and how they have evolved over time since securing their
independence in 1970. Another fascinating experience was to learn a new language, know
about their culture, and know about the different types of food they have. I also had the
opportunity of knowing that the Fijian originated from two descendants which are the
Indigenous Fijian and the Indo-Fijian culture. After the completion of the first phase which
panned over four weeks, I moved to the decide phase which also have a timeline of four
weeks in completing the task associated with the phase.

The second stage started by having a meeting with my mentor who introduced me to the
stage and explained the modalities involved in executing the tasks involved with the stage.
This is from week 4 to 6. I was saddled with the responsibilities of exploring different actions
project of different organisations in Fiji Island that works in conjunction with Think Pacific.
After exploring different action projects for different organisation, I was to pick three action
projects which I know I will be able to work on. Upon delivery of the project, it is supposed to
have a positive impact on the day to day activities of the company. Furthermore, after picking
the three topics (action projects), I held a meeting with my mentor. In the meeting we
discussed about the three projects and he picked one out for me to pick work on based on
our discussion. The other two topics were discarded. After the completion of the meeting
with my mentor I was able to proceed to the third phase which is the design phase.

The design phase requires me to work on the action project chosen. The time frame for the
design phase is also four weeks as stipulated at the beginning of my internship. This is from
week 7 to 9. Based on my task in phase two which is the decide phase, the three topics
chosen were Business and Sales Templates for a company called loving Island, Business
Planning and Finance for a company called Cautata Village Bakery and Creating simple
Business Resources for a company called Think Pacific. The final action project chosen based

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on the outcome of my meeting with my mentor was Business plans and Sales Templates for a
company called Loving Island. Based on the topic I chose, I was meant to create a business
plan and sales Templates for a company called Loving Island. According to the aim of the
project, the business plan and sales templates to be created is supposed to improve the day
to day activities of the company and maximize their returns. I had to make consultation to
the company website, social media handles and most importantly the guidance of my mentor
in working on the action project. I consulted other external resources outside the company’s
jurisdiction in coming up with the business plan and the sales templates. After the completion
of the project, I had a meeting with my mentor to review the work done. He offered
suggestion on how to improve the work before the final submission. The feedback of the
meeting with my mentor was applied to the project so as to make it more robust and useful
for the company in terms of them achieving their aim of improving the company’s daily
activities and maximizing their returns. This served as a completion to the third phase and I
was able to proceed to the fourth phase which is the delivery phase.

The fourth phase which is the delivery phase entails me to do a five minutes video
presentation to explain the project worked on for loving Island. This is from week 10 to 12.
The video presentation requires me to summarize the key points of the work done and how
they should use it so as to make it effective. This will help them reap the reward in terms of
improvement to the company’s day to day activities and maximizing their returns.

To conclude, the four phases described above details the activities undertaken during my 12
weeks internship program with Think pacific.

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A DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS OF YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO THE HOST
ORGANISATION OR RESEARCH FIELD
My contribution to the organisation was in the form of executing an action project for a
company called Loving Island which is situated in Fiji who works in conjunction with Think
Pacific. It was a mixed feelings for me as I was very happy working on the action project and
sad as well because the internship had to come to an end.

The action project worked on was drawing up a business plan and creating sales Template.
This was my own way of contributing to the host organisation.

The business plan encompasses points ranging from the Executive Summary, Mission and
Vision Statement, Guiding Principles, Company Overview, Core Values, Keys to Success,
Products and Services, Target Market, Pricing Strategy, Competitive Strategy and Sales &
Marketing Strategies.

Based on my research, Loving Island was established in 2017 by Miss Litia Kirwin. The
organisation is a sustainable production and distribution company which focuses on
providing actual value to the communities. The organisation delivers services and projects
that support sustainable economic development, such as community trainings in organic and
sustainable agriculture, construction of small scale community infrastructure.

Since the establishment of the company in 2017 as a small team, they have been able to
improve Fijian livelihoods in all districts of Fiji. The map below shows the positive impacts
from loving island

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The company also sell varieties of product ranging from Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, Organic
Lip Balm, Organic Body & Hair Balm, Organic Raw Honey, e.t.c. The pricing System
associated with the products sold has been strategically worked out in such a way that the
profitability does not compromise the quality of the products. The business plan drawn up
highlights key points on how the business can be more successful. The points are listed below
with a brief description on how it can be achieved.

 Proper Investment: Investment and financing are some of the most important
aspects of a business. A properly funded production business will get enough
early traction needed to support mid and long-term growth. In reason of this,
we have conducted exhaustive and far-reaching research into our target
market, taking into consideration every cost variable related to obtaining
operational space, hiring workers, and distributing or wholesaling our
products.
 Strategic Partnerships: To have contacts for better vendors, stocks, facilities,
etc., maintaining connections and relationships is crucial to the success of
Loving Islands. We will never make the mistake of thinking we can do it all by
ourselves, or that we have enough niche knowledge to build a stand-alone
operation that will succeed without partnerships
 Branding: The importance of branding cannot be overstretched in a business.
It is critical to differentiate our brand and products from our competitors to
build a following and establish brand loyalty. A strong, well-positioned brand
will extend the life of our organization indefinitely by providing independence
from a particular product or category. We will start with a custom solution that
will allow us to brand early and often.
 Managing Costs: At Loving Islands, we understand the importance of keeping
control of our production costs as this goes a long way in determining our
business success and growth. We strive to determine our products and
overhead costs and create a formula for setting prices that include both, as
well as a profit.
 Customer Satisfaction: By showing customers a high standard of products and
service and making their experience with Loving Islands truly unique, we will
continuously benefit immensely from word-of-mouth marketing. This is
because referrals and repeat orders are one way to acquire new customers for
no advertising spend.

Another major contribution in terms of suggestion to the company was how they can
improve their sales and Marketing strategies. The below listed points were suggested.

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 1. Continually leverage social media platforms with extensive social campaigns
2. Direct Marketing; direct consumer marketing via in-store promotions
3. Fully utilize our website for promotional purposes
4. Leverage Google AdWords and review
5. Engaging scriptwriters for promotional ads
6. Utilize TVs, radios, and mails
7. Print and strategically distribute business cards
8. Word-of-mouth recommendations and referrals are guaranteed to be generated
through satisfied customers
9. Attending community, agricultural, and society parties, seminars and events and
meeting with prospects and various industry players.
10. Investing in paid advertising (PPC); influencer and content marketing
11. Search Engine Optimization and Marketing (SEO + SEM)

Another aspect of the action project worked on was the creation of a sales template. This is
to help them issue an invoice for products sold to a customer and serves as a documents
which can be relied on in terms of accurate sales records. The key points of the invoice on
how to use it were detailed in the report sent to Think pacific. Below is a screenshot of the
invoice and how it looks like.

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The key components of the invoice are the date, invoice number, details of the
person/company buying the product. Emphasis was led on the importance of changing the
invoice number each time an invoice is generated.

All the above details and descriptions were how I contributed to the host organisation.

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A REFLECTION ON HOW YOUR INTERNSHIP HAS CONTRIBUTED TO
YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE SUBJECT AREA
My internship was filled with mixed emotions from the first week to the last week of the
internship. My thought was that the internship was going to be an office based internship in
other to gain real life working experience rather than a virtual internship. I thought I will be
able to put what was learnt in class into actual practice based on daily office activities.

When we started the internship proper, I realized it was engaging, positive, challenging and
fun like an office based internship would have been. Another thing that dawn on me was that
my lectures during my first year were Virtual too. This was as a result of covid-19 pandemic
and every aspect of the lectures was stimulating, engaging and top notch. Activities engaged
in weekly changed my perspective about the internship. I was happy and motivated because
of the new developments based on the weekly activities engaged in. My uncertainty,
confusion at the start of my internship had changed neck deep into the internship based on
my activities engaged in. My new found motivation, self believe, determination and
confidence made me wanting more daily task and challenges to solve.

Another interesting and challenging aspect of my internship was in week 4-6 (Decide phase)
where I was to select three topics and eventually narrow it down to one. My aim was to do
something new because it would broaden my learning horizon. It was difficult task in
choosing the eventual task to work on. Meeting with my mentor allayed my fears and
indecision because he was able to guide me in the right direction. This further motivated me
in starting the task when I eventually picked my action projection because of the potential of
learning new and different things. The action project was to create a business plan and sales
Template for a company called Loving Island.

To conclude, the much anticipated internship came with suspense, surprises at the beginning,
but by the end of the internship I would have regretted not partaking in the internship. Apart
from personal benefits derived, I gained and developed several skills.

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A SUMMARY OF THE PERSONAL BENEFITS OF THE INTERNSHIP
The last 12 weeks have been a joy. The internship was dep and engaging to the very best. I
was able to learn a lot and this I know will go a long way in adding value to me.

Personally, the benefits I derived from my just concluded internship are enormous. To
summarise, I have listed them below.

1. The internship gave me the opportunity to expand my learning horizon

2. Learnt a new skill
3. Developed my communication skills further
4. Improved my presentation skills
5. Opportunity to connect with new people from different fields
6. Improved my time management skills
7. Opportunity to have a sense of job experience
8. Improved my research skills
9. Opportunity to be mentored
10. The internship gave me the opportunity to further build my confidence
11. It helped develop my professional aptitude
12. It strengthened my personal character
13. The internship has made me more marketable in terms of the additional knowledge
acquired.
14. It also gave me an opportunity to figure out what I like doing and what I don’t like
doing
15. The internship also developed my technical skills
16. I also understood more the concept of work life balance
17. The experience acquired will serve as a great boost for my cv
18. I received formative feedback on my personal development

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A DEMONSTRATION OF PROFESSIONAL VALUES AND BEHAVIOUR
As required of any employee or a student working in a professional environment, a
good conduct in professional way is essential so as to be hold in high esteem. My internship
with think pacific required high professionalism and as such this was fully discharged during
my internship time with Think pacific.

Firstly, a good strong ethic is an essential value in terms of working a professional way,
during my internship with think pacific, I worked hard, overcome challenges and offer
support to my colleagues. I also, understood what was expected of me and I stayed
motivated to achieve my goals.

Secondly, I was trustworthy and committed in carrying out my duties. This helped me
build a positive, supportive, dependable and honest interaction and communication with my
mentor and fellow interns.

Thirdly, the responsibilities assigned to me were done in due time and was done to
the best of my ability. I contributed my quota in moving the company forward growth wise.

Fourthly, I was able to adapt to different situations. For example, the interns are from
different background and different culture. This plays it part in interacting with them. I was
able to easily adapt to them mostly especially when communicating with them. This made
internship days very easy for me.

Lastly, confidence is an important attribute to poses as an individual. I made sure I

discharge my duties assigned to me with full confidence. My mentor was also a good source
of inspiration to me.

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REFERENCES

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