Meet an intern – Patrick Brown

Some background…

I am looking to start my career in the energy sector, and I have specific interest in renewable energy and smart cities. I graduated from the University of Bristol this year with a Geography BSc. I am fascinated to see how we will power ourselves over the next 50 years, and this is why I want to be a part of it!

What did you do with SmartKlub?

My internship lasted 3 months. I worked two days a week for SmartKlub and communicated with the team via video conference calls from home. The work was unpaid, however the flexibility of the internship meant I was able to continue working a paid job during the rest of the week – which was perfect for me.

I joined SmartKlub at a time when their social presence and PR processes were still developing. I was therefore able to get hands-on from a very early stage by creating the social media channels, helping develop a PR strategy and writing blogs for their website. This gave me a fantastic opportunity to gain valuable – and very much transferable – skills in PR and social media. Meanwhile, I was immersed in a world of community energy and smart city technology, so I was constantly able to learn more about the industry.

Whilst I was with SmartKlub, they secured an InnovateUK grant for the Community Action Platform for Energy (CAPE). CAPE has been created in partnership with Milton Keynes City Council, Community Action:MK, Open University, Satellite Applications Catapult, and Tech Mahindra. It is an absolutely brilliant project for Milton Keynes, in which satellite data is being used to identify community energy opportunities all over the city! I was able to join a meeting with all involved partners at the Tech Mahindra offices in Milton Keynes. This gave me a unique insight into how a number of organisations, each with different areas of expertise, can come together to create a very special project.

I was also able to spend a day at SmartKlub’s PR agency Edson Evers. This was an extremely valuable experience, as I learned about the variety of PR work completed for a number of different companies – whether this is magazines or high quality video content. Edson Evers also helped me put together a Press Release, and a Communications Plan for Milton Keynes CAPE. It was great to develop these skills and to get an inside perspective on PR.

What did you like about working with SmartKlub?

The best thing about working with SmartKlub was the feeling that the internship was as beneficial for them as it was for me. SmartKlub is a start-up business, so their resources are somewhat limited. Therefore, it was important for me to feel like I was bringing value to the company.  I was always equipped with enough information to get on with the job, whether this was producing a draft press release or writing blog posts. So, I very quickly felt like a useful part of the SmartKlub team.

The internship was also an amazing opportunity to learn from experts in the industry. The founders of SmartKlub, Charles Bradshaw-Smith and David Morgan, have an incredible wealth of experience and knowledge in the sector. They were always happy to share their expertise and answer any questions I had, which was extremely valuable for me.

This was a rare opportunity to get involved with a very fast-moving organisation working at the forefront of smart city energy solutions. I genuinely believe that SmartKlub’s work is making a significant contribution towards a widespread and much-needed energy revolution, whereby cities will begin to power themselves with clean community-run energy schemes. I have no doubt that my time with this innovative organisation will continue to benefit me throughout my career.

Any questions?

Please feel free to get in touch with me, I will be happy to answer any other questions you have in regards to this opportunity.  See my blogs here.

Email me at pbrown1518@gmail.com

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