Hi, Josh, James and Emilie here with our final blog post as Pamoja interns. This year has flown by and it hasn’t quite sunk in yet that we only have a couple of days left with Pamoja. These last couple of days are all about finishing projects and getting all our files organised. In this final blog we would like to reflect on the atmosphere at Pamoja and all its departments. We will also be looking ahead at our future, and will give the new interns some tips!
Office environment
The friendly and approachable atmosphere at Pamoja is very inviting and immediately makes you feel comfortable at work. It also creates a great working environment and makes it easy to establish good relationships with the team. There is always a great buzz around the office and this fun, friendly and social environment is a great place to work.The open plan office allows people from all departments to work together and bounce ideas off each other, creating a strong team environment. The office also looks good and is always filled with snacks, which adds to the enjoyable atmosphere. Each team have their own characteristics and we have summed up each department below.
HR
Ensuring the office looks great, employees are happy, teachers are contracted and laws are obeyed, this bunch of ladies do it all, whilst having a giggle and a cup of tea.
School Services
This team of lovely people ensure that customers get the best experience and support when using our courses; they’re always on call to assist with any issues or questions Pamoja users may have. Always happy to help, they are not only a great team, but also great friends.
Finance
Ensuring that money is spent properly, this team organises payments, generates invoices and listens to Rupert talk as if he is a great encyclopaedia. This team is strict, but fair and always ready to help.
Development
The backbone of any EdTech company is a strong development team. They rise to a variety of different challenges such as working with our contractors, collecting data and making sure the website runs smoothly. There is a very strong team spirit, as long as you don’t talk to them before they’ve had any coffee. If you’re putting together a pub quiz team, these are your people.
Tech Support
The Tech Support team is our second line support team but don’t let the name fool you – they deal with so much more than password resets! The support team is able to offer solutions to issues raised by the School Services team by troubleshooting and diagnosing platform issues. When they’re not sorting out tech problems, they’re setting the business up on the cloud and making sure our infrastructure is stable.
Sales
Our brilliant sales team is responsible for reaching out to new customers, uncovering leads and closing deals! There’s always a great buzz whenever they land a new school, and it lifts the entire office. Under the lead of manager Tom, the sales team are a bundle of energy always busy speaking to schools, giving course demos and smashing sales targets!
Marketing
This creative and engaged team focus on promoting our products and services to new and existing customers. The team ensure the branding is on point, and whether they’re creating new and exciting campaigns or analysing key data analytics the Marketing department are a strong team who have great attention to detail.
Academic
The Academic team is a hub of great knowledge and they have a vast number of roles as principals of Pamoja. They interact daily with teachers and SBCs to make sure that they have everything they need to provide a top quality education. In addition to this the Academic team keeps a close eye on our students’ grades, making sure everyone is achieving their best.
Product – UI/UX
The strategic and tactical brains behind every product we offer – interfacing with every area of the business, the product team makes sure that everything we make benefits our customers and is released on time! They love a meeting room and a good old chit-chat with our contractors D-labs.
Content Writers
What makes a good online course? Is it a flashy UI, a clear structure? These are definitely important, but a course would be useless if it wasn’t based on solid content! The content writers work with subject matter experts to make sure that everything that goes into a Pamoja course is 100% correct.
Top tips for next interns
#1. Try to work in as many areas of the business as possible – this will give you a better understanding of how the business operates and what you like/dislike.
#2. Even when times are super busy and stressful, you should try and take your time when completing tasks, when you rush things you often make mistakes.
#3. Pamoja have a great interest in your development, so get involved in projects that interest you and develop your skills, but at the same time, don’t be afraid to say something if you’re feeling uncomfortable or lost when you are working on something.
#4. Ask many questions, even about simple things like Microsoft Word. This is the perfect opportunity to learn and improve your skills and no one will judge you!
#5. Organise your files from the start, make folders and sub folders with clear titles – this will help you find documents that you worked on more easily and will ensure you do not lose any work.
#6. Spend time with the other interns and people from the office outside of work – it definitely helps build a stronger professional relationship.
#7. Keep on top of work you have to do for university, you do not want to do this at the end and bombard your manager suddenly with a lot of things they have to complete for you.
#8. You get used to getting up early, so don’t worry if you’re yawning!
#9. If you ever dare to start a conversation with Bill, make sure you know the latest football scores etc. otherwise you will not follow the conversation.
#10. Rupert is like a walking encyclopaedia, ask him anything and he will have an answer. Do take some things he says with a pinch of salt though!
#11. Want to pick up some Essex slang? Kiran is your man!
James
After finishing in June, James is going to go on holiday travelling in Spain and Portugal with his girlfriend. He’s looking forward to having some time to kick back and relax and not have to worry about waking up so early! James is staying in Oxford until late July where, instead of working, he’ll be drafting a university dissertation idea, playing guitar and finishing a sign language certification course.Speaking of university, like all of us, James will be returning to Oxford Brookes in September to finish his Computer Science and Philosophy BA degree. He’s currently targeting a first and hopes he can use some of the work ethic and discipline instilled in this year to keep him on track for it. As much as James is looking forward to relaxing and becoming a student again, he will miss Pamoja greatly, and everyone who’s made this year so enjoyable.
Emilie
Emilie has a great summer holiday planned with trips to the states and Latin America, some work back home in Amsterdam and some reading for her Dissertation. At the start of September she will return to university for hockey pre-season and start her final year of her International Business Management degree. It is going to be a tough year as she is aiming to get a first with double honours, but hopefully after a year of experience in the business world she will be able to achieve this. After graduating Emilie wants to return to Holland to either do a Masters at university there or get a job in HR over there. She will miss Pamoja greatly and is so grateful to everyone that has made her year so enjoyable.
Josh
After finishing his year at Pamoja, Josh will be returning home and is looking forward to spending time with his family and friends. Josh is planning to travel through Spain in early July and attend Benicassim 2018, a music festival where he plans to listen to great music. Within summer Josh will be preparing for his final year of university, making improvements to his CV and LinkedIn and trying to maintain a normal sleeping pattern. Josh will be returning to Oxford Brookes in September to complete his Business and Marketing Degree. Josh will be looking to bring all of what he has learnt at Pamoja with him into his final year. Although Josh is looking forward to becoming a student again, he is amazed at how fast the year has gone. He will miss Pamoja greatly and is so grateful to everyone that has made his year so enjoyable.
Intern football
Emilie has been organising the Intern Football match as a last social event with all the interns. We have a good number of people playing in the match and it should be a nice social event for everyone to say goodbye to the interns and for us to finish our internships on a high note. Bill has been a great support getting everyone hyped up for the match and we expect it will be a spectacular match with some very competitive players and some interesting football techniques.
From Josh being a LAD or as others would say; ditsy, Emilie policing the kitchen and being blunt, and James being antisocial and having a relaxed work ethic, I hope everyone at Pamoja has enjoyed working with us and having us around. We hope to see everyone around and pop into the office now and again for a catch-up. We hereby leave the Intern blog in the hands of the new interns.
Love,
Josh, James and Emilie
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