“My internship equipped me with the skills to create change within my scope of interest and taught me what can be achieved through collaboration and passion”
Third-year Diploma in Sustainable Development students in the School of Public Leadership were recently given an opportunity to not only put their theoretical knowledge into practice but also experience a professional working environment when they completed internships at a number of business institutions.
The internships, which involves at least 200 hours (approximately five weeks) at an organisation or company whose work is aligned with at least one Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), serve as a bridge to the students’ professional working life beyond the Diploma programme. The action-learning opportunity also allows students to improve their professional skills, including time management and teamwork, build professional networks and refine their career aspirations.
Lesedi Monnanyane completed his internship at Anglo American, the largest iron ore producer in South Africa. The corporate giant strives to ensure that SDG 12 (Responsible Production and Consumption) impacts their mining operations and nearby communities.
“During my internship period, I explored innovative strategies to decarbonise and reduce scope 1 emissions,” he said. “I did this by researching and recommending sustainability pathways to reduce scope 1 emissions and enable green jobs in the communities that Anglo operates in.”
“I also developed and proposed an innovative strategy to help the company achieve their decarbonisation targets by switching to biofuels that are compatible with their existing machinery and vehicles.”
Monnanyane said his internship experience has prepared him well for a career in bioenergy.
“I have learnt to appreciate the complexities of balancing economic, social and environmental factors. This understanding will greatly help me to handle competing interests and complexities when I am piloting and running a successful bioenergy startup in the working world.”
Omphile Leeuw was an intern at Sealand Gear, a small business that aligns responsible gear and apparel manufacturing with SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). The company’s mission is to ensure the safekeeping of the environment and its people by crafting bags and apparel made from waste or responsibly and ethically sourced materials.
According to Leeuw a highlight of her internship was working with a team passionate about making Sealand Gear a successful sustainable textile brand in South Africa and the world.
“This experience allowed me to gain exposure in the work environment, refine my people management skills by communicating with suppliers and diversify my technological skills by using a software called Carbon Trail, a carbon accounting software that helps a company comply with sustainability disclosures.”
She credited the Sustainable Design Technology module of her Diploma studies for preparing her for the demands of her internship.
“In this module, I learned about concepts such as design thinking and systems thinking, which I applied during my internship. Through design thinking, I was able to understand the challenges Sealand Gear faced regarding the environmental impact of the trims (accessories added to clothing items) that they source from their supply chain. Systems thinking helped me understand how each supplier's trims impacted the durability and sustainability of the apparel and gear Sealand produces.”
Zia Hoppé interned at Ranyaka Community Transformation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that uses spatial and urban planning principles to co-create resilient and thriving under-resourced towns or neighbourhoods. The NGO’s unique business model and impact spans across all the SDGs, with their main focus being on SDG 1 (No poverty) and SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities).
“My role involved facilitation; data monitoring and reporting; event planning; social innovation research; administrative duties; and town-planning data and capturing. Exploring community-led workshops and being part of the event planning/facilitation team organising the Transformation Social Innovation Winter School offered by Ranyaka, was a highlight for me. In these moments, I saw and felt the impact created through social impact and innovation within local contexts. It was beautiful to connect with aspiring social entrepreneurs.”
Hoppé said her internship at Ranyaka has “equipped me with the skills to create change within my scope of interest, which is sustainable urbanisation and social impact. It has also taught me what can be achieved through collaboration and passion within your scope of work.”
James Purchase completed a remote internship at Digital Frontiers. This non-profit organisation runs an initiative called TwentyforGood which focuses on dedicating 20% of all future jobs towards solving the world’s greatest challenges, while championing the SDGs.
“My role as an intern was to do stakeholder engagement and report writing. The report writing contributed mainly towards technical proposals and financial proposals. The highlight of my internship was when I was asked to have a coffee chat with the CEO. It was a one-on-one chat and it was the first proper conversation that I had with the CEO. It was a wonderful experience and he really helped me to understand the sustainability sector a bit better.”
He added: “This internship has made me really excited for the working world. I can't wait to go out there and explore the world of work.”
The three-year Diploma in Sustainable Development programme provides students with theoretical knowledge and practical skills in sustainable design methodologies, ecological intelligence and systems thinking, facilitation and leadership, small business management, social entrepreneurship, strategic communication and presentation skills and sustainability reporting.
