Centre for Learning & Teaching was delighted to host a Bath Insights intern during summer 2025.
Based in the Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) team, the internship focused on development of student-facing support materials for the University of Bath portfolio platform, Mahara. The TEL team support effective use of learning technologies, and our focus is to work with academic and teaching staff. We help them to get familiar with learning technologies which enables them to support students. We are ‘one step removed’ from the student experience and so having an intern work with us was invaluable. This was a fantastic opportunity to learn about Mahara from a student perspective.
Our intern Adam didn’t have prior experience using Mahara, so he brought fresh eyes and approached it with the perspective of a new user.
From day one of the internship, he was committed and full of enthusiasm to explore the new platform.
Adam designed a questionnaire and contacted students to gather their feedback on Mahara and on the existing guidance. He communicated with students in an approachable way, using student-friendly language. There was a good response rate, providing valuable insight into students’ views.
Adam set out a proposed design for new student guidance and quickly got to work on creating it using HTML, coding (JavaScript) and media production skills. He also discovered how AI could support his efforts but also cause barriers. His new guidance provides parallel step-by-step text guidance and video tutorials, giving multiple modes for students to navigate and for quick reference. Adam’s enthusiasm and drive to progress the project was fantastic.
The outcome of the internship was a comprehensive new student guide, which is now available to all students who use Mahara. Staff teams can signpost the new guidance during student induction, allowing them to focus their efforts on providing context for their portfolio learning and assessment activities.
As a Bath Insights internship host, it was an extremely rewarding experience to work with Adam and to be involved in supporting employability skills development. It opens your eyes to the many aspects of professional practice which are a daily part of our work, which we may not focus on consciously. As a line manager and mentor, it was great to be reminded to consider all the learning opportunities in some of our regular activities. For the first two weeks of the internship, we planned a series of induction activities to introduce different aspects of our work across the team, such as Office 365 for communication, project planning, digital accessibility.
We worked across the team and introduced Adam to colleagues in different roles, to support collaboration and team-working for problem solving on our Bath Insights project. It was great to put yourself in the shoes of a student as they develop their employability skills, and to work with colleagues across our team to identify and provide opportunities to support that learning.
Adam did a great job and was a great ambassador for the Insights internship.
Rachel Applegate, Learning Technologist (Online Learning), Technology Enhanced Learning team, Centre for Learning & Teaching
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