"This internship sets you up for a future career" — an intern
The Robert Martin Summer Economics Research Internship
This summer, six Selwyn Economics students spent ten weeks working alongside Selwyn Economics fellows on genuine research projects. This is the first time the internship programme has been run. It was born from a simple idea: our students need real research experience on their CVs to stand out in today's competitive jobs market.
The internship programme was initiated and steered by Dr Oleg Kitov, Director of Studies in Economics, and supported by Selwyn Economics fellows Dr Weilong Zhang and Dr Myungun Kim. Their students reviewed literature, collected and cleaned data, ran analyses and built models. Dr Kitov said this experience “gives our students something substantial to talk about in interviews and applications, whilst developing the skills and confidence that come from contributing to real research.”
These internships were made possible by generous funding from fellow benefactor Robert Martin (SE 1984), who read Economics and was managing director and CEO of Singapore-based BOC Aviation for 25 years until he retired in 2023.
The students' projects tackled wide-ranging questions drawn from work our fellows were already doing:
- the impact of working from home on productivity,
- income distribution in the US and UK,
- gender inequality,
- the introduction of digital technologies on firm performance, and
- educational inequality in South America.
At the end of the internship students shared their findings with an audience of Economics students from across collegiate Cambridge, along with Selwyn staff and alumni. Afterwards, we caught up with two of the students to hear how the experience has already helped shape their academic interests and career ambitions.
Analysing the evolution of income potential over a lifetime: Harrison's project experience
Third-year student, Harrison, was assigned a project that directly supported Dr Kitov’s own research — examining how the income of Americans evolves throughout their lifetime and how that changes between generations. He found the experience invaluable in developing his technical and analytical skills. Harrison said: “I had to put effort into making the raw data usable, which exposed me to the kinds of problems you encounter in real scenarios. This kind of problem-solving is exactly the skill that will be useful for my dissertation and in the wider workplace.”
Building on this work, Harrison took the initiative to pursue an independent line of analysis. Drawing on the same dataset, he explored how parenthood influences men’s and women’s earnings, and how these effects have evolved between generations. His models produced results that shed light on shifting gender dynamics in the labour market, which proved very interesting to the parents in the audience during his presentation.
Harrison added he found the experience helpful for preparing for life after university. “I’ve gained a lot of academic and professional skills, which are equally important,” he said. “It’s also incredibly useful in interviews because it gives you something interesting to talk about. Without this kind of experience, it can feel like a mountain to climb when trying to break into these roles. This internship really sets you up for a future career.”
Evaluating the impact of universal pre-schooling on children in Mexico: Lydia's project experience
Lydia, a second-year student, was assigned as a research assistant to Dr Weilong Zhang. Her project explored the impact of Mexico’s universal preschool mandate, introduced in 2002, and whether it improved children’s later development and educational outcomes. Lydia carried out detailed empirical analysis and learned to process large, complex datasets drawn from public sources. As a first-year student at the time, she found the experience eye-opening. “The project provided a real opportunity for young students like me to get in touch with the real academic world,” she said.
Lydia’s work contributed directly to Dr Zhang’s research, finding clear evidence that Mexico’s preschool reform had lasting benefits for children’s development. “We discovered that children affected by the policy went on to achieve better results in maths and Spanish, and showed stronger classroom participation and focus,” she explained. “Importantly, it seems that those positive effects didn’t fade as the children got older; we also saw higher rates of school attendance and progression into further education.” Reflecting on the longer-term value of the internship, Lydia says it has strengthened both her academic confidence and her technical skills.
Unexpected benefits and the future of the programme
One of the key takeaways of this internship programme for Dr Kitov was an unexpected benefit: the strengthening of the Selwyn Economics community. “I was struck by how many intersections there were between the interns’ projects, which allowed them to learn from and teach one another. While the college’s mission is, of course, to house and educate students, one thing we don’t always do explicitly — either as Directors of Studies or supervisors — is to help build a real sense of community, so we’re very grateful to Robert for creating this opportunity to help with that aspect too.”
For Robert Martin, seeing the students’ work first-hand was particularly rewarding. “I learned a great deal from all of them; they may even have changed how I invest in future,” he said. “Years ago, when I was at Selwyn, we used to prop up the bottom of the academic table. Today, Oleg and the team have done a great job, moving Selwyn up the league table to where it should be… near the top!”
Looking ahead, Robert hopes that future generations of Selwyn students will continue to give back to both the students and the college. “I’ll continue working with Oleg to support Selwyn going forward, but remember, in forty years, it’ll be your turn to contribute to the Selwyn community. Colleges like this only thrive when their members give back, so please encourage your friends and fellow students to do the same.”
Video: Dr Oleg Kitov (left) and Robert Martin (right) on their thoughts on the internship programme.
Grants and scholarships can make a disproportionate difference to students. Many subjects would benefit from the provision of grants which can cost just a few thousand pounds per year, as they can be used for a wide range of projects within these subjects, such as help with dissertation costs, academic-related travel, book and resource purchase — or as in this case, providing internship experience.
To discuss how you could help make a difference to students at Selwyn, please contact Sam Davis, our Major Gifts & Legacies Manager, on sjdd2@cam.ac.uk.