Over the summer, MSc Strategic & Digital Marketing student Itunu Para-Mallam, completed an ECP with Voluntary Action Leicestershire (VAL). This company is a charity organisation which focusses on improving the lives of people in the local community through volunteering, and has been part of the Voluntary and Community Sector in Leicester and Leicestershire for over fifty years.
A prosperous partnership leads to a positive future
During her ECP, Itunu worked within the Communications team at VAL to analyse the charity sector and assess the impact of the company’s existing marketing and promotion. Itunu was pro-active in meeting with a variety of companies and stakeholders to conduct face-to-face interviews, which helped build a wide knowledge of the sector.
Kevin Allen-Khimani, Sector Support Manager, hosted Itunu throughout her ECP. Kevin said “We have really enjoyed working with Itunu. Chatting things through with Itunu has reaffirmed our thinking concerning how we take our marketing and communication forward. Itunu has fitted in very easily with different teams at VAL, has a good understanding, but also asks the questions in a way that engages people. It’s been a great experience it’s really worked well for us.”
Itunu said “During the project I have enjoyed thinking of strategies and getting to know the charity sector which is an area I have always been interested in. An ECP isn’t an opportunity that most people get at university, and I felt that this would be an invaluable opportunity, especially as I’m going into the world of work very soon…the ECP has been a really good opportunity to get to know other people but also myself as a marketeer.”
Itunu now works at CDK Global in her role as a Product Marketing Graduate, and credits the ECP with helping to increase her visibility to employers and her confidence in applying for roles and working within companies.