Madeline Sievers | ADV 495

What advice would you give to an intern right before they actually start?

Now that I have interned at the Office of Technology Management for several months, I have a lot of advice that I would be able to give to a new communications intern in the office. I would first mention the dynamics of the office, because OTM is a very unique workplace. There are professionals hailing from a wide variety of subjects, all of whom work together at OTM. It is important to know that the various types of professionals all behave very differently, including the way they dress, the type of work they do, their levels of education, and the amount they interact with communications interns.

I would also advise a new intern to prepare for the amount of training they will need to undergo in order to understand technology transfer. There are countless different aspects of technology transfer including patents, copyrights, trademarks, licenses, options, and start-ups, just to name a few. This is an industry and a concept that was almost entirely new to me when I began interning at OTM, so it meant that I had to really buckle down and devote myself to learning as much about technology transfer as I possibly could. I would advise asking a lot of questions and seizing every opportunity to learn more about anything relating to technology management.

Finally, I would advise a new intern to prepare for the challenges they will face when marketing technologies. I have encountered lots of complex technologies that are difficult to understand without a background in STEM. In order to promote these technologies, I have to devote myself to learning everything I can about the technology in order to give it the best chance for success. It’s important that communications interns develop creative thinking skills and a hunger to understand products of the University’s research.

Talk about some of the new connections that you made during the internship and how they might be beneficial in the long run.

Throughout my time as an intern at the Office of Technology Management, I have made a variety of connections that will benefit me in the long run. Something that is unique about OTM is the fact that there is a tremendously diverse range of professionals that make up the staff. While these individuals have a wide range of topics they focus on, I believe they are all equally invaluable to my professional network. First, and most importantly, my supervisor, Nicole Nair, is the person at the office that I’ve worked the most closely with, so I believe that she will be a valuable professional reference within marketing that I can list when applying to jobs in the future. Another person that I work closely with is Heather Jones, the office administrator, whom I believe would also attest to my work ethic.

All of the technology managers, although I don’t regularly work with them, are also valuable connections because they are well-connected to a wide variety of professionals in various positions at the University as well as those at companies they worked for during their time in the private sector. I also occasionally work with the chief clerk and office support specialist. Both the technology managers and support staff have helped me develop a deeper understanding of the technology transfer process and are overall helpful relationships.

Finally, I have made many valuable connections with individuals outside OTM, including at EnterpriseWorks, Research Park, Illinois Ventures, Sponsored Programs Administration, Technology Entrepreneurship Center, and more. My network with those outside OTM was also significantly expanded when OTM collaborated with different institutions to host Illinois Ignite. Overall, I believe that meeting a wide variety of employees in various organizations and positions has tremendously impacted my understanding of the University as a whole and greatly increased the size of my professional network.

What “big” issue, event, or assignment has inspired and motivated you?

An assignment that has inspired and motivated me was leading the revision of the Office of Technology Management Intern Handbook to create a new and improved handbook for the incoming 2018 commercialization analyst interns. The handbook had not been revised for about five years, so there was a lot to update. This project inspired me because it was a project that I had all to myself, so at the end I was able to look back and see how much I had done and know it had enhanced the incoming interns’ onboarding experience. First, I was responsible for working with the new intern coordinator to decide which sections were necessary or unnecessary, which sections needed updated or added. For sections that needed updated, I determined whether it was something I could locate myself or if I would need to ask someone in the office to either find or to revise. I also frequently collaborated with various staff members to determine what information needed to be added.

Along the way, I had to organize all of the different components for the handbook in a designated folder in the shared drive, being sure to carefully label each file and keep them in the order in which they would appear in the handbook. Once I had compiled all the pages, I removed sections deemed obsolete, replaced outdated sections with updated ones, placed all the pages in order, and added a table of contents and page numbers. After completing the contents of the handbook, I designed a new cover page and got to list myself as an author of the 2018 edition. Overall, this project took a lot of communication, collaboration, and personal organization. It was a very good learning experience for me because it allowed me to determine a strategic plan for a complex, multi-faceted project and then execute my plan by taking initiative for each necessary step.

This week’s work assignments in review (summarized).

This week, the majority of my work assignments involved helping my supervisor, Nicole, prepare for Illinois Ignite. Illinois Ignite is an event showcasing technologies and start-ups emerging from prominent universities in Illinois. Ignite will feature presentations from innovators and entrepreneurs as well as provide a networking reception with technology-based start-ups. This event has been a collaborative effort from the technology transfer offices at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Northwestern University, University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Chicago, and Illinois Institute of Technology.

First, I was tasked with copy editing the brochure that will be distributed to the event’s attendees. I gave everything a thorough read-through to check for consistency, grammatical errors, typos, and formatting errors. Although I had already edited the document a few times before, a final review was crucial because a lot of people had been working on the document. Next, Nicole asked me to create some very basic signs that will be used by the event coordinators. This included time cards for the time keepers that will be guiding the speakers during the presentation as well as signs to indicate that rows of seats were reserved for presenters.

The next assignment I was given was to create a directory of the speakers that will be present at the event, because many of the check-in guides will not be able to recognize them without some sort of guide. Using Adobe InDesign, I created a grid matching the Illinois Ignite color scheme and placed the speakers’ pictures, names, presentation titles, presentation times, and the categories in which they will be speaking. Finally, I created a sign encouraging the event’s attendees to connect with faculty members at the UIUC Office of Technology Management and at Research Park. Using Microsoft PowerPoint, I included images of each person along with their name, title, email, and portfolio focus.

How does your supervisor assign you responsibilities and evaluate your work

My supervisor, Nicole Nair, is the assistant director for marketing and communications. She is responsible for making sure all tasks in this department are completed, whether that means doing it herself or delegating things to her two interns. Throughout the week, she assigns me responsibilities primarily on a project-by-project basis. When I am assigned a new project, Nicole briefs me on what is expected of and needed for the project, mandatories for the project, logistical information needed to complete the project, and when the project needs to be completed by.

Mandatories are things that must be included in the project, and include things such as specific data points, email addresses, social media handles, logos, people’s names and titles, color schemes, and more. Logistical information includes things such as where necessary files are located in the office’s shared drive, which programs should be used to complete the project (i.e. Adobe Creative Suite, WebTools, Microsoft Office Suite, etc.), and other people in the office I may need to speak with to complete the project. As far as deadlines go, there is typically not a very strict deadline, but rather projects just need to be completed in a timely manner.

Nicole evaluates my work in a very informal way. She gives me feedback as I work on projects and ask her questions, in which case she tells me things she would like to be changed or added. If I do not have any questions while I am working, I simply email or print out the assignment to give to her and she informs me of any necessary revisions. In some cases, a project also requires feedback and approval from another staff member, such as a technology manager. In these instances, I typically either print out or email the project to them, request their feedback, and edit as needed.