Managing a foundation: The Dutch Clinical Trial Foundation
Cindy Luesink on her internship at Science Alliance, July 2008
“For the master variant Science Based Business I did an internship at Science Alliance. This is a small company with around 30 employees. The company is divided in several units. I did my internship at the Life Science Unit. The Life Science Unit manages two foundations, Dutch Discoveries Disclosed (3D) and the Dutch Clinical Trial Foundation (DCTF). During my internship I mainly focused on DCTF. This foundation aspires to maintain and improve the competitive position of the Netherlands in the world of clinical trials.
When working for DCTF I learned a lot on how to maintain contacts with people from various companies, verbally and by e-mail. I also worked on an advice that had to be made for one of the working groups of DCTF. This advice had to be written after the input of the members of the working group. Working on it has taught me how to interpret people’s ideas and combining them into one advice.
For another working group I had to do a survey. This was very extensive since I had to set up the questions and I also had to find the right persons to approach for the survey. Luckily with the help of the members of the working group this wasn’t much of a problem. At the end of the survey I interpreted the results and held a presentation in front of the working group.
Furthermore I attended board meetings, kept the website up-to-date, guided the working groups of DCTF, and started with the preparations for the yearly conference. The work for the foundation was very diverse and therefore it really kept my interest.
I learned during the work I did for this foundation that when you work for a small company there is a lot that you do yourself. To me, that makes it very interesting. One day you are calling persons for a survey and the next day you are writing a small article about the foundation for promotion material. These various activities that you perform make sure that the work is never boring.Science Alliance itself is a good company to work for. There is always space for a good idea, which you can then develop yourself, alone or together with other colleagues. The good thing is that also interns are asked if they might have ideas to develop. As an intern you are really accepted in the company and are treated as a full employee. They also expect you to work as a full employee, which I think is a good attitude.
When you are looking for a company which is not too big to work at, Science Alliance is a good choice. You learn a lot of basic skills and even more specific skills for maintaining relationships with other companies. But also promoting and acquisition are qualities that you will gain.”
Find more information on SBB internships and more SBB internship experiences on our website.
