In a competitive graduate job market a summer project (internship) can play an important role in demonstrating that you have the interest, knowledge, skills and experience that employers require - whatever the sector. Summer projects can also be a great way to learn about different careers and access new networks. Knowing this, Teach First has teamed up with over 80 employers in business, education and the policy and non-profit sectors to create the summer projects scheme - interesting projects, internships and work-shadowing opportunities, often exclusively available to Teach First teachers, for those that choose to pursue them. These tend to run for two to three weeks in early August between years one and two of the programme. Over 70% of the year group took part in summer projects in 2006 at organisations as varied as the British Council, Credit Suisse, the Department for Education, EMI, Freshfields, HSBC, the Royal Society and Save the Children. More than three quarters of these projects were exclusively available through Teach First, while several participants arranged their own projects in countries as diverse as the USA, Tanzania and South Africa. Each year, positions are posted on the participant extranet portal and participants are invited to apply to employers directly. You are also encouraged to seek out your own placement opportunities with support from Teach First. Whilst summer projects are not compulsory, both participants and employers have been extremely positive about the scheme and in some cases jobs have resulted. View the list of previous years' summer projects here.		Participant View   “I have been in contact with many different people that I would not have in the past.  It is great because I have the educational background now and can put that to use in this [summer] project.” Katherine Pothecary '03 Participant Completed her internship with The Conservative Party “It [teaching] has enabled me to communicate with a large range of people at different levels. It has also allowed me to simplify things. Communication is about simplifying things for others, teaching has taught me a lot about this.” Steve Adcock '03 Participant Completed his internship with M&C Saatchi “This has been a unique opportunity where I have been able to explore a possible future career as well as meeting some very inspiring people. I would strongly recommend this work experience to future participants.” Kate Fyfe '04 Participant Completed her internship with Deloitte