In Your Shoes - MSIP

Monday

I'm Prathamesh, currently studying MSc. Design for Business at the University of Dundee. I'm the Design and Marketing Intern at MSIP and I've learned to accept Monday's for what they are.

This morning I felt ambitious, so I went for the £5 meal deal instead of the regular £3.40 one. Then I caught the bus from the city centre and reached the office in 35 mins. Like every morning, as soon as I enter the Innovation Hub, I say hello to Isabelle (you'll get to know her in the coming days) sitting in the common space, and make my way up to the office. 

As part of my internship project, I'm working on revamping the main entrance of MSIP. I'm already in the 4th week of my 10-week tenure and just about started to mock-up some sketches of the new and improved 'to-be' entrance. I have the designer's gut feeling that I will smash it out of the park. I pursue sketching, painting and digital art as a hobby, so this is right up my alley.

Lunchtime isn't set in stone, especially since it's just a Meal Deal and nothing to drool over. I take this time to watch an episode of anime.

After lunch, it was time to help Isabelle rearrange the event space for tomorrow's event. It's going to be very hectic until Thursday since there are major events to be hosted in the Hub. It's going to be a busy week!

Tuesday

Hello! My name is Amy and I am the Marketing Executive at MSIP.

Every week is different here which I enjoy as it avoids monotony, so this Tuesday, my day began with some manual labour in the form of moving furniture within the Innovation Hub. This is because we had three events which were scheduled for Wednesday within various spaces of the Hub, so it was all hands-on deck to ensure everything was as requested for those!

In the afternoon I returned to my desk and focused on posting today’s content for social media, then worked on creating and editing a few videos for future socials content and finished my working day off with pulling analytics from our socials for various reports. This also allows me to check if the content I’ve been working on is something which will actually engage and resonate with our audience.

My evening consisted of going to one of the local cross fit gym’s – FFD, and watching some Below Deck before bed!

Wednesday

I am Isabelle, and my main role is Events Coordinator for the Innovation Hub at MSIP. Today we had a big event in the main events space, a large meeting in a meeting room and a handful of people hot desking throughout the day.

I came in extra early to work today to let in the AV crew into the building. I was also there to welcome the exhibitors so they could finish setting up for the day. After going through the health and safety briefing with the event director, I finally went for my (second) cup of coffee and left the event to proceed as planned.

One of our biggest meeting spaces, the Spark Suite, was also booked today and I guided those visitors to the correct room when they arrived, making sure they didn’t accidentally go to the exhibition event! Upstairs, we had several hot desks booked for the day, so I greeted them all and showed them to the CoWorking Area.

When the big event finished, I was able to get started on a whole ground floor turnover as we had an evening event planned, along with two events the next day. With the help of five of my colleagues we were able to clean all 90 chairs, stack over 40 6-foot tables and vacuum the whole floor, before setting up the spaces for tonight. This was all while a robotic demo machine was being delivered for tomorrow’s breakfast event. My team and I then had just enough time to have our tea from Silva Spoons Café, who catered all three events today, before the evening attendees arrived!

Thursday

Assuming the role of Innovation Manager at MSIP is both dynamic and fulfilling. My day starts early, with a hot cup of coffee as I dive into research to identify funding opportunities for our tenants. I scour through various grants, subsidies, and investment programs that can help propel their projects forward. It's crucial to stay ahead of the curve, ensuring our tenants have the best possible resources to innovate and succeed.

By mid-morning, I'm preparing for a tour with prospective small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Our state-of-the-art lab spaces are a major draw, and showcasing these facilities is one of the highlights of my job. I love seeing the excitement in their eyes as they realize the potential for their projects within our innovative ecosystem. The labs are designed to foster creativity and development, equipped with the latest technology and supported by our expert team.

Today is particularly special as we're filming promotional videos for the labs. After lunch, I coordinate with our film crew, ensuring every aspect of the lab is captured in its best light. From the advanced equipment to the collaborative workspaces, we aim to highlight what makes MSIP a leading innovation space. The videos will be used in marketing campaigns, helping to attract even more groundbreaking companies to our Innovation Parc.

As the day winds down, I review our innovation offerings to ensure they are effectively communicated. It's essential that our messaging reflects the full spectrum of support and opportunities available at MSIP. Whether it's funding, state-of-the-art facilities, or collaborative environments, I want every prospective tenant to see that MSIP is the place where their innovations can thrive.

Each day at MSIP is a blend of strategic planning, hands-on showcasing, and creative promotion. It's incredibly rewarding to be part of a team that’s shaping the future of innovation.

Friday

I’m Gill and as well as leading on all marketing and communications activity at the Innovation Parc, I oversee activity in our Innovation Hub. And what a week it has been.

I start my Friday with the usual home life chaos of getting me and my two girls ready for the day – think packed lunches, finding lost shoes and styling two heads of curly hair!

Once I’ve dropped my girls off at school – much excitement as only two weeks left until the holidays – I head back home. I try to keep Friday’s as a work from home day as best I can, to get caught up on my to do list.

As I have my first coffee of the day, I reflect on the amazing team effort we’ve had in the Innovation Hub this week to ensure everything went to plan. I use one of my favourite tools Xmind and map out my thoughts and reflections on how the week of events has went, so I can do a debrief with the team next week. We’re always looking to improve on things, but also shine a light on success. And this is a great way to help me do that!

I grab my second coffee of the day and then go into Monday.com, the project management tool we use (I love it!) and check my goals for the week. I check off those that are complete (it's great as you get fireworks when you check things off – little things that make me smile). And I sort out my to do list and goals for the following week.

One of the projects that I’m focusing on right now is the Net Zero Plan for MSIP. This one has been on the to-do list for a while now, but after completing the Net Zero Academy (delivered by Scottish Enterprise) I now feel confident (and dare I say excited) to get started. After a quick lunch and with a clear afternoon, I spend the rest of my day building the project plan, baseline tracker, and reporting space in Monday.

I spend the last hour of the day sending the girls out to the park to play (thankful of sunny weather), listening to Taylor Swift, and tidying up my emails, I always find a neat inbox makes Monday mornings much easier!

I log off and retrieve my girls from the park, just in time to get them to their swimming lesson. With the plan of returning home and getting caught up on Love Island with some giant monster munch and full fat coke later. Living the dream!