As a longstanding partner of the Infrastructure Industry Foundation, GIIA was delighted to once again support the IIF’s Summer Internship Experience: four weeks that brought the world of infrastructure investment to life for 41 sixth-form students.
GIIA’s own Sophia Taylor and Simon Montague had the pleasure of opening the internship experience with an immersive introduction to the fundamentals of infrastructure investment, helping students get to grips with core principles ahead of a busy four weeks.
With the backing of several of our members, the cohort attended workshops, visited live assets, built practical skills, and completed a final presentation to a panel of industry experts. Read the IIF’s recap below to see what the interns got up to during their summer of infrastructure – and discover how you can support the mission to increase access to our sector for the next generation of talent.
How 41 students spent four transformative weeks
This July, the Infrastructure Industry Foundation’s Summer Internship Experience showed that investing in young talent isn’t just about social responsibility: it’s about opening the door to the next generation of infrastructure leaders.
Organised in partnership with leading social mobility charity Career Ready, the Summer Internship Experience is a key stage of a nationwide programme designed to help students prepare for the transition from education to the working world. Over 20 organisations from across the sector generously contributed to an exciting agenda of talks, site visits, skills sessions, and mentoring, partnering with the IIF and giving their time to help change lives.
The first day of the experience saw a room of nervous 17-year-olds enter their first professional environment, many uncertain about what “infrastructure investment” even meant. Fast forward four weeks, and those same students were pitching asset cases to a panel of industry experts, having developed core professional and life skills, and discovered a multitude of career paths they may never have known existed.
Week One: Breaking down barriers
What started as nervous energy on day one quickly transformed into enthusiasm to learn more about the sector. Within hours of arriving at M&G’s office (the cohort’s base for the internship), our 41 Career Ready students were already getting stuck into the experience, even presenting on stage as part of GIIA’s introductory session on the fundamentals of infrastructure investment – with groups of students pitching their proposals on how private finance could support a local economy’s infrastructure in a mock scenario. From transport and green energy to utilities and digital infrastructure, they dived headfirst into sectors that would have seemed foreign just days earlier.
An exciting site visit soon followed, as the interns travelled to a Stagecoach bus depot in Stratford, getting a ‘behind the scenes’ look at the operations driving the essential transit infrastructure many of them use on a daily basis – and seeing the benefits of private finance in action.
Weeks Two & Three: Building momentum
The interns’ second exciting site visit to Gatwick Airport opened their eyes to the complexity of infrastructure operations, taking to the tarmac and witnessing 55 aircraft movements per hour and gaining insight into how a major airport generates commercial revenue. Later, Excel modelling sessions with investment professionals provided a practical introduction to investment analysis and helped students gain transferable technical skills. They also benefited from valuable sessions on financial literacy, getting to grips with the world of investment and economics.
Swapping the city skyline for leafy Mayfair, interns travelled to Dartmouth House for a half-day session on public speaking with international charity, the English-Speaking Union. With plenty of ice-breakers and expert guidance, students were soon embracing oracy and demonstrating impressive communication skills – sharing plenty of exciting ideas and opinions with the audience.
Week Four: Showcasing the transformation
In the final week, the asset case competition was a great display of the cohort’s growth. Students developed presentations in groups, researching and rehearsing a mock investment pitch as part of their final task. Two groups claimed top prizes, while four individuals earned special recognition for exceptional presentation skills.
Here’s what the interns had to say:
“This opportunity has been the best and most valuable experience I’ve had up to date. Throughout this internship, I have gained a diverse range of core skills including problem-solving, public speaking, teamwork, presentation, networking and many more.”
“Reflecting on my experience has helped me connect the dots — recognising my growth, the skills I’ve developed, and the path I want to take next. I’m also grateful for the connections and friendships made along the way – they’ve made this journey all the more rewarding.”
“I’ve just completed a transformational internship with the Infrastructure Industry Foundation, and I’m walking away with far more than I ever expected. What truly made this experience special were the people. I had the chance to learn from inspiring professionals and work alongside brilliant students who brought energy, creativity, and curiosity to everything we did.”
Your industry needs you
The 2026 cohort applications open soon, and we need you! Whether you’re running a pension fund, managing assets or leading development projects, you have knowledge that could change a young person’s trajectory forever.
You can also mentor a Career Ready student for just one hour a month. Your expertise could spark the next generation’s passion for infrastructure and prove a turning point in a young person’s life.
Simply email us at info@infraindustryfoundation.com with the subject title ‘Career Ready mentoring 2026’ and we’ll send you further information.
For further updates on the work of the Infrastructure Industry Foundation, follow us on LinkedIn.