Malcolm’s journey with us
Volunteering can be a chance to give something back to your community, while also learning new skills, building confidence and gaining experience for the future.
For Malcolm, his time at Globe Community Project gave him the chance to do just that.
Malcolm first heard about us through the careers page at Queen Mary University of London. Having lived in the local community for three years, he was interested in the work we do and wanted to get involved.
“I was really impressed, and the chance to contribute to that work was very motivating.”
Malcolm joined as a part-time Cybersecurity Intern alongside his studies. He helped us work towards our IASME Cyber Essentials certification, led cyber awareness training for staff and helped put new IT procedures in place.
The role gave Malcolm the chance to take what he had learned at university and use it in a real organisation.
“Honestly, a lot more than I expected from an internship”
He gained hands-on experience, developed his communication, presenting and time management skills.
His biggest project was helping us get our Cyber Essentials certification.
“To get there, I set up and secured over 50 devices, put an asset inventory and access review process in place, and tightened how staff shared files on Google Drive.”
He also enjoyed delivering awareness training and seeing staff become more confident in spotting suspicious emails.
After graduating and securing us our Cyber Essentials accreditation, Malcolm secured a space on Euroclear’s Technology Graduate Scheme as a Quality Engineer in Release and Testing. His experience with us gave him something to talk about when applying for this next role.
“In my interviews I could talk through a project I’d owned from start to finish, from auditing the setup to getting the organisation certified, instead of relying only on coursework.”
For anyone thinking about volunteering or taking on an internship in a local charity like GCP, Malcolm’s advice is “Do it. You get real responsibility early, and the work matters to the people around you.”
He added: “Everyone is really supportive, and you’ll leave with new skills and examples to talk about in interviews.”
For Malcolm, it was also about giving something back. “It was a great way to finish university, and I’m grateful I got to give something back to a community I’ve lived in.”
From our perspective at Globe Community Project, having Malcolm’s help, through a QMUL-funded internship, was like a gift from above. As Director Maniprabha explained, “We’d never have got accreditation without Malcolm, as none of our staff or trustees are IT specialists. With Malcolm’s help, we’re now much better protected against scams and fraud, keeping our grants and donations as safe to keep powering our work.”
We’re grateful to Malcolm for everything he helped with, and wish him all the best as he takes his next step.
If Malcolm’s story has inspired you to get involved, we currently have a few ways you can get involved!
Yoga for asylum-seeking and refugee women – Wednesday mornings or Thursday afternoons
Homework Club for refugee children – Thursday afternoons
Wellbeing support for isolated older people – flexible/ad hoc
Operations - support our friendly office team in a whole range of ways
Whether you want to meet new people, build your confidence, gain experience or simply give some of your time to your community, we’d love to hear from you.
Interested in volunteering? Get in touch with Esther and the team at volunteers@globecommunityproject.org.uk to find out more.