In a bid to both help develop key business processes and support the career growth of students in the local area, PPS is delighted to be running a one-of-a-kind, new, AI-led summer internship programme in partnership with York University.

The unique internship, which officially began earlier in July, has seen two students join the PPS team to work directly alongside our Managing Director, Joe Fitzpatrick. It aims to help us unlock the value hidden in our data by conducting statistical analysis to support PPS’ wider operations and commercial decision-making. 

The pair, Will Hall, a Computer Science MEng student and Cyril Ivanov, who is studying a BSc in Computer Science with AI, have been specially selected for the internship, as each has course-specific specialisms and expertise around data analysis and the use of Artificial Intelligence.

During their time with PPS, the duo has, and will be, exploring how AI and machine learning can be applied to optimise key business processes, and will be investigating where predictive models, pattern recognition and intelligent automation could make a positive impact on PPS’ operations. 

In addition to the business-led objectives of this programme, as a family-owned and operated business with strong ties to the region and a longstanding reputation for professional development within our team, we also want to support the vocational aspirations of the next generation. 

Freya Sapcote, our HR Specialist, who is leading the programme, highlighted the already positive impact it has had: 

“It might be our first time doing this but we’re approaching this internship programme with the same professionalism we’d take with any of our other roles. No tea-rounds here, both Will and Cyril are working on serious real problems in our business, directly alongside our Senior Leadership Team. 

“We’ve all been very impressed by the impact they’ve made in just a few weeks – including statistically debunking a long-standing theory on our delivery data as well as creating an AI solution to our customer service inbox sorting.

“They’ve also brought a new dynamic to the office, which is a positive we hadn’t predicted. Our team is enjoying being able to give advice and development on how to succeed in the workplace.” 

When asked his thoughts about the placement and the work involved, Will said:

“I had the privilege of doing a different internship last year and I had an amazing experience; I not only got to utilise and develop my subject-specific skills, but I also got an invaluable insight into the organisation and met some wonderful people. So I'm excited to repeat that this summer, experiencing another new industry and being open to whatever opportunities present themselves. 

“The data science project that I'll be working on is a perfect sequel to a recent degree module and fits well with my previous projects, so I'm looking forward to applying and expanding the knowledge I've gained in a way that materially benefits a local business.”

Cyril added these views:

“Being an ambitious AI Software Engineer, I see this internship with PPS as a huge step in my career. The role of ‘AI Solutions Analyst’ for a big B2B company, especially one that uses varied management platforms such as NetSuite, Descartes and BigCommerce, isn't just a chance to reflect on my current skills, but also the perfect opportunity to learn new things and approaches to real life problems.

“I’m excited to see how my attitude and current skill set will affect the company’s inner processes performance in terms of the prediction of customer demand, the optimisation of the inner operations department and the automation of customer support.”

Rhiannon Heraty the Internships Officer at the University of York has also praised the impact and importance of the partnership:

“The University of York is deeply committed to supporting our students in all aspects of career planning to help them find a vocation that they can thrive in. For over 20 years, our York Internships programme has played a key role in this mission, offering meaningful, real-world experiences that support personal and professional development. We’re proud to be working with PPS, whose support has already helped two of our students take important steps in their career journey.”

The AI internship will be running throughout the summer for 12 weeks and if it proves to be as successful as hoped, it will become an annual programme - in turn, aiming to give more opportunities in the future to the University’s best and brightest.