Super Seven #19 Habiba Naqvi
In the nineteenth of our Super Seven Questions Series we profile our Business Operations Coordinator, Habiba Naqvi. Habiba joined us in June on her placement year, she’s studying Business and Management BA(Hons) at UWE and is putting all her knowledge into practice! It feels like she’s always been part of the team.
1. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I’m 20, a student at the University of the West of England, studying a Bachelor’s in Business and Management. I’m here at KETS to undertake my ‘Industrial Placement Year’ for my degree – which basically means I’m applying my studies to the real world and understanding more about a commercial business.
I have one sibling – a much, much younger sister – our age gap is a massive 8 years!
Born and raised in Bristol, I chose to study my BA in my home city, which actually gives me a chance to explore Bristol and its beauty spots a little more. However, I’m really eager to pursue a Master’s/MBA elsewhere. Maybe in London!
2. What do you do in KETS?
I’m the Business Operations Coordinator, meaning I’m involved in everything. Some examples include ensuring the logistics behind the company run smoothly, helping to write company policies and working on awesome projects. I’m also involved with our Marketing team, designing snazzy content for social media platforms e.g. Instagram, and have recently been involved in the HR side of things – for instance, by looking through CVs and short-listing job applicants. I can definitely see a lot of the academic theory and ‘nerdy businessy stuff’ I’ve learned in uni being implemented into my daily KETS life.
There are so many opportunities within KETS that will help me develop my employability skills, such as training programmes, which I’ll also be doing later on. I have lots more glamorous projects to get myself involved in and I’m looking forward to them. One of my first projects since starting here has included organising KETS’ 5th Birthday celebrations – this has been great fun.
3. What’s the most enjoyable part of your job?
The nature of my role includes having daily contact with almost everyone in this organisation – be it in person or online. As someone who loves interacting with others, this is perfect for me! It also means a lot to me that KETS has such an amazing team; since my 1st day here I have felt so welcomed, visible, and like I’ve been here all along. Also, since being given the autonomy to crack on with my duties, I feel incredibly responsible and independent like never before – I do love my freedom!
Moreover, the coffee meetings, welcome lunches, and welcome ice-creams I’ve had so far have been awesome – almost as awesome as the people I have the privilege of working with here – especially Lorraine!
4. What inspires you?
What inspires me to do everything that I do is my younger self – someone who has always wanted to accomplish my biggest dreams, ‘go out’ and explore the world (New York obviously), and most importantly put my studies to great use. I’m also inspired by those who overcome barriers to reaching their dreams – it’s another thing that keeps me going!
5. What advice would you give someone wanting to undertake a university placement year?
Go for it, and contribute as much as you can. I’d definitely encourage you to get stuck in. In particular if you’re joining a small company, your contributions and efforts stand out more and this makes your role much more impactful, fulfilling, and VERY rewarding. Therefore, getting valuable hands-on experience in as many cool projects as you can, will benefit not only your degree, but ultimately your interpersonal skills and development.
6. What do you do when you’re not in work?
As I’m quite an outgoing person, I like to go out and explore different places around me (and outside Brizzle when I can!). Cool restaurants, nice cafés, you name it.
I like to read articles, blogs and books from time to time about things that matter a lot to me – politics, identity, class, power; all that good sociology stuff. I also find cognitive psychology really, really interesting and have been reading a lot into it over the last year!
7. What’s the best thing about Bristol?
Bristol is wonderful when it comes to diversity and inclusion. In the public sphere of the city, it’s clear that the diversity, equality and inclusion are of a massive priority. In Bristol, you have a good chance of getting to know people from ethnically-diverse backgrounds.
To get in touch with Habiba, drop us an email at enquiry@kets-quantum.com