Innovation is often associated with groundbreaking technology, but during my internship at Health Innovation East, I learned that turning a good idea into better patient care relies just as much on people, partnerships, and procurement.

Over the past few months, I have had the opportunity to complete an internship with Health Innovation East as a Procurement Intern within the Industry Partnerships team. The experience has been both rewarding and insightful, providing me with a valuable introduction to the world of healthcare innovation and the important role it plays in improving patient outcomes, supporting NHS staff, and helping organisations deliver more efficient and sustainable healthcare services.

From my first day, I felt welcomed and supported by the Health Innovation East team. Everyone was approachable, encouraging, and willing to share their knowledge and experience. This created a positive learning environment where I felt comfortable asking questions, contributing ideas, and developing new skills. The supportive culture at Health Innovation East allowed me to build my confidence and gain a much deeper understanding of how innovation is identified, evaluated, and implemented across the healthcare system.

Supporting Innovation Procurement in the NHS

One of the highlights of my internship was the opportunity to contribute to a range of meaningful projects. I supported the planning and delivery of the Procuring Innovation in the EoE NHS event, which brought together stakeholders from procurement, innovation, industry, academia, and the NHS to explore how procurement can better support the adoption and scaling of innovation.

I was involved in preparing workshop materials, supporting stakeholder engagement activities, and helping to coordinate discussions throughout the event. One part of the project that I particularly enjoyed was creating the attendee event packs. This involved bringing together agendas, workshop materials, problem statements, and supporting information to ensure participants had everything they needed for the day. Although it might seem like a small task, it taught me the importance of attention to detail and careful planning. I wanted to make sure every document was accurate, clearly presented, and professional, knowing that these materials would help shape participants’ experience of the event. Seeing the final packs being used on the day was incredibly rewarding and gave me a real sense of pride in contributing to the success of the event.

Being involved in this work gave me valuable insight into the challenges faced by procurement teams, innovators, and suppliers, as well as the importance of collaboration in driving positive change across the healthcare system.

Developing My Understanding of Healthcare Innovation

Throughout the internship, I developed a stronger understanding of how innovations move from ideas and pilots into real-world implementation.

During the internship I developed skills in research and analysis, stakeholder engagement, workshop and event planning, project management, communicating evidence to different audiences and evidence gathering.

Working on live projects helped me understand the complexities of the NHS and the many factors that influence innovation adoption, including procurement, governance, funding, evidence requirements, and organisational decision-making.

One of my biggest learning points was recognising that successful innovation is not simply about having a good idea. Adoption depends on strong evidence, effective stakeholder engagement, clear processes, appropriate governance, and collaboration across multiple organisations and disciplines.

Building Project Management Skills

The internship also provided valuable project management experience. I supported the coordination of project activities, managed tasks against deadlines, prepared workshop materials, and contributed to stakeholder engagement activities.

One of my key responsibilities was helping to develop the initial problem statements for the Procuring Innovation in the East of England NHS project. I reviewed internal evidence sources and project documents to identify recurring themes and challenges, which I then translated into draft problem statements. To test these, I supported a series of light-touch conversations with stakeholders, gathering feedback, and refining statements based on real-world experiences.

Working across multiple workstreams helped me develop stronger organisational and time-management skills while learning how projects are delivered within a complex healthcare environment. These experiences improved my confidence in managing tasks independently and strengthened my ability to contribute to projects from planning through to delivery.

Learning About Procurement and Adoption Challenges

A particularly valuable aspect of the internship involved supporting work related to innovation procurement.

This gave me the opportunity to explore the barriers that can prevent innovations from being adopted at scale and to understand how procurement processes can either enable or hinder innovation.

Through research, stakeholder engagement, and workshop discussions, I gained valuable insight into the challenges of supplier access to NHS procurement, the pathways from pilot projects to wider adoption, governance and assurance requirements, evidence expectations, decision-making processes, and the need to balance innovation with effective risk management. This experience helped me appreciate the challenges involved in introducing new solutions into large and complex healthcare systems.

Professional and Personal Development

The internship helped me develop a wide range of professional and personal skills. Through meetings, workshops, stakeholder engagement, and presentations, I improved my communication and presentation skills. One of the most rewarding experiences was presenting the Procuring Innovation in the East of England NHS project to colleagues from NHS InSites, senior stakeholders, and the Industry Partnership Team at Health Innovation East. While initially daunting, these opportunities helped build my confidence and ability to communicate complex ideas clearly.

Alongside this, I strengthened my analytical and problem-solving skills through research, stakeholder feedback analysis, and policy-related work. I also gained experience working across multidisciplinary teams, managing competing priorities, and adapting to new challenges.

Most importantly, the internship helped me grow in confidence. By the end of the internship, I felt comfortable contributing to discussions, presenting to stakeholders, leading meetings, and taking ownership of pieces of work. Looking back, I am proud of how much I have developed both professionally and personally.

Reflection

Perhaps most importantly, this internship has reinforced my interest in healthcare innovation and given me a greater appreciation of the role procurement, governance, and collaboration play in improving patient care.

I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work alongside such knowledgeable and supportive colleagues, contribute to meaningful projects, and develop both professionally and personally. A special thank you to my manager, Oreen Omair, for her guidance, support, and encouragement throughout the internship.

Thank you to everyone at Health Innovation East for making this such a valuable and rewarding experience.