The best internship programmes do more than give talented people useful work experience. They help people connect, build confidence, get a real feel for the organisation — and leave wanting to come back.
Sharky + George creates connected programmes of play for interns and early-talent cohorts, designed around your culture, your people and your goals.
Rather than a series of unrelated socials, we can create a shared experience that runs through the whole internship: a programme of challenges, adventures and memorable moments that gives the cohort something to belong to from day one.
A programme might begin with a high-energy launch, hosted by Sharky + George, introducing the challenge ahead and the thinking behind the Power of Play.
From there, interns might take part in a mixture of after-work events, creative challenges, strategic games, weekend adventures and larger shared experiences. Individual or team points can be tracked across the programme, with a live leaderboard keeping the competition alive and an ultimate prize waiting at the end.
For some clients, we can go further and create a story that runs through the whole summer — turning separate events into chapters of one unfolding mission.
The result is not simply a busier social calendar. It is a shared experience that builds momentum, creates stories and gives people repeated reasons to mix beyond their immediate teams.
Play gives people something to do together before they know one another well enough for easy conversation.
It lowers barriers, removes much of the awkwardness of conventional networking and creates opportunities for different personalities to contribute. The strategist, the creator, the connector, the competitor, the helper and the joker can all find a way in.
That’s especially valuable for new cohorts. People begin forming relationships through doing rather than through introductions, and the organisation gets to demonstrate its culture through experience rather than simply describing it.
This principle has already worked at huge scale. When Goldman Sachs asked Sharky + George to rethink global virtual onboarding, playful team challenges gave new recruits an immediate reason to collaborate and helped remove the awkwardness of meeting unfamiliar colleagues. More than 15,000 employees took part over two years.
Every internship is different, so the structure can be too.
We can create a single standout event, a short series of connected experiences or a programme running from arrival to final week. And if you already have dinners, talks, tickets, trips or other activities planned, we can weave those into the story with missions, clues, challenges and points.
The aim is simple: help talented people connect quickly, enjoy the experience, feel part of something — and remember your organisation for all the right reasons.
Get in touch and we’ll create a fundraising experience that unites your people, boosts morale, and raises serious funds for the causes that matter to you.
