Supporting Future Talent: A Student's Week At Andel

At Andel, we're committed to supporting the next generation of talent by providing meaningful work experience opportunities that help bridge the gap between education and industry.

This week, we welcomed geography student Katie Blanden to our Sales & Marketing team, where she gained first-hand insight into how sustainable technologies are developed, promoted and delivered to customers around the world. Throughout her placement, she explored the links between environmental science, flood management and commercial innovation, while learning how departments across Andel work together to tackle real-world environmental challenges.

Below, she shares her experience of working at Andel, what she learned during her placement, and how it has helped shape her understanding of a career in sustainability: 

Introduction:

This week in Andel I have been with the sales and marketing team where they prioritise customer needs, innovation and sustainability.  As someone studying Geography at university, with main themes being environmental science, it was a chance to see how environmental solutions reach customers in the real world.

About Andel:

Andel are a global specialist company in leak detection, water sustainability, flood defence and environmental protection. Their mission is to help organisations prevent damage, reduce environmental risk and meet regulatory responsibilities. They achieved Net Zero Scope 1 & 2 emissions in 2025, aiming for Scope 3 by 2030. The strong focus on sustainable water management helps protect both the build and natural environment.

My role in Sales & Marketing:

I have shadowed the team working on various leak detection products and looked at how solutions are presented to customers. Also creating my own flood defence market research which aligns closely with my academic background, especially since I am writing my dissertation on how land use and natural flood management affects flood peaks. This has helped me see how academic knowledge supports real world sustainability decisions including flood risk, customer needs and how engineered solutions complement natural flood management.

What I have learnt:

Spending time in sales and marketing has given me insights I don’t usually encounter in my degree, and I have learnt about how important communication is in technical industries especially when it comes to customer feedback. An example of communication between sales and customers that I saw was how some customers have different requirements for leak detection devices and require specialist builds. Hence the sales team must then go to R&D to see if the special build is possible for the customer.

The link between Sales, Marketing and Sustainability:

Sales helps organisations introduce technology that can reduce water waste and prevent damage to the environment. Marketing raises awareness of environmental risks and how to deal with them. Overall, the link shows how sustainability requires communication to function just as much as science.

Conclusion:

Being a part of Andel and seeing how it operates has allowed me to understand how my degree fits into a real industry. Sales and marketing play a key role in promoting sustainable water management. This gave me insight into how solutions are delivered to customers and I am looking forward to seeing how the other departments connect to sustainability.